Owners of the 482,000 2.0-liter TDI models caught up in the diesel emissions scandal will get cash compensation tied to the age of their vehicle, anonymous sources said today.
Volkswagen won’t release details on its buyback/fix/remediation plan until Tuesday of next week, but sources briefed on the matter blabbed to the media despite a court-imposed gag order. The Associated Press puts the cost of settling the U.S. fallout at $10.2 billion, with some of that money going towards government penalties.
It’s already known that Volkswagen plans to buy back (or fix, at the owner’s request) 2.0-liter diesel models sold from 2009 on. What’s murky is whether the figures quoted by the sources relate to the vehicle buyback or the separate compensation expected to be handed to owners.
The cash payments will range from $1,000 to $7,000, depending on the age of the vehicle and other factors. Those amounts could change by next Tuesday, the sources stressed.
According to Bloomberg, “owners will be faced with complex calculations to figure out how much cash they might receive from Volkswagen … which could upset them and harm the carmaker’s relationship with buyers even further.”
Readers can learn more about the body blow to Volkswagen’s reputation (and what it will take to recover) here.
Part of the U.S. funds, drawn from an $18.2 billion cash pile Volkswagen set aside this spring, will go to remedy the environmental damage caused by the diesels over the last six years. The sources say any environmental fund will probably model itself after an existing EPA-funded cleanup program.
The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act provides grants to areas with high levels of diesel pollution. Mainly, the cash goes to efforts like retrofitting old buses and replacing industrial truck fleets. An administrator appointed by the Justice Department will hand out the cash, sources said, with funds going to the state level for distribution to local green programs. Each project will be audited by the administrator.
No details on the size of the environmental fund are available. Regulators first need to figure out the amount of smog the diesels created since 2009, and how much emissions the remaining vehicles will emit.
How many more car companies will fall victim to the liberal’s Global Warming scam?
These people are trying to control energy consumption and they’ve conned these idiots in the public into believing this nonsense.
No, they’re controlling emissions. If you built a solar facility in the desert and used the power for nothing more than melting sand, no one would bat an eye.
The bottom line is that the EPA set certain regulations for allowable levels and types of emissions…which the EPA is well within its rights to do. Volkswagen blatantly violated those rules, and for that it has to pay.
Whether or not the EPA has a sound reason for creating those rules is a meta-issue, but the rules themselves are legitimate. It’s just like when France used to mandate selective-yellow headlights. Never mind that the logic behind it was somewhat flawed; companies that wanted to do business there had to sell their cars with the yellow lights. Same thing.
“Legitimate ”
TYRANNY
Eco-tyranny.
Paranoia runs deep…into your mind it will creep…
I’m a steadfast conservative, but after visiting several of the major cities in China, I’ve come to believe the EPA is worth every penny. Even Los Angeles with its notorious smog has NOTHING on Beijing or Shanghai, not even close.
The global warming debate pertaining to cars involves carbon dioxide.
The VW emissions scandal is nitrogen oxides, which form ozone, acid rain, and have direct negative impacts on respiratory health. That you are confusing the two this far into the debacle is not a good thing. First to comment is fun and all, but does it really help your personal branding if you’re embarrassing yourself in the process?
Co2 Carbon Dioxide or Global Warming, NOx for the Ozone level, but you other gases that are just not good for anyone, that are a product of Automotive combustion
I usually bypass ALL BTSR comments. HELLCAT Horsesh*t like a 12 year old who thinks he s funny.
But I agree with this comment.
Apparently the UK has decided to leave the European Union.
THE GLOBALISTS WILL BE DEFEATED….
I am loving the season finale of Brexit. I just wonder if next season’s opener is like that of Grexit where the “leaders” tell the people GFY we’re keeping the EU tyranny.
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
The UK’s INDEPENDENCE DAY!
F*ck you, David Cameron, Bono (you offshore account hypocrite POS), and the rest of the globalist scumbags!
This whole Saga will raise it’s ugly head in NA, not many will escape from it.
“Global warming scam”…
LOL…they began regulating emissions when I was around 5, while “Mod Squad” and “Laugh-In” were still on the air, fool…
For a guy who lived in Beijing, it’s hard to believe you’re against emission controls when you can still legally buy a 700+ hp car in America.
It is not the global warming, it is the NOX and particulate, that the VW emission fraud was trying to cover up.
This is about smog. Air quality where I live is infinitely better than it used to be because of EPA and CARB regulations. As a kid in Los Angeles, I can remember the regular appearance of a thick brown haze in the sky, and coughing because my lungs burned during outdoor activities. It was even worse when my parents were kids in the 1950s and 1960s. The rules can be annoying on an individual basis, yes, but in the aggregate they’ve made our air much cleaner even as California’s population has doubled during my lifetime.
