Beyond working on a number of different fixes for its various models which cheated diesel emissions testing, Volkswagen is also offering a comprehensive buyback scheme in the United States.
The scheme allows owners of affected VW models to simply return their vehicles to dealerships in exchange for a check for the market value of the car prior to the scandal breaking.
While many owners probably would have preferred for the scandal not to break, VW’s rather generous buyback scheme may please many. And as it turns out, a number of owners are making the most of it as well.
As reported by Jalopnik, the buyback scheme only stipulates that a vehicle has to be “operable” for it to be returned. That simply means that its 2.0-liter TDI engine needs to be functional and able to drive the car.
With this in mind, one Reddit user recently decided to completely remove the front fascia and headlights of his Golf TDI before returning it. Much to his delight, the vehicle was accepted and he was handed a neat check for $21,436.
Based off the stipulations of the buyback scheme, it seems that every panel of the vehicle can be removed and it will still be accepted, allowing owners to earn some decent money from selling the second-hand parts.
While it is unclear just how many owners will decide to strip down their cars before turning the keys over, I know what I’d be doing if I owned an affected Golf or Jetta…
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