Earlier this year, Volkswagen received the necessary approvals to begin fixing vehicles equipped with 2.0-liter diesel engines that had been modified to circumvent emissions testing. While older VW and Audi models with TDI powerplants continued amassing on vacant lots via its mandatory buyback program, 2015 MY units have begun undergoing engine control module alterations.
Those vehicles are now back on sale and Volkswagen is offering them with a considerable discount attached, though the manufacturer hasn’t made a peep about the deal. Instead, the automaker is leaving it to dealers to break the news — or not.
Volkswagen’s website has been free of any diesel-related content since the emissions scandal took hold, and the company is allowing dealerships to decide how best to market the incentives. However, if you’re in the market for a “new” 2015 diesel VW with a reflashed ECM, they can be found with discounts of up to $8,500 — with zero-percent financing.
The window appears to be rather short, though. CarsDirect confirmed that the allotted period for the deal only runs from April 14th to May 31st of this year.
That applies to 2.0 liter TDI-equipped Beetles, Golfs, SportWagens, Jettas and Passats. Qualified buyers can see zero percent APR for up to 72 months plus a $5,000 finance bonus, and lessees can see $8,500 in incentives in addition to promotional factors equivalent to zero-percent financing over 24 months. While Audi is also running below-average financing options for its fixed 2015 TDIs during the same time frame, it doesn’t appear to be providing any cash back.
However, with VW running silent on the matter, some dealerships are listing the 2015 diesels at or near MSRP. Supplies of new TDIs may be extremely limited, but a price tag anywhere near suggested retail means the seller has essentially ignored the factory discounts. If you want those incentives, you may have to fight for them — VW has no intention of spreading the word.
“We will not be advertising the available incentives from our financing arm as they [sic] vehicle availability will vary per dealership,” VW spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan told CarsDirect.
Then again, you may want to reconsider shopping for a fixed diesel altogether. We reported on a batch of repaired European TDIs were tested last month and the results pointed to an overall reduction of performance and a new torque curve biased toward higher engine speeds. While that might not be enough to change your mind if you’re dead-set on purchasing one of the very last diesels Volkswagen likely ever to produce, it may be another bargaining chip to use against the dealer.
Just make sure you also mention those incentives nobody is talking about.
“One of the very last diesels Volkswagen [is] likely ever to produce” — nope. Just over there in the United States of Overreaction.
Read my mind.
“if you’re dead-set on purchasing one of the very last diesels Volkswagen likely [is] ever to [import]”
@Ermel: The decline of diesel is inevitable and would have happened a lot earlier if some European countries didn’t offer tax incentives at the pump. However, now that some European cities are setting deadlines for banning diesel cars, the writing is on the wall. Without the tax subsidy, diesel offers no advantage over modern gasoline engines but produce a lot more emissions. The VW scandal didn’t cause the decline of diesel – it’s just speeding up the process by highlighting the pollution problems.
NO, NO, NO, NO, you’re going against the anti-government damn regulations I don’t want clean air rants. Now breathe in that particulate matter deep. I hear the skies in Beijing are gorgeous this time of year.
VW diesels are absolutely done in the U.S. for the foreseeable future — but VW’s global fleet should become gradually de-dieselized too. Several major cities are trying to outright ban any newly produced autos burning Satan’s fuel, regulations are poised to kill it off, and China hardly bothers with the stuff.
Unless there is a major change in global trends, I see diesel being reserved solely for commercial trucks in the very near future.
@Matt Posky,
No they are not. ” burning Satans fuel” applies to diesel and Gas engines. Both are banned on some days in certain European cities
VW is not becoming ” increasingly de-dieselized” in fact it has been introducing new diesels. There are no gas commercial vehicles in Europe or anywhere else outside of NA, that includes Vans and Trucks.
VW has been building EV cars and SUV’s how successful is another point.
Porsche wants to retain V8’s, but will have too make them hybrids
I wish some the NA contributors had not such a blinkered, limited view of the non NA Automotive scene. If you believed the hype and coverage about EV’s it would appear 80% of NA uses EV’s
We’ll see about that. The direct-ignition petrol engine is not without its environmental problems either, you know. Sure, there is a certain push away from diesel and towards petrol by European lawmakers too, but I strongly suspect that part of that is just to help the car industry — it’s hardly the first time that last year’s environmental darling is this year’s beelzebub.
