motability car help please?

jasmin49

Im thinking of getting a motability car. I have trouble walking around and now that 2 of my boys can drive I thought it might be worth me getting one. However we have gone round to about 3 garages today and there are so many different cars I just dont have a clue which to chose. So I thought id ask on here for some advice, im looking for a 5 door family car with a large boot and good on the fuel, id prefer diesel, and if it comes in a nice lilac shade all the better. Any suggestions? I dont have a clue about cars, I dont know one from another, so please post a link if poss, thanks for all your help.

emmell

Some motability cars are nil deposit, but some of the higher spec models require a deposit which you never get back as you don't own the car to sell it, so it's best to find the models which are nil deposit (you could do this over the phone or on the internet). The Ford Focus seems to be popular as a mid range 5 door hatchback, nice looking car too. Do your sons have a preference, if they are the drivers they may want some input on what you choose, just don't let them pick boy racer type cars.
I would suggest looking on the internet (google motability cars) there is a lot of information you can get online before you need to visit the garages. You can get reviews from what car, parkers online and honest john websites. These will help you make a shortlist.
ML.

ukjoel

Might be worth starting with the motability website.
Are you aware that the car would use up your incapacity allowance so you would have less money to live on.

The car needs to be maintained and kept in good condition.
Having a motability car also excludes you from receiving free (car based) transport to hospital as you now have your own transport available.

I would have a look at the motab site and check out eligibility and costs before thinking about the colour.

Best deals are ususally Ford or Vauxhall as they use it as a loss leader to dump the excess stock they have produced.

jasmin49

thanks for the advice appreciate your help, well have a look online. We went to a garage today but it was the motability mans day off, lol and the woman didnt have a clue.

Hammyman

jasmin49 wrote: »

Im thinking of getting a motability car. I have trouble walking around and now that 2 of my boys can drive I thought it might be worth me getting one. However we have gone round to about 3 garages today and there are so many different cars I just dont have a clue which to chose.

The one you can get into and out of the easiest and feel the most comfortable sitting in. There's no point having a nil deposit car that does 100MPG if you can't stand being in it.

As above, the entire mobility part of your DLA award goes to paying for it. Full maintenance is included as part of the deal (tyres as well) so keeping it maintained is simply taking it in for repairs and servicing as needed. You do need to keep it in good condition in regards to the interior and bodywork.

harveybobbles

Hammyman wrote: »

You do need to keep it in good condition in regards to the interior and bodywork.

Thats where the problem lies. The amount of !!!!!!, battered ex MFL car I see is just scary and annoying.

MoneySavingUser

In regards to the advance payment - if you keep it in a good condition and have no accidents they give you £200 at the end of the lease so that can offset some of the initial cost (but isn't guaranteed!)

emmell

MoneySavingUser wrote: »

In regards to the advance payment - if you keep it in a good condition and have no accidents they give you £200 at the end of the lease so that can offset some of the initial cost (but isn't guaranteed!)

They didn't do that with my brother in law, they tried to rip him off. Three months after he handed it in they sent a letter demanding £400 off him for four little dents that had appeared. He had paid quite a lot of deposit to get met. paint and air con and the car was low mileage mint condition when he handed it in. When we asked for photographic proof of the dents they sent photos that had been taken at Premier Auctions Leeds. Now, anybody that has been to an auction knows how much damage a car can sustain even when standing still, needless to say, we didn't have to pay.
So a word of warning, don't believe everything a salesman tells you, he is only acting as a middleman between you and motability finance.
ML.

harveybobbles

A Motability car gets an inspection done on month 33. If this inspection goes ok then they customer gets the ok and the car can be handed back on month 36.

As for the Motability car ending up at an auction house well that will be because it was below standard.

Let me explain:

On month 33 the car gets offered to the selling dealer, even though its being used until month 36. If the selling dealer doesnt want the car, then it gets offered to the rest of that franchise. If they dont want the car it then gets loaded onto http://www.mfldirect.co.uk/ for registered dealers like me to look thru (the cars are still being used and have about 4 weeks left).

We can either buy them at the advertised price or not.

The ones that fail to sell from tht site get moved to auction houses to be sold to anyone.

At the same time, the cars are graded, Gold, Platinum and Auction.
Gold and Platinum are the good ones and the Auction ones are the ones that need work doing to them, ie they have had more hits than the Beatles or filthy, filthy things.

emmell

I don't normally disagree with you harveybobbles, but my brother in laws peugeot 306 diesel with low mileage was mint condition. It was quite a few years ago when motability cars weren't ten a penny, it was checked over by the peugeot dealer when he took it in and they ok'd it. It was a couple of months later when he got the letter asking him to pay for damage that was obviously done after he handed it in.
I know about the system now with motability cars being on a list (I've seen them), when he got his a lot of manufacturers weren't offering motability and the ones that were usually had basic models in non metallic colours and air con was certainly an option.
Remember when motability cars were not desirable, Ford fiesta and escort pops in base blue, red or burgundy, peugeot 106 and 306 in base red, white or a ghastly dark green. They used to trickle back in to the main dealer every 3 years smelling like old ashtrays and never been cleaned in 3 years.
When the brother in laws peugeot went to auction it was a closed peugeot sale for peugeot dealers, so I think it must have been a different disposal system.
ML.

Kilty_2

That's very useful info harveybobbles - local auction house regularly has a Fleet auction which is almost exclusively Motability cars.

If it is the case that all the really bad ones end up in auction though, there must be one hell of an amount of abused Motability cars because they have 200+ a week