In the UK 508,276 Volkswagens, 393,450 Audis, 131,569 Skodas, 79,838 VW vans and 76,773 Seats – roughly 10% of the country’s diesels are to be recalled by the manufacturers due to ‘Diesel Scandal’ that has hit the press this week.
VW have indicated they will be fixing the issues however such repairs/changes may result in reduced fuel efficiency and increased CO2 emissions which in turn may impact upon the Vehicle Excise Duty payable and other associated costs. In other words it’s catch-22 whatever the manufacturers do.
Car Industry insiders/experts have indicated owners would have good grounds to sue the manufacturer for the false numbers along with compensation for the drop in their vehicle’s resale value.
Alongside this compensation, many have talked about further compensation to cover the difference in cost (normally £1000-£3000) for picking a ‘clean’ diesel engine.
To put any minds at ease, VW have stated “…all vehicles are technically safe and road worthy.”
How do I find out if my car is one of the unlucky ones?
- Find out your VIN – Vehicle Identification Number. This is often found in your logbook, owners manual, somewhere under the bonnet near the front/side, front interior dash
- Use this website to enter your VIN or Contact your dealer and give them your VIN number, although we suggest waiting a little longer before all the facts have come out + I think most dealers don’t know themselves what is happening yet
- VW have said it would contact owners to arrange for their cars – fitted with EA189 engines after 2009 – to be “corrected”. No mention from the other companies, however remember Audi, Skoda & Seat are all owned by Volkswagen Group so most likely VW refers to them all
VW has estimated the cost of the scandal at £4.3billion, but experts believe it could go higher. The car company has indicated 11 million diesel cars globally are affected by the scandal.
Autocar magazine editor Jim Holder warned: “My advice to owners is not to expect large payments. “Expect some, but you won’t get rich.”
