$8,500 Discounts on VW Diesels

"Brand New" 2015 Volkswagens equipped with 2.0-liter diesel engines are slowly trickling back onto dealer lots - after having met government requirements to modify and fix the engines. This will likely be the last opportunity to purchase a new VW diesel, so if you're dead-set on doing so, I have some good news and bad news...

First, the good news: CarsDirect has confirmed there are large hidden incentives available on the 2015 2.0-liter diesel Beetle Coupe/Convertible, Golf, Golf SportWagen, Jetta and Passat:

• $5,000 plus 0% financing for up to 72 months when purchased
• $8,500 plus 0% interest rate when leased for 24 months

These hidden deals are not being advertised, but are available until May 31st.

Now the bad news...

First, not all dealers are passing the hidden incentive onto consumers - they're listing the vehicles at MSRP. This is because these vehicles are still trickling into dealer lots at the moment, which means low supply.

However, there are some dealers that are listing the full $5,000 discount off MSRP plus more, you just have to contact several dealers and make sure to shop bids around. Use my negotiation method to squeeze out the full savings.

The other "bad" news is that VW is not including Audi diesels as part of the hidden incentive. They do have low APR offers for those vehicles, but no hidden rebates.

My advice

I recommend you start contacting dealers now, get initial bids, and open a line of communication - then wait for more of these models to start hitting dealer lots. I'm sure as the supply increases, more and more dealers will be offering the full discount. The best-case scenario will be dealers have a hard time getting rid of the remaining ones, and prices will hit rock-bottom at the end of May. There's always a chance these models end up selling better than expected and you're left with minimal options if you wait, but if you keep a close eye on things, you should be good.

As always, I recommend using TrueCar No Haggle, CarsDirect and RydeShopper to see the lowest prices your local dealers are willing to offer.