Motability scheme

earthmother

We're one of those households who couldn't finance a car any other way than through Motability, but even if we had limitless funds, I think we'd still use the scheme.

As said, fair wear and tear is allowed, as are any damages caused by special equipment (wheelchairs, oxygen tanks etc). The fact that we don't have to think about insurance, recovery, servicing etc is great - after all, when you are disabled you have enough things to contend with anyway, and where could you get a family-plus-kit sized car (we're in a mid-range Galaxy - we just fit) on lease/finance, with all that thrown in, for the equivalent of the DLA payment?

We're on our third car under the scheme now - but the last one, if it had been our own, would have near bankrupted us with the 6 tyres (at over £100 each) we had to get replaced due to vandalism, and the two new batteries (at over £200 each) we needed due to a known fault. It went back in the summer, and we were expecting a bill for a couple of supermarket carpark dings, but it passed and we got our good-condition bonus through within a couple of weeks.


But I understand how some people prefer to use other routes - it's different for everyone.

D&DD

'Ol faithful' is a renault megane scenic and we would like to get something almost the same most important thing is the height for DS2,it can't be any lower as we'd never winch him out and it has to have 'bucket' seats like the scenic has to support him.
It has to have decent legroom to allow for DS3 who's legs are never still (!!!) and DS1 who's well over 6 foot..
Plenty of storage room for all DS3's stuff (he won't leave the house without certain things) and DS2's attachments!
Any suggestions on suitable vehicles will be most welcome


Earthmother I'd love a 7 seater the galaxys are lovely.

We haven't the means for a large deposit,I doubt we'd get much trade-in on ours..the way I read the bumpf on the motability website you have to put down extra upfront for the larger cars I think lol ..

mcspanna

I went onto motability earlier this year after all my previous cars being privately owned. My dad helped with the calculations (he enjoys it!) and it does cost slightly more but strangely it actually feels like we have more money overall (possibly cashflow?).

We'd always bought 3 year old cars and run them for 3 years (ish) but last car had been kept for 5 years (due to becoming homeowners!) and we fell into the trap of the car getting older and needing more repairs and therefore not having the savings from DLA to buy a replacement outright. Life is certainly less stressful on motability and it has also meant that we pay out less for petrol as it is a newer, more economical car.

One disadvantage I found is that the RAC cover that is included in the motability scheme is specifically for the car rather than the person, so we are still paying out for separate RAC cover for the previous car (now a runabout rather than main car) but overall I'm impressed with the system and am prepared to pay the increased cost for peace of mind. I was worried about the costs when returning the car for scratces etc but have been told that as I'm a wheelchair user, this shouldn't apply - unless it's obviously down to my poor parallel parking skills!

It obviously depends on the type of car and therefore the size of the deposit as to how it compares to buying one, i specifically limited myself to cars with less than £1k deposit - settled on one for £800ish deposit and by the time we got round to ordering it was down to £500! vs an anticipated spend of at least £5k cash for buying a 3 yr old outright.

earthmother

D&DD wrote: »

'Ol faithful' is a renault megane scenic and we would like to get something almost the same most important thing is the height for DS2,it can't be any lower as we'd never winch him out and it has to have 'bucket' seats like the scenic has to support him.
It has to have decent legroom to allow for DS3 who's legs are never still (!!!) and DS1 who's well over 6 foot..
Plenty of storage room for all DS3's stuff (he won't leave the house without certain things) and DS2's attachments!
Any suggestions on suitable vehicles will be most welcome


Earthmother I'd love a 7 seater the galaxys are lovely.

We haven't the means for a large deposit,I doubt we'd get much trade-in on ours..the way I read the bumpf on the motability website you have to put down extra upfront for the larger cars I think lol ..

I'm not sure about the seats, but in all your other needs, I can recommend the Galaxy.

We don't get to use the back seats - they're permanently folded down to allow for DHs rather large wheelchair - it just won't fit into a smaller vehicle than an MPV - but I can get a travel system and a few bags of shopping in with it, so no issues there with luggage space.

Leg room and vehicle height/doorways are great - DH is 6'3, and can't bend his legs properly, and he has great access to the driving seat (hand controls). DS1 and DS2 are both Hypermobile, and suffer with their joints (the need for constant movement is a factor for them too) - thankfully DS3 appears to have avoided it - but they have no problems with access or space.


If you go for second hand, bear in mind that the Galaxy has changed a lot internally in the last 3-4 years - we totally discounted it last time around as DH couldn't even get into the seat, and his legs were better then than now - so check a few different years, don't assume one will be the same as the next.

If you go for Motability, there is a grant scheme that will help with the bigger down payments - it needs to be in place before you can order a vehicle anyway, so no harm in asking.

