Used VW Prices Continue to Plummet

CARS.COM — It’s been about three and a half months since news broke about some Volkswagen diesel cars with illegal emissions technology, and the fallout continues to affect the used-car market as prices for these cars continue to slide.

Related: VW Diesel Crisis: Timeline of Events

2009-2015 VW Jetta TDI

Diesel Jetta sedan prices were hit hard in December, with certain model years losing as much value in one month’s time as they had in the previous two and a half months. The average seller-set price for a used 2015 Jetta TDI SE on Dec. 31 was 5 percent ($1,126) less than Sept. 15, but just a month earlier the average asking price was down 2.2 percent ($486). Other affected model years of the Jetta have lost even more value with the 2012 model losing the most; its average seller-set price on Cars.com has dropped 10.2 percent ($1,587) from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31.

2011-2014 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI

Values for the wagon body style of the diesel Jetta have tumbled more than any of the other affected models; seller-set prices for the 2013 Jetta SportWagen TDI are down 12.9 percent ($2,635) from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31. The 2014 and 2011 model years weren’t far behind, either, with values down 11.8 and 10 percent, respectively.

2010-2015 VW Golf TDI

Prices for the 2010 Golf TDI hatchback fell the most in December compared with the month before and are now 8.6 percent ($1,135) lower than on Sept. 15. Values for the 2013 version of the diesel Golf are down the most overall, declining 10.1 percent ($1,983) since Sept. 15.

2013-2015 VW Beetle TDI

Values for the 2013 and 2014 versions of the Beetle have fallen 10.7 and 7.4 percent, respectively, through December, but the 2015 model has fared much better; it’s down just 0.7 percent ($167).

2012-2015 VW Passat TDI

Values for all model years of affected diesel Passat sedans are lower since we last looked at November prices, and the 2014 version is down the most overall; its average price on Cars.com has dropped 11 percent ($2,470) since Sept. 15.

Is It a Good Time to Buy?

There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to these cars. We still don’t yet know what the fix will entail to bring them into emissions compliance or how that fix will impact performance, fuel economy or other factors. With that kind of uncertainty still swirling, it wouldn’t be surprising to see values fall further.

Source: Cars.com used-car listings, 2009 to 2015 model years