Hi @glos Guy i phoned motability recently about my car and the fact that we are being crippled by the running costs, and this sharan just drinks petrol 1.4tsi engine, I even explained that the vw dealer said because there’s not a lot of miles on my old car I don’t need a diesel, we just came out of lockdown and vw didn’t let me think long enough about what mileage I would do, 21 plate picked up march 2nd already 8,000 miles cost of petrol well over 1,000 already, motability just responded with take it to vw to be checked over, well they did that no faults found now stuck in a position where I just can’t afford to run it anymore. I want my dirty diesel back!
Hi Newbie1892 – Sorry to hear about your situation. In Motability’s defence, I think that your situation might be a bit different. Your annual mileage has become quite high since March and neither Motability nor your supplying dealer would have known that was going to be the case. Everyone’s mileage was very low over the year of lockdowns, but you are the only one who would have had knowledge of what your ‘normal’ annual mileage was, or would be. Even if a dealer suggested that a petrol car would be fine for you, ultimately it is your responsibility to do your research and order the most appropriate car for your needs. Others can advise, but the decision is yours and yours alone. So, saying that you didn’t realise that you were going to be a high mileage driver, or you rushed into the wrong decision, isn’t the fault of the dealer or Motability.
However, in other respects your situation is the same as Brydo, in that you both regret ordering what you did. Brydo is the biggest fan of EV’s on this forum (and is always telling us all why we should have one) yet, for some reason, ordered probably the most thirsty petrol SUV on the scheme (in his defence, there probably wasn’t a suitable SUV EV that was big enough for wheelchair users at the time he ordered – there still isn’t, as far as I know). Whilst the vast majority of cars return far less than their stated mpg in real world driving, some fall woefully short. As far as I know, Brydo’s Volvo XC40 B-4P falls into that category and therefore I think that his strongest argument (if he wishes to leave the scheme) is to say that the running costs are significantly more than he had calculated based upon Volvos figures (which are also quoted on the Motability website car search tool). He couldn’t have reasonably predicted that, so has not ended up with what he ordered in good faith. It’s probably borderline, but I think is a reasonable reason to seek an early termination as long as he uses that argument alone and not that he regrets not ordering an EV.
So, in summary, if your Sharan is returning significantly less mpg than is stated and VW cannot find a fault, I would call Motability again and tell them this and that you cannot afford to run the car and would like the option to change. I would avoid mentioning the mileage issue, as they can say that was your fault that you didn’t do your homework. Good luck and I hope that you get a resolution.