Just a disappointment before we start: you can’t apply this story to drive a brand new Audi A6 yourself for two years for free. These two scenarios are the result of a perfect coincidence, coupled with one of the biggest scandals in modern automotive history. An employee of a Canadian Audi dealer told the entertaining story on Reddit.
First the man who, with a bit of guts, could drive an Audi A6 for free for two years. At the end of 2015, a certain Dean walked into the showroom for a test drive with an Audi A6 TDI. At the time, the brand was still fully committed to the so-called Clean Diesel technology with fantastically low emission values. We know what you’re thinking – just be patient. He took a test drive and was completely sold. Back at the showroom, he made a $1,000 deposit on the car.
But then came the Judgment Day for the Volkswagen Group. Dieselgate came into play and all TDI sales were suspended until there was more clarity. The manager of the Audi dealer thought it would blow over and gave the A6 to Dean with a simple loan contract, but without a sales agreement. He was allowed to drive the car until the sales freeze was lifted.
Dieselgate lasted so long that the Audi A6 TDI was forgotten
The whole emissions scandal took a lot longer than everyone at the dealership had hoped. Meanwhile, the Audi dealership manager retired and the workforce also changed. Dean’s situation was quietly forgotten, but he still drove happily in the Audi A6 TDI. And a lot too. You must have some guts to keep your mouth shut for two years.
Anyway, two summers later the phone rings at the dealer. It was one Dean who wanted to bring back his Audi A6 TDI. That happened more at that time, because Audi had lost a lawsuit in America and had to buy back the TDIs. The employee told Dean to go to the website and arrange with Audi to get his money back.
There was no need – Dean just wanted to return the car to the dealer. Imagine that as a dealer employee you get on the phone with someone who wants to hand in his car without payment – then you’ll be surprised. Nobody knew that there was still a potential customer driving around in an Audi A6 from the dealer. Everyone had long forgotten about the car.
Dean had already driven almost 80,000 kilometers
After a lot of searching, an old loan contract from Dean was found somewhere in the archives. The man had been silently driving the A6 all this time, no less than 78,000 kilometers. He had even been to the dealer a few times for service. Now that the dieselgate lawsuits were over, he thought it was a good time to hand in the car.
The dealer tried to sell him the car, but Dean didn’t want to. After two years he had decided that a Mercedes suited him better. They were allowed to keep the $1,000 deposit from him. And so, thanks to the emissions scandal and some workforce changes, Dean drove a brand new A6 for free for two years.
Another A6 drove 288,000 kilometers for free
Incidentally, this is not the only free Audi in America. on the forum Audizine let one Kevin know that he got $76,098 for his 2015 Audi A6 TDI, while at the time he paid $75,519 for the new car. In those seven years he drove no less than 288,000 kilometers. Well, he must have carried away some money for maintenance, but his depreciation was positive.
For starters, he postponed the recall for updating the software for as long as possible. Right at the last minute, he returned his car for the emissions update. Apparently there is a rule in America that if a car is in the garage for more than 30 days after the emissions update, the company has to buy the car back. And that’s exactly what happened.
The man chose to trade in the car and in the summer of 2021 he ordered a new A6. Due to the delivery problems, he had to wait another year for his car, which allowed him to continue driving in the TDI. He drove a total of 288,000 kilometers and seven years in the diesel, which he then happily handed in with 500 dollars.
Even someone with two left hands can do this
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