Car_and_Driver_USA_July_2017

that is extended to the greater of either 11 years or 162,000 miles
from new, or five years or 60,000 miles from the date of the recall
service. Volkswagen needs some manufacturing lead time, so the
second phase of the recall won’t start until early 2018. But in late
March, Volkswagen got the go-ahead for its dealers to resume selling
2015 TDIs equipped with the new software, including some
brand-new leftovers. Shortly thereafter, we conducted our testing—with
VW’s blessing—seeking to determine whether the fix
carried any downsides or performance penalties that might be felt
by owners of repaired cars.
up waste gases with catalytic converters,
particulate filters, and diesel exhaust fluid
(DEF), it is among the first batch eligible
for a fix—in this case, a software update to
both its engine and transmission computers.
This is per the emissions-modification
proposal that CARB and the EPA approved
Heavy Metal Parking
Lot: Rows of Volkswagen
diesels parked
at the abandoned
Silverdome led the city
of Pontiac to sue the
owners of the property.
on January 6, which also covers 2015 Beetles, Golfs, Jettas, and
Audi A3s with 2.0-liter TDI engines, some 67,000 total vehicles.
A second phase of the third-gen recall will involve dealers fitting
replacements for the entire emissions system, including a new
diesel-particulate filter, diesel-oxidation catalyst, and selective
catalytic-reduction converter. A second NO x sensor downstream
of the catalyst also will be added, allowing the emissions system to
operate in an improved, closed-loop mode thanks to another forthcoming
software update. These new parts should ensure that the
system functions correctly for at least 150,000 miles, and it will be
monitored by the EPA and CARB through further testing over the
next five years, an extension of the one year VW would normally
be required to conduct an In-Use Verification Program of spotchecks
of randomly selected customer vehicles.
Owners will benefit from a transferable emissions warranty
> STOPWATCH SAYS
Since Volkswagen is legally prohibited from allowing any of these
TDI buybacks back on the road until their software has been
reflashed, our Passat was delivered with the new software. Subjective
driving detected no anomalies in its operation—not that we
anticipated finding any. VW is telling owners to expect few to no
driving differences outside of improved accelerator response and
slightly different shifting behavior on automatic vehicles. Neither
fuel economy nor performance should be affected. However, owners
are warned of the possibility of up to 14 percent higher consumption
of DEF, depending on driving style.
That’s the most appreciable change brought about by the software,
which will also have been stripped of the defeat device code
that triggered different emissions calibrations for dyno emissions
testing and on-road driving. “For the most part, it’s the dosing
strategy for DEF” that allows cars with the new software to reduce
emissions, says VW senior manager of regulatory affairs, Rob
Sutschek. No changes were made to other engine operating parameters,
he says, specifically naming boost pressure, exhaust-gas
recirculation scheduling, fuel-rail pressure, and injection timing.
Which would indicate that at least for the third-generation diesels,
the main benefit VW gained by cheating was merely stretching the
DEF refill interval to coincide with a 10,000-mile oil change.
It’s worth noting that the fixed gen-three cars will not, in fact,
be certified to the same emissions standards (federal Tier 2 Bin 5
TDI PROFITEERING
HOW SOME SAVVY WHEELER-DEALERS CASHED IN ON DIESELGATE.
As get-rich schemes go, this one was
fairly foolproof. All it took was a close
reading of the Volkswagen settlement and
some capital for a few astute individuals—
and, rumor has it, a handful of non-VW dealerships—to
cash in on the TDI buyback
program, creating a homegrown VW diesel
trade that fattened a few pockets. Several
months ago, you too could have picked up a
used diesel-powered VW for well below
book value, then sat on it for a bit before
turning it in to VW for the buyback money.
Sometimes the payoff would be only a few
thousand dollars, but one buyer who got the
system wired, and who talked to us only on
the condition of anonymity, claims to have
made around $20,000 on some vehicles.
The $10 billion buyback and restitution
program kicked off in November 2016, part
of Volkswagen’s larger $15 billion TDI settlement
that also includes fines and environmental
remediation. The buyback is meant
to put cash in the pockets of aggrieved VW
customers. However, it also requires those
owners to read and comprehend a fairly
arcane system that calculates how much
VW will pay for the car plus a second compensation
payment, both varying based on
model, year, and mileage. This has translated
into opportunities for those paying
attention, as the amounts work out to well
above what these cars would fetch on the
open market under normal circumstances.
Our anonymous source, whom we found
through a Reddit thread, says he bought
scandal-affected VWs and Audis from all
over the country, mostly from dealers and
auctions, collecting 27 vehicles. “I was the
original owner of a 2011 2.0, and that’s what
turned me on to it,” he says. “In June of last
year, I started reading about the buyback
and it looked like a good opportunity, so I
borrowed whatever money I could get my
hands on and started buying the cars.
“I have more than $400,000 invested,
and the profits are variable, but my overall
profit margin is going to be between 45 and
50 percent,” he says.
As shady as this might sound, it’s legal
according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Unless, of course, the buyer lies to the seller
about the details of the buyback program to
get a lower price. That’s fraud. Our source
says he checked with his state’s department
of motor vehicles to make sure he is aboveboard
with state regulations. Because he’s
treating diesel trading like any other investment,
a CPA ensures his tax compliance.
Before you cash in your 401(k) to
become a TDI flipper, understand that if
you’re just learning about this now, you’re
too late. Although it’s still possible to buy a
TDI and submit a buyback claim before the
September 1, 2018, cutoff, the cheap cars
are gone, and the money-making days are
well over. —Benjamin Preston
052 . FEATURE . CAR AND DRIVER . JUL/2017