7 replies to this topic

[jane]

Hi, i am considering getting a motobility car - it seems like a good deal are there any cathches?

[Deej]

Hi, I have had Motability cars for the last 12 years and have always found it to be a good scheme. Actually it is better now than it was years ago. Now the scheme even includes some basic adaptations (e.g. push/pull hand controls) in the price, which you used to have to pay extra for. It includes servicing, insurance, breakdown cover. The selection of automatic cars on the scheme is wider now, but often still requires a deposit to be paid.
I do a lot of driving so need a car and if I was to buy a car, insure it etc. myself I'm sure it would cost more than what is paid to Motability from my DLA. However, if you don't do many miles per year you have to decide if it is worth losing your mobility money for.

Good luck.

[Adrian]

I agree with Deej, it's a good scheme if you do the miles to warrent a new car every 3 years. But if you only do 4-5k miles a year, like me, it seems very expensive.

Also note that if you need an automatic you'll probably need an aditional deposit, or more correctly an up-front payment, and for something like my last ford focus was about £750 iirc. I didn't realise that they now include basic hand controls with the scheme but they are only £300-£350 anyway so not a big deal. Servicing is an average of £150-200 a year so not a big expence either, insurance and breakdown cover say another £200-400 per year depending on the car you have.

I left the scheme last year and bought myself a Golf, being disabled and needing adaptions to the car you can get any new car without VAT - so a 17.5% saving on a new car price right there!

Also when I did have a motabitlity car they were very particular about damage. What I would expect to be wear and tear they considered damage, after all I do have to get a wheel chair in and out of the car about a thousand times a year so it's bound to get a few knocks - but in my experience they wanted it returned in pristen condition - not sure what it's like now though.

I don't think i'll ever got back to scheme, never say never though but for me it wasn't worth it.

[wheels5894]

I used Motability for a while but found them exceptionally annoying with inspections. The reason for this is that I can't get the cars I want in the small town where I live so it is either a 35 mile round trip in one direction of 60 miles in the other. That meant that I wasted a good half day for each inspection and they never came at the same time as services.

of course they are also very fussy about the most minor stone chips and things so it can be a bit expensive if you have these sorts of damage. Some people I have met on forums complain that damage to the vehicle by vandals at night resulted in lots of repairs and cost as well as losing the car while the job is done.

2 cars ago we went to look at the Renault Kangoo - a handy car for loading as the back door slides back and the chair ce easily be put on the back seat. After talking to the salesperson we joined the Renault Selections scheme which is a bit like Motability though repairs and insurance are the responsibility of the owner and not Renault. Just having hand controls means the car is VAT free so anything you have done - tyres, repairs etc are VAT free too. At the end of the lease you get cash back representing the value of the vehicle to go elsewhere or buy another Renault.

We do about 12,000 miles a year - the travel anywhere out of town is a longish drive - and the scheme seems to work well for us and no annoying Motability. We now have the second vehicle in the scheme and are very pleased.

All in all, I would not go back to Motability just because of their fussiness.

[Lucydog]

I got my car from motability just before Christmas and so far Ive found it very good. I liked it because it was hassle free and I got my car in just over 2 weeks with the adaptations. The service was very good. I got a Nissan note which is a nice size car and required no deposit, its an automatic too. I have hand controls and a steering knob added. As I dont have the best of credit it was perfect, no credit checks, you just need to have 2 years to run on your DLA I think. I think its probably a great scheme if finances are limited. I could never afford a new car otherwise, now they just take my DLA, I dont have to think about it, and that covers tax, insurance, servicing, repairs, breakdown cover and anything else you can think of. My husband is even insured and he only has a provisional licence at the moment. Id say have a look at the motability website and see if you like any of the offers there. You can search in a variety of ways. Then chose a couple and go and see if you like them. I suspect its down to the service from the dealer you get, mine has been great, I couldnt have asked for better.
As for the mileage my gripe is you done get enough!! You can do 45000 in the 3 years, well Ive done 12000 already in 7 months! However Im sure its enough for most people, I just happen to live in the middle of no where!.
PM me if you want to chat further, Id say give it a go.

[wheels5894]

Lucy,

You have made the one point I forgot - mileage. if you live in a city or large town then the mileage ought to be fine, but live in the country miles just pile on. I had to almost stop using a vehicle I had from Motability to make sure the mileage didn't o over 12,000 becase, at that time, one had to pay a mileage charge at the end of each yaer if the mileage was over 12,000. of course if, when the car went back, if the mileage was no more than 36,000 you gat the cash back!c

My mileage this year on the new Kangoo, from January, is getting on for 8,000 so we are going to have to watch it as I think our selections deal likes it back with not too much mileage though the only penalty is a lower price when changing.

[Lee]

Ive personally had bad experience with motobility and wouldnt touch them.

[Chrisonwheels]

I'd never use Motability. I bought a new Focus Automatic; negotiated a discount by ringing several garages and playing them off each other, The price dropped from £15,400 to £12,700. By time the VAT came off the final price was less than £11,000 OTR.
Motability charge very high interest rates; you can halve your payments by using a bank. They may demand that the car is returned to original spec at your expense after a lease period. You will always lose money through depreciation. RAC cover is not expensive if you are disabled.
At the end of the day they employ a lot of able-bodied people to process paperwork; they are all paid from disabled peoples' benefits.
I believe it to be one of the biggest scams going that exploits disabled people.
On the other hand, some people like it because they find it 'easy'. Reminds me of that debt reconsolidation advert where the obese couple are sat on the settee saying 'We used this service because we saw the advert on telly and all we had to do was to pick up the phone'...
You pays yer money and takes yer choice...