Recently we received VW’s TDI Customer Goodwill package in the mail.
-$500 Visa card
-$500 VW dealership card
-Roadside assistance for three years
To activate the cards the registered owner must take the package to a Volkswagen dealership, with proof of ownership, driver’s license, and the car. After the vehicle’s odometer is recorded and eligibility confirmed, the goodwill package is activated. Our loyalty cards are good through December 2016.
Because I perform the routine maintenance on our Jetta Sportwagen TDI, the $500 dealer monies will be used to purchase oil and filters, or maybe a set of tires. We will definitely spend it on wear items we can use beyond 2016.
Based on a few reports and commentaries I’ve read, some of the VW faithful are very angry about this diesel debacle. My wife and I are not pleased, but we’re also not worked-up about the situation. Resale value may have fallen—likely this will be temporary—but our car is the same, runs well and fits our needs, we still enjoy owning it, and have no plans for a replacement. Granted this is a long-range view, and if we were planning to sell or upgrade soon we’d be upset. Some think the $1,000 is far too little and should be thousands. Instead of three years of roadside assistance I’d rather have extra years of bumper-to-bumper warranty, which would cost Volkswagen more.
Is there a better, manual transmission economy car available in the USA that’s so fun to drive? Nope. A contrary view is that our car has become more valuable, and is essentially irreplaceable because these little diesel cars have not been sold for several months, and it will likely be many more before (if?) they are sold again. Barring any major reliability failures, we look forward to the next 10 years and 150,000 miles.
© 2016 J. Langan/RoadTraveler/PhotoWrite