As much as I *love* theories like this, because they keep the fun alive, the truth is much much lazier.

VW should have said, “Sure, bring it in, here is your $100.” Then, when he got indignant about it, their legal stance would be more of the “Almost all of the vehicles we buy back are getting a fix, and resold. To resell this we will have to completely rebuild it.” Then hand him an itemized list for the repair of the…