What Volkswagen owners need to know

It's a confusing time for Volkswagen owners who may be wondering what they need to know about their diesel engines.

Let's take a quick recap. In September, Volkswagen acknowledged it had tweaked the software in its 2.0-liter diesel engines to give false results when undergoing emissions testing so the vehicles could achieve better fuel economy and performance numbers.

The company hasn't come up with a solution to the problem — and that could take months to develop.

But it has come up with a financial mea culpa. It's offering owners $500 in cash (on a prepaid credit card) as well as $500 in credit to spend at a Volkswagen dealership (and Audi in certain instances). Owners will also get three years of free roadside assistance.

The cars included in the offer are the four-cylinder diesel versions of the 2009-2015 Jetta TDI, 2009-14 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI, 2010-15 VW Golf TDI, 2015 VW Golf SportWagen TDI, 2012-15 VW Beetle TDI and VW Beetle Convertible TDI and the 2012-15 VW Passat TDI. Owners of the 2009-15 diesel Audi A3 are also eligible to receive the offer.

The first thing Volkswagen owners need to do is take the cash, as the value of their cars has dropped. The $500 may not make up the difference, but will help a bit.

The $500 credit is worth it if you want to apply it to a new Volkswagen. Dealers are being held harmless for the trade-in of diesel models affected by the recall. Combine that with the $500 and owners could see some financial relief when purchasing a new gas Volkswagen.

One thing Volkswagen owners will have difficulty doing is selling their used vehicles privately as there has not been a meaningful market for them anywhere besides a Volkswagen dealership, at least until the fixes are figured out.

While the roadside service might come in handy, there is nothing mechanically wrong with the Volkswagens. They are still going to run the same presuming there are no unrelated mechanical issues.