VW Engine Parts Could Be About To Get Way Cheaper Thanks To Dieselgate

As Volkswagen USA gets ready to pay out millions of dollars to buy back cars from misled owners, there could be a massive glut of spare parts entering the market – pushing prices into the ground.

It’s not surprising that most American owners of Volkswagen and Audi 2.0-litre diesel cars are deciding to force the companies to buy them back. As of October 18th some 340,000 had submitted the forms starting the process.

That’s three-quarters of all US-based owners of those cars, and the number will only rise. The remaining owners have another 22 months in which to send the forms if they want to, and VW will be fined yet again if it doesn’t buy back at least 85 per cent of the total. Owners will each be paid between $12,500 and $44,000 depending on the model, age and trim of their car, plus their region.

But once VW has them back, it’s not allowed to resell or export them as working vehicles (yet), so breaking them down for spare parts is likely to be the way the company goes. With Europe the world’s diesel heartland it’s entirely possible that hundreds of thousands of engine blocks, turbochargers, radiators, intercoolers, pistons, gaskets and drive shafts, not to mention wheels, panels, seats and so on, could make their way to greener pastures.

The ECU, diesel oxidation catalyst and the diesel particulate filter must be destroyed by EPA mandate.

The company won’t know whether it can repair and resell the rejected diesels until the end of next year, until when they’re scheduled to be kept at undisclosed locations. Breaking cars for spares will reduce the painful financial impact and limit the bad news for Volkswagen.

If you’d never thought about a project using a diesel, now could be the time to start…

Source: Car and Driver