Great 'What discounts can I get when I'm disabled' Hunt

portlandboy

GrahamB wrote: »

But don't forget that the £200 a month will also include car insurance/all maintenance and servicing/cost of windscreen repair/replacement, and I think it's up to 4 new tyres a year.

In fact, the only additional cost is the fuel!

Plus, you get a new vehicle every 3 years, often the point at which things can start to go wrong/wear out and require replacement .

Obviously insurance costs vary from person to person, but mine has not been above £250 per year and includes windscreen cover. If the car is sold at zero VAT, all maintenance costs are also VAT exempt As for tyres, there is a 12,000 mile per year mileage allowance on a Motability car and if you drive within that you're unlikely to need replacements before the term is up (and that goes for a privately purchased car too).
Like I said, you need to do the maths, but it can be cheaper to buy privately every 3 years than use your mobility component of the DLA - it's the VAT being removed from the price that is the point of my post. Many people may not know that it is possible to do that and therefore automatically plumb for the Motability option.
Our car is now 3 years old and I've been offered £6,300 for it. Adding the insurance, servicing and the first MOT (nothing needed to pass the test) it probably owes me somewhere close to £4200 which leaves a whole lot (£3000ish) extra in my pocket than the £7200 cost of renting it via Motability, even if it did need a set of tyres.
...And at the moment dealers are very pleased to offer large discounts for buyers with the cash, since they earn far more selling privately than the commission from Motability.

skeggysteve

GrahamB wrote: »

But don't forget that the £200 a month will also include car insurance/all maintenance and servicing/cost of windscreen repair/replacement, and I think it's up to 4 new tyres a year.

In fact, the only additional cost is the fuel!

Plus, you get a new vehicle every 3 years, often the point at which things can start to go wrong/wear out and require replacement .

Actually there is no set limit on tyres just a ‘fair usage’ policy.
http://www.motability.co.uk/cars-and-wavs/customer-area/tyres

Very good point about the 3 year replacement thing. With all the electronics in modern cars repair bills can be huge.

....................................

Portlandboy,
Used cars don't have any VAT on them so reclaiming it would be a little difficult!

portlandboy

skeggysteve wrote: »

Portlandboy,
Used cars don't have any VAT on them so reclaiming it would be a little difficult!

I got the VAT removed from the demonstrator that I bought from the dealer. The new price was £13000. They removed the VAT (£2800) using the exemption forms and then I had a discount of £1200 as it had been registered by them and "used" with 68 miles on it. I paid just about £9000. How the dealer worked it I don't know but the fact is, I bought it and got the VAT removed, it WAS cheaper than the same car on Motability and I would do it again.
This site is a money saving site and the post asked for disability discounts. Purchasing the car ex-VAT was possible because of my disability and saved a lot of money. This may not work for ALL makes/models but that is why you have to do the maths first. Clearly there are other factors to calculate, such as your annual mileage, insurance costs etc, but the simple fact is, it can be cheaper - and was for me.

skeggysteve

I know what this site is about but I think it is important to give correct information.
This is why I said you can't reclaim VAT on used cars because there isn't any VAT on used cars.

dori2o

I think Portlandboy has the wrong end of the stick.

the car won't have been sold as 2nd hand as it won't have been registered to anyone outside of the dealership.

It may have been used as a demonstartor, but will have been driven on trade plates. That doesn't make it 2nd hand, it is still essentially a new car but has been pre-registered (something dealerships do to to bump up sales figures). Thats why there is VAT to pay on the purchase.

serendipity2706

dori2o wrote: »

I think Portlandboy has the wrong end of the stick.

the car won't have been sold as 2nd hand as it won't have been registered to anyone outside of the dealership.

It may have been used as a demonstartor, but will have been driven on trade plates. That doesn't make it 2nd hand, it is still essentially a new car but has been pre-registered (something dealerships do to to bump up sales figures). Thats why there is VAT to pay on the purchase.

from the VAT page
4.1 Does a second hand adapted vehicle qualify for VAT relief?

Yes. A second hand adapted vehicle can be zero-rated if the conditions explained in paragraph 3.1 are met. Although second-hand cars are usually sold on the second hand margin scheme, an eligible vehicle can be sold outside that scheme and invoiced in the normal way.
top ^
4.2 What does a dealer do if he sells an eligible vehicle from margin scheme stock?

The dealer simply closes the entry in his margin scheme stock book, with a reference to the reason. He can then invoice the vehicle in the normal way outside the margin scheme.
For further information about second-hand vehicles and the auctioneers’ scheme see Notice 718 Margin schemes for second-hand goods, works of art, antiques and collectors’ items.

IT needs to be ADAPTED ie with swivel seat for a wheelchair user etc

mulhuis

Hi all my wife has recently become disabled and has a blue badge and sometimes uses a delta frame when walking. We recently booked a holiday in Fuerteventura flying with Ryanair from Luton. I notified them in advance of the need for wheelchair assistance. My wife was wheeled straight through all checks and we had a lift up to the rear of the aircraft. We did not have to fight for seats together or pay priority boarding fees. At Fuerteventura the assistance service was amazing. We were helped from the flight and taken through all controls within minutes. Our helper refused any tip and our return journey was trouble free and superbly supported at both ends. Also had a hire car-so much free parking and plenty of disabled bays. Your blue badge is valid throughout Europe.

asheppard

shadowelvis wrote: »

I have recenty bought 2 merlin entertainment passes for my Autistic son's. I recived a free transferable carers pass for both. Defenatly worth the money.

I too bought the Merlin Passes which allow a Carer in free and have visited every Merlin site. As a family they have allowed us to have a fantastic year and I thank them. BUT beware on going to Alton Towers, Chessington, and Thorpe Park you have to provide a doctors letter to allow you to get a stamp to queue jump !! Oh and of course if you have money.. yes you can buy the stamps too in some cases there were more people in the 'disabled' queue than in the ordinary queue.
Thier policy is ' the stamp is for people who do not understand the concept of queueing' and is clearer stated on thier disabilty guide.
I believe this is totally wrong as the blue badge shows you are ill and in most cases are unable to queue for hours for rides. There are many types of disability so I do understand thier problem. You can also be discriminated by the stamp too. at Chessington my family were 'evicted' twice on a ride.... on complaining the manage kindly gave us free passes but it did spoil the day completely.

BeccaJane_2

We took my disabled sister-in-law to Westonbirt Arboretum at the weekend. My sister-in-laws had a discoutned entry (£7 instead of £8) AND my partner had free entry as her carer.

Thankyou to Westonbirt Arboretum!

Paxo456

Where ever we go, my wife carries a letter confirming my son's disability and asks if they do a carers / disability discount. It is surprising the number of places that do. Plus, we always ask about queueing and normal get to jump to the front.

A couple of recent ones:

London Eye
Tower of London
Windsor Castle
Odeon cinema
Cineworld

The first 3 allowed queue jumping