BGH on VW emissions scandal: New cars only under certain conditions

Do buyers of a VW with manipulated software have the right to have their vehicle replaced by a new car? Yes, judges the BGH – within certain time limits.

Customers of a new car with a manipulated diesel engine can generally request the successor model as a replacement. However, this only applies if you assert your claim against your seller within two years of the conclusion of the contract. That was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).

BGH weighs interests precisely

He thus sets a clear time limit for such demands. This is the only way to take into account the interests of both sides, explains Dietlind Weinland, press spokeswoman for the court. On the one hand there are the buyer’s interests in a new vehicle, on the other hand the interests of the seller: “The seller who would still have to deliver a completely new vehicle after eight years and thus have an immense financial outlay,” explains Weinland . Because the seller would only get a worn out car from the buyer in return. But with that he would have to reckon with an immense loss of money even after a very long time.

Plaintiff attorney: “We are shocked”

Several buyers had sued. In 2009 and 2010 you bought new cars with an impermissible defeat device. It was only after about seven years that they asked their sellers to replace them with a new vehicle. At this point in time, the original models were no longer being produced. The buyers refused a software update. The sellers refrained from invoking the statute of limitations.

After today’s decision by the Federal Court of Justice, however, it is clear that the buyers have requested replacement too late. Ralf Sauer, a plaintiff’s lawyer, reacts in consternation: “I can’t understand it, we are actually shocked.” For all other affected diesel drivers in comparable cases, the following applies: Only those who request a new vehicle as a replacement within two years of the conclusion of the contract are entitled to the successor model.

File number: VIII ZR 254/20 and others