@Ermel
Exactly .Direct Injection Gas engines are major polluters of the environment. Particulates are a big problem. After combustion treatments for particulates?This will be fun for the US Pickup fraternity as , exhaust treatment will be expensive
Don’t worry about gas direct-injection engines, they’re exempt for the foreseeable future, when it comes to fine particulates.
Worse case, they’ll require a catalyst upgrade, and nothing like diesel emissions, urea injection, necessary additives, high maintenance, etc.
Worry about diesel cars. The point of having a diesel car is dying out quickly, especially in Europe where the diesel exhaust from millions of passenger cars is fast becoming public enemy #1.
Eventually, diesel cars in Europe will be as rare as hen’s teeth.
It’s a shame and I owned an early ’80s diesel car. I thought it was the greatest thing ever! Of course it was pre-emissions, dead simple, diesel fuel was a lot cheaper than gas, and its contemporary Malaise era, unleaded-gas cars sucked.
Things are a bit different today.
“Eventually, diesel cars in Europe will be as rare as hen’s teeth.”
Just like Pickups in the US. Particulate filters will make Gas engines very expensive.
” Exempt For the seeable future ” Mercedes and VW are introducing particulate traps for thei gas engines.
http://www.motoring.com.au/volkswagen-group-to-fit-particulate-filters-to-all-petrols-103349/
@Ermel
Very True. It appears VW Corporation including the VW Brand are on a roll, from a profit point
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/18/volkswagen-delivers-surprise-surge-profit-puts-dieselgate-scandal/
All the benefits of diesel cars have been steadily eroding, as they get excruciatingly complicated and very expensive to buy/own/operate.
Then there’s Europe. Cancer and other health problems linked directly to diesel exhaust are out of control, diesels are getting banned from key cities, diesel subsidies are going away, *real* (not fake) diesel emissions are on the way in…
So what do you THINK is gonna happen to diesel car sales in Europe?
Absolutely nothing.
Australian wisdom strikes again.
“Australian wisdom strikes again.”
Little trioll, having two bites of the cherry. Should stick to your other moniker
So what nations do these incentives apply to? There is no country specified.
‘Murica.
Crush the cars, take the engines and set up a business repowering 80s VW diesels for the nostalgia market. Even the strangled motors will feel powerful in an 80s Rabbit or a VW Caddy pickup.
Early ’80s GTI with TDI engine swap?
I’m intrigued.
I idly thought about a TDI swap for my 300D, back when I had it.
Even a 120-140hp TDI woulda been a huge step up from 76hp, and the emissions can’t have been *worse* than an OM617 with no emissions control *at all*, from 1976.
My dad had a mid-’80s 300 turbo-diesel – that one wasn’t bad when it came to acceleration.
But it sucked bad enough overall that he traded it…on a 190E. And he was 6’4″. Tell me how that relationship worked out…
Careful, one dare not speak against a W123/80s Benz Diesel.
Best selling taxi=none ever had issues that cost a crapton to fix. Ordering special hoses from Germany so I’m not losing more diesel than I’m burning is just part of the fun. So is ordering a package of ten oil pan bolts (because “that’s the way they come”) to find none fit. So. Much. Fun. Car sitting for weeks because I finally had the money to buy all the filters and oil for a servicing and the already stripped and ruined drain plug could not be reused.
You know how many drain plugs O’Rilies has to fit a 1980s-00s Ford V-6? Neither do I, but I’m quite certain more than 0.
I’m sure the parts are out there. But this was years ago and I had limited resources, and an old Mercedes diesel is not a good (only) car for someone who doesn’t. It took me damn near a unanimous vote in Congress for me to do simple repairs on that car. After I fixed the failed steering bracket, I put it up for sale and I haven’t missed it a bit.
Yes I know a lot of them lasted forever, and sooner or later some one will come along and say my example was a poorly maintained beater, which it was not, but that’s okay. You didn’t have to live with mine, I did and I stand by my decision to dump it while it still ran/drove.
Hardly Mercedes’ fault if metric nuts&bolts aren’t readily available in any self-respecting hardware store.
Just advertise them on Craigslist.
Yeah, why not? People get screwed literally and figuratively on Craigslist all the time.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but $8500 off a lease is a great starting point. A little negotiation would easily net $10k or more off MSRP.
