Early termination of lease with VWFS due to 'diesel gate'

[Andi]

Hi all,

I have a 2-year leased VW which I took delivery of in March 2015 (brand new). I have found that the engine is part of 'diesel-gate' and therefore will require the recall to reflash the ECU to reduce the NOx emissions.
My concern is that the new software will have to reduce the bhp and torque of the engine in order to ensure it meets the emission standards (else, why wouldn't they have just installed the correct software in the first place) and the car will be less powerful than I originally ordered.
Yes, I can choose to not get the software done, but I'm then left with a car which is emitting significantly more NOx than originally quoted, which is just as bad (I live in London, so I don't really wish to contribute significantly more than I thought I was).
Where do I stand on returning the lease? It's through VWFS (indirectly through a broker) and I don't want to leave VW entirely – but I'd rather change the car for another VW not affected by this issue – so ideally I'd like them to transfer the deposit to a new leave and start again (if not all, part of the deposit in goodwill).


What do you think are the chances?

I understand this is probably rather new ground for the automotive & finance industry to resolve, so I'm expecting my first attempt to be a straight "no" as it's never been a viable issue in the past.
Thanks.

[R0b]

Re: Early termination of lease with VWFS due to 'diesel gate'

I am guessing as with most claims that will be put in against VW is misrepresentation (I would assume fraudulent misrep given that they were aware of the circumstances but arguable and in ether way at least some kind of misrep) and potential compensation as a result. The gist of it will be that they've advertised the car being one thing I.e. Emissions, BHP etc and in fact it isn't and unless there is anything to the contrary within your contract I can't see them arguing this point. Just a point to note - misrepresentation can be excluded in a contract but fraudulent misrep can't.

One thing you might have to be careful of is if they do remap the ECU and hand it back and you carry on using/driving it the. It could be implied that you've accepted the changes and the lease carries on as normal. Your first port of call is to raise your concerns in writing and see where you go from there.