Ames

I've done both, got a loan for a car and now I've got a motobility one. I prefer the motobility option, and I wish I'd done that from the start. The only problem I have with it is the worry that if I lose my DLA I'll lose the car, but you can always pick up a runabout for next to nothing. When I had a car with a loan, the repayments plus insurance, plus maintenance cost me a lot more than a motobility car does. I know I'm handing out money and I'll have nothing to show for it at the end, but tbh it was the same with the car I bought, when I got rid the money I got for it paid off the loan.

D&DD

earthmother wrote: »

If you go for second hand, bear in mind that the Galaxy has changed a lot internally in the last 3-4 years - we totally discounted it last time around as DH couldn't even get into the seat, and his legs were better then than now - so check a few different years, don't assume one will be the same as the next.

If you go for Motability, there is a grant scheme that will help with the bigger down payments - it needs to be in place before you can order a vehicle anyway, so no harm in asking.

Thanks Earthmother I know what you mean about them changing specs,I wanted another scenic as it's been just perfect for our needs but the new shape etc is just nowhere near what we need now...
His payments start on Boxing day (his birthday) as this was a renewal so we have a little while beforehand to go and have a look around
Think we'll go to the place we got this car as they have fords,nissan,renault,citreon,peugot and volkswagen all in the same place.They also have used as well as new so we'll have a huge selection to play with lol..
Think we'll get a shortlist together then take DS2 to try them out over a few days,don't want to wear him out as it takes a huge amount of effort and wriggling to even get him into a car atm..

DS3 wants a humvee :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: *bless he's seen my driving*

easy

Take your time to look around the motability website. I'm on my 4 th motability car, and quite like looking at their site when it's change time.

This page http://www.motabilityonline.com/site/current_prices/priceList/priceListDLAByVehicleDetails.jsp;jsessionid=D9F9E7003601763EE5DEC9F7C4F15654?formContextKey=&formSessionId=D9F9E7003601763EE5DEC9F7C4F15654&searchVehicleCategory=MPV&searchBodyDoors=&searchNumberOfSeats=&searchBodyType=&searchManufacturer=&searchTransmissionType=&searchFuelType=&searchMpg=&searchEngineSize=&searchCo2=Bands+A+-+G%2C+all+levels+of+emissions&searchAdvancePayment=&userAction=criteriaChange
lets you search for a suitable type of vehicle, and tells you how much (if anything) you need to pay in advance for some models, on top of your DLA. Some cars need no advance payment at all (even a couple of MPVs), a large number of cars need less than £200.


If you decide to buy a car with the payments instead, don't go for brand new, you lose far too much in depreciation. Buy a recent second hand model, there are tons of them about and prices are really low now.
Sort out a decent loan FIRST too. Don't go for dealer's finance, see how much the bank will loan you on the basis of repayments of £135 per month. That is 2/3 of your mobility component payment each month. Keep the remaining third to cover insurance and maintenance (of course if you can afford to pay back more, or include the care component, then raise that figure).

I hope you get the car you need.

[Deleted User]

I am on my second Motability car .My first one was a Citroen Picasso and when I handed it back last June I had a two hundred pound rebate for not having any claims or damage to it.I now have a 7 seated Vauxhall zaphira which I have found very comfortable .I have a problem with actually bending my joints and back so the higher off the ground I am the more comfortable it is to drive. My Dd has the same sort of car and I found it easier to drive than the Picasso ,although the picasso was very nice .My Vauxhall dealers were great and couldn't do enough to help me organise the switch over to my present car I just drove the Picasso into their garage and picked up my new one They even delivered my old one back to the Citroen dealer for me
I would say go for it ,but do have a good look around first and see what is the best car for your particular needs first Most Motability dealers will happily take you out on a 'test run' to ensure its exactly the car for your needs.

Happy_shopper

This is not specifically about Motability but a freebie from the Motability site has been posted on the freebies board just now:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1241739

It's an energy-saving plug device. I'm just trying to make sure that some eligible people get it. Hope this is of use to someone.

bizywizy

I have a motability car - well my 2nd one now. Its fab.

We got a much much better car than we could ever imagine having and I can get in it fairly easy because of the height and shape ect. (I have MS)

Although I can no longer drive it myself due to eyesight problems I enjoy the family having a lovely car - this time we went for a Mazda 5.

I received my good condition bonus too even though my little darling had managed to shut something in the door and dent the bottom a bit.

I just felt the peace of mind was good for us. You dont see the money coming in then going out so its not like you have that part of the benefit at all coming in.

For children they often do the awards to changes in schools ect from what I can work out.

Do you believe you would be likely to get it again in 2 years time (18 months time as they send it out 6 months prior to date)

You can buy through motability loan thing too I beleive but for us the fact we could get a better car and tbh my disability meant I was likely to hopefully get it again was ok.

I was worried we wouldnt and what would we do so I put the money from our old car (which wasnt really very much at all) into premium bonds so that if I didnt get it I could pull it out and get a car all be it a heap. Plus had the hope of possibly getting a winner from it LOL.

Good luck with your decision.

x