Then, you get to turn the thing back in after 3 years without the ongoing headaches of future TDI resale value and maintenance.
Volkswagen Is Offering Huge Discounts on Repaired 2015 Diesel Models, but Isn’t Advertising It
Isn’t Advertising Them. Discounts is plural. Thank you.
Isn’t advertising it (the fact that discounts are offered).
The way the sentence is structured, I believe it’s plural.
These are on fixed vehicles, right? I.e. someone bought them, drove them for two years, then returned them for a big fat check, then VW fixed them, and is now reselling them?
If so, $8500 off MSRP doesn’t sound like a good deal, it just sounds like regular depreciation.
Or are these “new old stock” that were never sold but have been repaired?
SRH,
No these are the cars they were not allowed to sell is my understanding, 0 miles, this was my plan when I had my TDI wagon, sell mine back and buy a “new 15 TDI wagon” for a pretty low price. My plan got messed up by timing, sold my car back in Nov, no TDI to buy at that time so I moved on, to a car that gets about 15 miles MPG less. I do miss my TDI wagon but it made sense to sell it back, maybe I will go test drive a 15 and see if it is worth the hassles
These are all new old stock vehicles.
Please 15k off is a good starting point however I must admit that I would have prefered if they just crushed them.
Yeah, sure, because crushing brand-new cars is so great for the environment. There’s no pollution, energy, and problematic waste at all involved in producing new cars nor disposing of them at all, is there? ‘Course not. Right.
You don’t get to play the pollution card when you *literally started the discussion here* acting like getting these cars off the road was an overreaction. That takes some skill to talk out of both sides of your mouth like that. Politician, I’m guessing?
@quaquaqua: “You don’t get to play the pollution card when you *literally started the discussion here* acting like getting these cars off the road was an overreaction.”
You seem not to have understood that both these actions advocated here — firstly, to have all the Dieselgate VWs taken off the streets and best of all crushed, and secondly, to phase out diesels altogether — are nonsense environmentally. Thus, I do get to “play the pollution card”, because all I argue for is in fact less pollution. Just not in the way you expect.
First, let’s talk about what many here are in favour of: crushing those bad, bad polluters and be done with it. That’s ecological nonsense because, as I said, there is so much pollution (and materials, and energy, which all also translate to pollution in a way) stored in a car that it makes environmental sense to use it up as fully as possible, yes, even when it does pollute more than a new one. The figure I have in mind is something like 50% of a car’s lifetime ecological impact stems from making it, and disposing of it. That’s from the 1980s, admittedly, but with tailpipe emissions having gone down and electronics density having gone up, my bet is that by today it’s way, way more than that.
Second, there’s what VWoA does as a reaction to Dieselgate: phasing out diesel engines entirely. Fact remains, diesels are more efficient than petrol engines. Not just in miles per gallon, or miles per dollar, but in miles per joule of fuel energy spent. That gap is closing, but it is not yet closed. And the more it closes, the more problematic the petrol engines’ emissions become, thereby reducing their advantage in simplicity and cost.
Today, you cannot buy a petrol-engined car in Germany that will still be up to date, emissions-wise, two years from now. Not a single one; even the newly refurbished S-class Mercedes doesn’t offer the technology needed to comply with Euro 6c emission laws, not even if you’re willing to pay extra for that. It is entirely possible you’ll be denied entry to downtown Stuttgart in 2020 in your “2018 model”, $100k Mercedes. So that’s the clean engine tech of the future, is it? Right. Euro 6c diesels, on the other hand, are available. Even from Volkswagen.
So, do I think taking all the Dieselgate VWs off the road was an overreaction? I haven’t said so in my first post on this page, but why yes, yes I do. Sure, they needed to be fixed, and new ones needed to be changed so as to honestly comply with regulations; no question about that. But forcing VW to buy them all back, thus ramming billions of dollars down the throats of their owners, was idiotic. Let them remain on the roads until the fix is ready, compensate the owners for *actual* losses in their value, and use the leftover money to do ecological good in other ways like maybe updating the emissions tech on a powerplant or ten, or even something as mundane and low-tech as planting trees. I daresay a couple dozen billion dollars’ worth of that would’ve netted a much bigger pollution reduction than replacing almost-new cars with brand-new ones that use more fuel.