I can’t relate to your LA experience but I know just from some charts how far things have come since even the 80s in terms of smog. However I do have some other recent perspective.
I would estimate at least half of the private automobiles in Geneva, Switzerland, were diesel powered (and I have many pictures to prove it). Geneva suffers from no smog issues, although I would say of the diesels I saw, none of them was older than fifteen years. When they passed you did get a whiff of smell, but it quickly dissipated (within about three seconds). On a tour, the guide remarked there were two trees for every person in the city, and the total population was about 200,000. I realize Geneva is not LA, and the volume of registered vehicles is far, far less. But I really do wish some of you who have gone all Captain Planet on the issue could spend a day there and see (and smell) what I experienced. I think you’d realize what a bunch of non-sense the VW dieselgate is in the USDM (with its 1% of all affected registered cars nationwide or thereabouts). The volume of diesels was never enough to have a real impact, and even in a place where it is, what impact?
I’m more Captain Planet than most around here, but I do agree with a lot in your comment. It seemed comical to me that we are getting so upset about the emissions of the small relative number of small displacement VW diesels when so many full size trucks visibly emit dark plumes of particulate exhaust. I’m curious how those rigs compare to the cheating VW emissions both on a per-vehicle and nationwide total.
That would be some good data to compare.
30 mile fetch , Pretty badly. I have seen things almost out of ” Duel” on some US highways. Tend to wonder who or what is doing the on highway testing. Or is it a rare event?
Pre emissions, “Duel” big rigs will take themselves out. Salaried drivers won’t put up with rebuilt projects. Fleets want warranties and access to all sea ports.
It’s the pre emissions, classic cars we may never be rid of, from TDIs on down.
Old stinkin’ Mercedes diesels are starting to pop up everywhere. Same with early ’80s Rabbit diesel pickups, some with GTI upgrades, they’re coming out of the weeds. Yeah the early Cummins pickups too, to name a few.
It’s not that I think cheating diesel VWs (and I own one — a 2015 TDI) are going to destroy air quality in Los Angeles, or anywhere else. This is more about making an example; if all manufacturers broke rules the way VW did, we’d be in trouble again. It’s that all the little stuff adds up.
I was annoyed at first that a 1977 Lincoln I bought in Colorado without emissions equipment would have to be smogged because we don’t have a rolling cut-off in California. (It’s been anything built after 1975 for some time now.) Would it cause that much pollution on its own? No. But if everyone removed emissions equipment from their 1976-1991 cars it could be bad news.
Even in a place that doesn’t have the smog-friendly geography of the Los Angeles basin, it’s still pollution going into air we all breathe, and I’d rather err on the side of less.
I also agree with 30-mile fetch on the inconsistency with what we allow from big rigs. But I don’t think comparative insignificance is a reason to let stuff like dieselgate slide. (Which I by no means mean to imply he or she is arguing.)
That’s my perspective, anyway.
28cars totally agree with you. I think the abundant vegetation in Switzerland certainly does help.Yes it was nice to see many crystal clear blue skies. Slovenia is similar.
VW settlement with Jewish families was $12M. That is for working people to death. But if you US gov, you get 10B. Business as usual. Gov = mafia
You do realize there has been some inflation since then right?
Diesel Volkswagens had a problem with NOx, not CO2 emissions.
NOx is harmful to lung tissue, but I guess your hillibilly conspiracy theorist lungs are magically immune to that.
Well, considering that mine is a 2015 purchased within five months of the scandal’s public release, that might bode very well. But we will find out.
I’m at the other end of the spectrum – a 2010. From what I can tell my resale value has been impacted a whole lot more than $1,000. I hope condition and mileage get taken into account (I’ve only got a bit over 30k miles on mine) in how they calculate that.
Mine, which MSRP’d at $32K originally, might have been worth $23K or so in a trade. Now it’s worth $16K.
From the Bloomberg site: “They’ll also estimate how much pollution to expect going forward from consumers who don’t sell their cars back to VW”
Does this suggest that owners can thumb their noses at VW and the EPA and keep driving? I find that hard to believe. But then the notion of having to find a replacement for my 2011 Sportwagen that will get the job done for the money VW is going to offer is equally unpalatable. (See: automatic transmissions, CUV’s, SUV’s, stick them where the sun doesn’t shine)
Looks like VW will just “buy” a bunch of emission improvement elsewhere to compensate for the additional ones they cheated on, by fixing the easier ones like trucks and buses.
Did you buy or lease, Kyree?
I bought it.
