It’s impossible to miss the emissions scandal currently rocking Volkswagen and with good reason. It is one of the biggest car scandals in recent memory and maybe of all time. And the fallout from the scandal will have far-reaching and serious effects on a global level. But, in case you have managed to miss all of the details, here is a quick recap: VW has installed software into millions of cars which allows them to beat emission tests. The software goes into effect during testing, lowering the vehicle’s emissions. And as soon as the testing is done the vehicle begins outputting pollutants that are far above the legal limit in America and likely other countries as well. VW advertised these cars as “clean” diesel vehicles. Consumers were told that they had fantastic gas mileage, great acceleration and were good for the environment. Now it is evident that only two of these selling points are true and there will be vast consequences because of this lie. VW has pledged to fix all of the affected cars and has set aside around 8 billion dollars to complete these fixes but the total cost to the company and the auto industry as a whole will be far greater.

These repairs will be carried out at no cost to the owners but there are plenty of ways they will likely be shafted down the line. First, whatever way VW decides to address this problem it will likely fundamentally change the way the car operates. They may make the car operate as it does during emissions tests all the time–which would lower its emissions but also lower its power and fuel economy. They haven’t fully outlined how they plan to retrofit the car but whichever way they go about it owners can expect a car that doesn’t perform as well as it had previously. So left with a car that doesn’t perform as well as advertised, isn’t as “green” as advertised, and gets far fewer miles per gallon. Faced with this it is only natural that some owners may decide to just sell their car and move on. But this is where the real problem for consumers rears its ugly head: resale value. All of the issues listed above with these models of VW cars is common knowledge. Add that to the stigma being applied to VW because of the scandal and you have a car you paid good money for that isn’t worth as much as it should be.

So what is a VW owner to do? Well VW is sure to be hit by class action lawsuits from all over the globe. And it is incredibly likely there will be one such suit which concerns the added cost of ownership. It will tackle issues such as an increase in fuel cost as well as lowered resale value. Unfortunately, there isn’t a guarantee that the suit will win or even if it does–that it will recoup VW owners on what they stand to lose. Whatever happens it seems like consumers will be left footing the bill.

Want to read more about this? Be sure to check out our piece on the Volkswagen scandal.

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