Finally, why do you feel the need to insult me by calling me a politician? You could not be more wrong.
If VW cared about its customers, it would publicize this, rather than leaving people at the mercy of dealerships.
Glad I didn’t go for a VW with my recent purchase.
Yeah, what an appalling decision, to let their already contemptible dealership network screw their customers even further. Dealers love to hide the cash back, I’ve seen enough times.
“Look, we’re giving it to $100 under invoice!” – yeah, because they’re keeping the $2400 of the rebate money for themselves.
There’s hardly any screwing going on here, it’s all about supply and demand. There is a small supply of “new” 2015 TDIs available. There is a fair amount of demand available. VW has put incentives on the table if the dealers need help moving them, otherwise mum’s the word. Based on what I’ve been seeing on TDI forums, the more desirable models (higher trim levels, manual transmissions, and any wagon) are selling like hotcakes, even without incentives. The TDI enthusiasts can’t wait to get their hands on the “last TDIs to be sold new in the US”. If there is that much demand and so little supply, why should they discount them at all? If they can unload them all at full MSRP (and that is the case for many of these cars) then why knock $5k off the top before getting any offer?
That’s a very myopic approach, that too many dealers take.
Dealers are bad at “can” vs “should”, and the result is that they are one of the only businesses where customers show zero loyalty.
Dealers are advertising 2015 iron at basically full MSRP?
Wow, P.T. Barnum was right. Why yes I want to buy an asset that is already depreciated worse than a Nissan Altima S after it had done 2 years of rental car duty, AND pay full retail for the privilege.
This.
For a steep discount, yes. The dealers should have a giant $8500 OFF! 0%/72!! sign on each one.
I bet they’ll make more off the repeated service visits because the emissions system wasn’t designed to function all the time, and because VW.
I searched Autotrader for 2015 VW diesels within 100 miles of Richmond, VA (covers D.C. and Virginia Beach which typically are more VW-friendly). There were 25 results, zero manuals, and the cheapest were $2k off MSRP. The cheap ones were at dealers I’ve never heard of at the fringes of the search radius. They almost all touted 0.0% for 72 months.
If they GAVE me a car for nothing and a four year absolute bumper to bumper warranty, I might consider it. Maybe. And even then, only the Passat.
I’d be more interested in a discount like this with the 3.0 TDI, because then we are talking about the Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, A6, and A8.
Otherwise, pass.
FWIW, they don’t need to advertise this. I just called the three dealers within 100 miles of me, and almost every one of their new old stock TDI’s are already claimed, and they’re requiring $1,000 non-refundable deposits. There wasn’t a single manual trans car still available (my preference).
These are going to go FAST.
A bunch of people (myself included) liked their TDI’s, but the buyback was stupid money not to take. They’d happily buy another for this kind of discount.
And there’s the rub. TDI enthusiasts didn’t care about Dieselgate. They took the money and planned to flip into a new 2015 TDI all along, and there’s more of them than there are cars available. Supply and demand…
@notwhoithink
That is what has happened as regards the US. VW customers were waiting for the opportunity to get the money and buy a new VW
Just like our own Kyree!
Oh wait, didn’t buy another VW.
Is it too harsh or hasty for me to say that anyone who would eagerly buy a reflashed TDI with hobbled performance for MSRP when the same car with a superior turbo gas engine is available at discount is an absolute raging idiot?
“an absolute raging idiot”
The Jesuits of car guys.
I have a feeling these will largely be modified for “off-road use only”.
“but a price tag anywhere near suggested retail means the seller has essentially ignored the factory discounts.”
“Ignored”? No, the word you’re looking for is “absorbed”.
Checked the local VW website they have 4 of the Jetta Diesels automatic for $18k with 0% financing, but no mention of any rebates.
You have to be either completely uninformed or a masochist to buy one of these things. Perhaps both.
I tried to lease one. It is a lease to own where they want you to pay for 40% of the car in the 2 year lease period. the 33k MSRP SEL GSW was going to be over $500 per month after the $8500 discount. I am going back in to get my deposit today. VW is out of their minds again.
People are nuts/really stupid. Buying a 2 year old car for only $5000 off sticker is lunacy on its own.
Buying a 2 year old car with a very complicated emissions system that will never be sold in the U.S. again for a 5K discount is beyond words.
But to each their own I guess. I have no interest in participating in the insanity.