  In the light of new experimental evidence we study the insulating ground
state of the $3d^2$-transition metal trihalides VX$_3$ (X=Cl, I). Based on
Density Functional Theory with the Hubbard correction (DFT$+U$) we
systematically show how these systems host multiple metastable states
characterized by different orbital ordering and electronic behaviour. Our
calculations reveal the importance of imposing a precondition in the on site
$d$ density matrix and of considering a symmetry broken unit cell to correctly
take into account the correlation effects in a mean field framework.
Furthermore we ultimately found a ground state with the $a_{1g}$ orbital
occupied in a distorted VX$_6$ octahedra driven by an optical phonon mode.
