Volkswagen of America is trying to curry favor with the 482,000 consumers stuck with emissions-cheating TDI models through a new "TDI Goodwill Program." According to The Truth About Cars, the campaign will take the form of a pre-paid card program.
Citing a dealership source familiar with the program, TTAC reports an official announcement will come on Monday and will see the company offer consumers two separate pre-paid cards. The first is valued at $500 and can be used anywhere – expect something like an American Express gift card – while the second card is good for $500 to $750, but can only be used at Volkswagen dealers. The Goodwill Program will be open to all four-cylinder TDI owners, regardless of whether they purchased new or used.
If a max of $1,250 sounds rather paltry for everything that's going on, well, it kind of is. But, as TTAC points out, when taken as a whole with VW's other initiatives, the company is throwing a fair bit of coin at its TDI owners. Dealerships are being subsidized by VWoA to accept TDI trade-ins at the same value they carried before the TDI crisis, TTAC points out. That should reassure owners who are worried about their TDI's resale value, while the additional $2,000 TDI loyalty bonus should also help take a big chunk of change off the purchase of a gas-powered VW. It's unclear if accepting these pre-paid cards will disqualify owners from taking part in class-action lawsuits.
Owners will be able to check their eligibility for the program on the VW Diesel Info website. According to TTAC, if they qualify, they'll be asked to register for future updates. We'll stay on this one and will have the official announcement for you on Monday.
Citing a dealership source familiar with the program, TTAC reports an official announcement will come on Monday and will see the company offer consumers two separate pre-paid cards. The first is valued at $500 and can be used anywhere – expect something like an American Express gift card – while the second card is good for $500 to $750, but can only be used at Volkswagen dealers. The Goodwill Program will be open to all four-cylinder TDI owners, regardless of whether they purchased new or used.
If a max of $1,250 sounds rather paltry for everything that's going on, well, it kind of is. But, as TTAC points out, when taken as a whole with VW's other initiatives, the company is throwing a fair bit of coin at its TDI owners. Dealerships are being subsidized by VWoA to accept TDI trade-ins at the same value they carried before the TDI crisis, TTAC points out. That should reassure owners who are worried about their TDI's resale value, while the additional $2,000 TDI loyalty bonus should also help take a big chunk of change off the purchase of a gas-powered VW. It's unclear if accepting these pre-paid cards will disqualify owners from taking part in class-action lawsuits.
Owners will be able to check their eligibility for the program on the VW Diesel Info website. According to TTAC, if they qualify, they'll be asked to register for future updates. We'll stay on this one and will have the official announcement for you on Monday.
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