There will be a real decrease in power and fuel economy, and financial compensation is in order. Resale value will be down as well. The estimate now is for a total of $17 billion to correct the program.
Most countries will not be as pushy as the US, but Canada, Australia, most of Western Europe will cry foul (no pun intended), and demand full market value compensation.
Urea injection retrofits will cost about $300 per car, and this would apply to a significant number of models.
I read the $300/car was the incremental cost had they put it in on the assembly line when new. I bet the cost to retrofit (all together, including design/make/install) will be way more, don’t you think? And they’re saying new cat converters will also be required…$$$$$.
More examples of wait and see on resale values.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/no-impact-on-used-vw-dies/2181500.html
The person trying to trade in one VW diesel for two (probably not diesel) VWs sounds smart in trying to see if there was any gain to be made.
I wonder if there are people out there who will try to pick up affected diesels on the cheap hoping the VW settlements might give a windfall.
The TDI trade is a little early,@“Twin Turbo”. The dealer isn’t VW, and the manufacturer probably hasn’t provided guidance on how to proceed. A little patience is required to find out how VW will handle his TDI. We both know that’s difficult to do, but there aren’t alternatives just now.
Early because VW is still sorting through their options on how to get off with as little financial exposure as possible? 
Look, this guy has been a faithful customer of this dealership and VW for many years. He came back to the same duo even in light of the issue because it was time for him to upgrade, not because he is seeking a windfall.
Neither business stepped up to the plate even though he wanted to buy TWO brand new cars. The dealership is not VW, true. But they have sold him numerous VWs over the years and now when there is an issue, no one is willing to suck it up and help him out in any way.
The dealership doesn’t have to do this for every tom, dick and harry that walks in. But a long standing, good customer gets turned away because the dealership doesn’t want to go out on a limb AT ALL.
Now they simply lost him entirely. He will never be back. That is pennywise and pound foolish for the dealership IMHO…
I hope that guy traded that diesel VW in somewhere else, for a different brand new car
Neither business stepped up to the plate even though he wanted to buy TWO brand new cars. The dealership is not VW, true.
Maybe I am missing something, but how is a “not a VW” dealer selling brand new VW’s?
If I was an independent used car dealer I’d refuse to buy used TDIs. There’s just too much unknown about how all this is going to shake out.
I would expect dealers to put diesel trades on hold for a while, they would quickly run out of space to store these vehicles if they did not.
The VW dealer is not VW, in the sense that it’s a privately owned business
There are few dealers that are actually owned by the manufacturer
When I was at the Benz dealer, there was ONLY 1 Benz dealer in the USA that was owned by the manufacturer
All others were privately owned
The VW dealer is quite separate from VW corporate
And the employees at the dealer get treated like garbage, compared to employees who work at the manufacturer’s training center, factory, regional headquarters, etc.
Some dealership employees eventually quit and head over to the training center(s) because of the steady pay, less stress, and much better benefits
Maybe I am missing something, but how is a "not a VW" dealer selling brand new VW's?
My statement was in reference to the post by jtsanders immediately preceding mine where it was said:
The dealer isn't VW, and the manufacturer probably hasn't provided guidance on how to proceed.
Just as db4690 explained, they are separate companies, linked by the product. Even if VW isn’t willing to take this on a case by case basis, the dealership has an equal stake in it and probably should be doing something to retain their loyal customer base. Or not…and suffer consequences along with the manufacturer. I have bought other goods where the seller (not the manufacturer) stepped up and said, we’ll provide you a replacement while we sort this out with the manufacturer. I keep going back there because of that support…
I get it now, I was thinking something completely different. Thanks.
“the dealership has an equal stake in it and probably should be doing something to retain their loyal customer base. Or not…and suffer consequences along with the manufacturer.”
Yup!
When my '97 Outback showed signs of a breached head gasket (oil in the coolant, not coolant in the oil–luckily) when the car had accumulated over 120k miles, the dealership charged me only ~$300 for replacing both head gaskets and flushing the cooling system. I am still not sure of whether the dealership absorbed the entire cost, or if Subaru corporate kicked in the necessary bucks on this long-out-of-warranty car, but this positive experience caused me to return to that dealership for my next car.
Being treated like a valued customer goes a very long way when it comes to building loyalty.
But we’re talking about a used car dealer here, not a VW dealer, right?
A new car dealer with a franchise is very deeply tied in with the manufacturer in the franchise agreement, a long and complicated contract that tells the dealer what he can, cannot, and MUST do. These contacts go so far as to require dealers to purchase only the manufacturer’s parts through the manufacturer’s distribution system, require dealers to update dealerships to meet changing manufacturer standards (even when the cost is well in excess of $1million), approves the dealer location, and even requires the dealer to install manufacturer required computers and software that reports sales and financial activities directly to the manufacturer. The contracts even tie the dealership into manufacturer-determined quotas, controlling the product mix offered by the dealer.
A new car dealership is not your typical “owner operated” business.
Barky,I think I agree with you?MJ you certainly have some salient points about peoples priorities,depending on how they have to live,its not easy for everyone to have a perfect lifestyle(as I said before my background was the 2.5 World called Applachia(things a bit different in those Hollows) as someone said"were you stand on an issue,depends on where you sit"
“But we’re talking about a used car dealer here, not a VW dealer, right?”
No
The guy wanted to trade in a VW TDI for 2 new cars. Can’t be a used car dealer, I would think
That VW dealer just lost a customer, I would say
If I was that guy, I’d probably not go back there for service
And I wouldn’t buy my next new car there, either
these contacts go so far as to require dealers to purchase only the manufacturer's parts through the manufacturer's distribution system,
I know several dealers in NH and MA that don’t follow that rule. I’ve seen parts being delivered to the dealer from Sanal Brothers and Robins.
Apparently, there will be different fixes between the US and Europe. Kind of expected given different laws.
Timing of fixes will also differ.
No surprise there. It makes good business sense to to whatever is necessary to meet local laws. This fiasco will cost so much that doing anything extra could cause much more serious damage to the corporation. Remember that the customers are only one constituent group of the company. Others include shareholders, lenders, employees, and maybe the government.