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Motability Cars - Help if you need an Automatic Car

Tally-Ho_2
Tally-Ho_2 Posts: 369 Forumite
edited 27 October 2009 at 10:16PM in Disability money matters
My brother is in the process of ordering a new motability car. As he has only one leg amongst other injuries, he needs an automatic car. Previously he has paid the full advanced price for the car.

However, he was speaking with a chap who deals with war pensions on another forum, and as my brother gets the war pension allowance to pay for his motability car and as he needs an automatic car, he is entitled to a grant of upto £680 from the veterans agency to cover the cost difference between a manual version and an automatic version of the same car.

My brother had never heard of this before as he has always paid the full advanced price on his last two cars on the scheme. He rang up the veterans agency people who confirmed he was entitled to this grant. However he has been to car dealers in the last few days looking at cars and none of the salesmen were aware of this grant, or even mentioned it to him (only the chap at a Ford garage had heard of it once my brother asked about it, but he didn't know how it worked),

So, if any disabled people need an automatic motability car and use the war pension allowance to pay for it, it is worth asking about this grant. It is not means tested or anything and can be used against any automatic car, not just the cheapest so can reduce the advance price by quite a large amount.

I am not sure if there is anything like this for DLA customers but for those who get the war allowance, it is quite a large saving.

Tally

Comments

  • I have to have an automatic car and there are no extra allowances for this for those of us just on DLA
  • I have to have an automatic car and there are no extra allowances for this for those of us just on DLA

    The allowance apparantly only applies to those who receive the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. They can also get further non means tested grants for any adaptions needed (such as hand controls. left foot accelerators, electric seats, hoists and ramps etc) so if anyone does receive the War Pension Allowance it is really worth claiming the extra grants as it is not widely publicised that these grants are available and even a lot of car dealers are not aware of them.

    Tally
  • Paparika
    Paparika Posts: 2,481 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    I just got my automatic car 2 weeks ago, didn't know about this, but then again i don't get the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. just DLA

    but yes a good point, how many of our maturer forum users know about this.
    Life is about give and take, if you can't give why should you take?
  • Paparika wrote: »

    but yes a good point, how many of our maturer forum users know about this.

    Its not just the more 'maturer' forum users. My elder brother is only 31 and receives the War Pension Mobility Supplement following losing all his left leg and his right foot and ankle as well as breaking his neck and spine in a roadside IED incident in Iraq in 2005 whilst serving in the Army.

    There are quite a lot of younger War Pensioners who served and were severely injured during the Falklands War, Northern Ireland, The Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan etc.

    Tally
  • there is a grant availiable from war pension agency to cover the cost of addition allowance on a war pension but it is means tested. so basically need to be getting income support to get it
  • I have to have an automatic car and there are no extra allowances for this for those of us just on DLA

    I read somewhere that you can get a grant for your car to be addapted?
    I looked into this for my Mother in Law who just took delivery of her Mobility car a few weeks back.

    http://www.motabilitycarscheme.co.uk/main.cfm?Type=CFIS
  • I read somewhere that you can get a grant for your car to be addapted?
    I looked into this for my Mother in Law who just took delivery of her Mobility car a few weeks back.

    http://www.motabilitycarscheme.co.uk/main.cfm?Type=CFIS

    Motability are not in the slightest bit interested in this. Have tried this already! In fact I was told that I should have a car with a usual transmission - when I need an ankle replacement. Very thoughtful of them.
  • Paparika
    Paparika Posts: 2,481 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    Tally-Ho wrote: »
    Its not just the more 'maturer' forum users. My elder brother is only 31 and receives the War Pension Mobility Supplement following losing all his left leg and his right foot and ankle as well as breaking his neck and spine in a roadside IED incident in Iraq in 2005 whilst serving in the Army.

    There are quite a lot of younger War Pensioners who served and were severely injured during the Falklands War, Northern Ireland, The Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan etc.

    Tally

    Sorry Tally, I didn't think, i was just thinking about the maturer users, totally forgot about more recent wars Sorry again.
    I read somewhere that you can get a grant for your car to be addapted?
    I looked into this for my Mother in Law who just took delivery of her Mobility car a few weeks back.

    http://www.motabilitycarscheme.co.uk/main.cfm?Type=CFIS

    Nah, they really are not intersted, i had to find a further £200 for mine, they just didn't want to know
    Life is about give and take, if you can't give why should you take?
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