Vauxhall Leasing Saga
Discussion
I wonder if anyone has any practical advice on this situation we’ve found ourselves in.
We took out a lease on a Vauxhall Astra EV Estate in September 2024, a two year deal ending in September 2026. The lease is through our LTD company, and thus is what’s known as an unregulated lease.
In August of 2025, the air con ceased to work. We booked it in and took it to our nearest franchised dealer and collected the courtesy car.
After a few days of not hearing anything from the garage, we phoned them and we were told that a software update went wrong, and that they ‘bricked’ the car.
We’ve had almost no communication from the garage, in spite of almost weekly promises of updates, everything we’ve garnered from the situation has been from us requesting updates.
They had said there was a long delay with parts, and the specific parts they required had to be coded to the car at the point of manufacture. This part, we believe, arrived with them before Christmas 2025.
As of January 2026, they called to say the car needed a test drive and a wash, then it’ll be ready. A day after that, they requested we drop off the 2nd car key to them as they were unable to start the car. We’ve had no update since.
Given that we’ve been without the car we’re paying for, for almost 6 months (25% of the lease agreement), is there any particular route of recourse that might yield success?
We still have their courtesy car - however, it’s not an EV so much more costly to run, and it’s a hatchback (not an estate).
I’m not 100% unappreciative of having the courtesy car, but at the same time it doesn’t seem unreasonable to have access to the size and spec of vehicle we’re paying for.
Vauxhall UK are aware of the situation, as is the leasing company. The leasing company have said, even though we can legally return the car early with a penalty, they can’t accept it back if it’s not functioning.
Any advice would be highly appreciated.
We took out a lease on a Vauxhall Astra EV Estate in September 2024, a two year deal ending in September 2026. The lease is through our LTD company, and thus is what’s known as an unregulated lease.
In August of 2025, the air con ceased to work. We booked it in and took it to our nearest franchised dealer and collected the courtesy car.
After a few days of not hearing anything from the garage, we phoned them and we were told that a software update went wrong, and that they ‘bricked’ the car.
We’ve had almost no communication from the garage, in spite of almost weekly promises of updates, everything we’ve garnered from the situation has been from us requesting updates.
They had said there was a long delay with parts, and the specific parts they required had to be coded to the car at the point of manufacture. This part, we believe, arrived with them before Christmas 2025.
As of January 2026, they called to say the car needed a test drive and a wash, then it’ll be ready. A day after that, they requested we drop off the 2nd car key to them as they were unable to start the car. We’ve had no update since.
Given that we’ve been without the car we’re paying for, for almost 6 months (25% of the lease agreement), is there any particular route of recourse that might yield success?
We still have their courtesy car - however, it’s not an EV so much more costly to run, and it’s a hatchback (not an estate).
I’m not 100% unappreciative of having the courtesy car, but at the same time it doesn’t seem unreasonable to have access to the size and spec of vehicle we’re paying for.
Vauxhall UK are aware of the situation, as is the leasing company. The leasing company have said, even though we can legally return the car early with a penalty, they can’t accept it back if it’s not functioning.
Any advice would be highly appreciated.
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