The Bloomberg article said VW was going to pay the pre-scandal value of the car. Now the trick is to calculate the value of your specific car as of 9/2015. Maybe your library or a friend in the business has back issues of the NADA guides.
Mine’s a 2012 with low mileage for being a TDI (about 50K ATM). So it’ll be interesting to see how they handle this and how much more they pi$$ people off.
I am in a similar boat, I have a 2012 with 66k miles on it
I bought an ’05 Beetle TDI from an insurance auction for $3000. It was worth $6000 in good condition. I spent a little under $1000 on parts and a couple weekends of labor. Then the scandal hit and even though the car is not one of the diesels in question, the car’s worth dropped to $4000. I could have just bought one in good shape at that price. No compensation for my wasted time.
So what you’re saying is that VW diesels are going to be the steal of the century on the used car market soon?
I projected MY10s to be in the 3,000 or less valuation range by March of next year. However much like those in underwater real estate, don’t expect dealers stuck with them to be so generous unless they are desperate.
Well, you’d have to wait to see how good the cars were once they were brought into compliance, because apparently this fix reduces the TDI’s performance. And there’s always the question mark of buying a used VW, I guess. But I bet bargains could be had.
Only if you think VW will let these cars back into the wild, which they won’t.
I suspect that’s the ultimate endgame – buy ’em back and then crush ’em. Makes sense.
Probably more like buy them back and ship them to Africa.
US spec VW product vs African topology/climate/infrastructure.
Sounds like great pay-per-view.
Seems like they’d cover their losses better if they shipped them to China, India, or Africa.
Chinese don’t like to buy used cars, and they already make a lot of cars themselves, so I doubt they will ship them there.
A lot of retired shuttle bus from Hong Kong got shipped to Africa and Afghan for a 2nd life in the shuttle business.
Not sure if Indian would allow that if they refuse refurb iPhone to begin with.
WSJ is saying between $5100 and $10000 for cash to owners now. I’m curious who the loose-lipped person is. Maybe it’s a “leak” straight from VW to see how people react.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-to-pay-more-than-10-billion-to-settle-emissions-claims-1466707647
I like “at least” as it establishes a bit of a floor. I will be “at least” $5,100 better off, that’s might not be too bad depending on how they value the vehicle.
“Up to” on the other hand means nothing. For instance, “the initial poster to most threads could be up to 10 times smarter about a lot of things if he read a bit more widely” also allows for the initial poster still being the way he is regardless of what he reads.
The kid with clapped-out, low-spec 2009 Jetta will probably get $1000. The guy with the average 2014 Sportwagen might get $5000. I expect the payouts to be low – so low it will probably alienate owners more than ever before with the VW brand. Let’s see how much screaming or how many lawsuits there will be when this all shakes out. Can’t wait…
I have a 2011 Audi with the 2.0TDI. I am entirely satisfied with it and don’t want them to touch the engine. So far, they’ve already given me $1000. If they come across with another $2k or $5k, I will gladly take it. As far as I can tell, the so-called scandal hasn’t affected resale values much at all.
VW settlement with Jewish families was $12M. That is for working people to death. But if you US gov, you get 10B. Business as usual. Gov = mafia
The whole premise behind the regulations is to provide clean air (legitimacy is for another day). The owners of these vehicles may get up to $7000. Those of us that have been breathing this dirtier air, how much do we get?
You get nothing! :D
Actually the $7K is about as much as the car has depreciated due to auction fear since this started (assuming MY10 or higher) so in reality owners are not being rewarded, just compensated. Mathematically, MY08-09 owners might come out a little more ahead.
Yep I get it and I’m not really against it. I just think it’s interesting that we lost site of why the regulations, that were violated, exist.
I am at the other end than Kyree 2011 w 125,000 miles, I know they do not want to fix mine but they may fix the ones w the ad blue tanks already installed, I bought mine new and it is paid off, so not sure what I will do, not really looking for a car payment right now, let’s see if VW would make it worth my while, I would consider another if the deal was right, also what happens to the 2016 TDI that had a stop sale on.?.?
I would think that the 2016 TDIs might increase in value after this is done, because I’m assuming TDIs might not be sold any longer in the US.
This.
I would assume the 2016s (still held at port AFAIK) will be remediated and released for sale at some point, probably at a not-sufficient-discount due to their age and the general TDI stigma.
If I’m reading this (and past articles) correctly, this cash payment is separate from any buyback offer? We have a 2013 Passat TDI with a couple CarFax hits on it that we’re looking forward to returning to the good folks at Volkswagen. If it weren’t for the repairs (someone backed into it, then my wife hit a deer about a week after the first repair was complete) we’d probably keep it and run it into the ground as we originally planned, but why not take advantage of an opportunity?