Motability car or buy a used car myself?

at11

My current motability contract ends in March and i have gone to a dealer seen new cars, but i have a dilemma whether to get a new motability car os buy a used car myself

reason i ask is with the DLA £220 a month i would get a bigger mortgage and i will be a first time buyer + more income
I am employed so do need the use of a car daily , rather than getting taxis, as 'Access to work' scheme pays a lot of the taxi fare but i want the independence of my own car

access to work said they will pay for my adaptations i need in my car, so that would pay for my hand controls

So weighing it up: 3 years of a used car:

Car value i would pay £3000
Insurance £750 per year = £2250
Road tax would be free
The AA breakdown service: £40 per year
MOT: £40 per year
- any repairs, it will be an automatic
TOTAL = £5490

RECEIVE £7920 from DLA + would pay £550 advance payment on a VW Golf
= 8470

Total reward from buying new car instead of motability= £2980 - may incur repairs / require tyres but not to this value
+ i get a car i really like not on he scheme

i am looking at buying a Mercedes-Benz C class which is 10 years old but has full service history, so hoping it will be reliable

all opinions appreciated

[Deleted User]

Be careful, Mercs of that age are known for rusting, badly.

rogerblack

And at the end, you have a 13 year old car.

Is your condition such that you feel confident you can meet the PIP mobility descriptors - that's something else to consider.

Can you purchase the car with cash?

It's clearly not an insane idea.
If you're happy with the consequences if it does break down - then great.

If you end up needing to get a 'new' car at the end of 3 years, it wipes out most of the savings.

It may or may not be worth considering a new small car with an extended warranty, as an alternative.

pstuart

ilikethesimpsons wrote: »

Be careful, Mercs of that age are known for rusting, badly.

Yes I've seen quite a few, but recently someone told me that Mercedes owned up to the poor 'paintjob' and paid to have remedial work done - providing they had a full Mercedes service history.

Whether this means that the rusting ones don't have full main dealer history I don't know.



OP, don't forget that providing your circumstances don't change, you can opt in and out of the Motabilty scheme.

mouseymousey99

You don't seem to have added petrol to your budget? Yes, you still have to pay for it on Motability - but thinking newer car would use less?

CTcelt1988

I would stick with Motability. Even if you were to lose the higher rate under PIP, Motability will pay £2,000 in a one-off payment. You could then use this to buy a used car.

DaveTheMus

Mercedes C class is nice but does have some build quality issues, however the BMW E39 facelift model(2001+) is infinitely more reliable.....


before you get the Merc you should join https://www.mbclub.co.uk it's free and I used the that forum for advice relating to anything Mercedes, over the years I've owned a couple.

Chorlie

My very first car I bought myself (secondhand) and then switched to having Motability Cars, but like you thought it cheaper once I compared everything and better to buy my own. So I bought my last Motability car I had and kept it for another 3.5yrs.

Since then I've bought my own, some new other Pre Reg / Ex Demos. With being a wheelchair user & having hand control they were VAT Excempt and haggled some discount from the dealers.

They all came with Breakdown Cover, Warrenty etc. I haven't needed to buy tyres...so all I've had to pay was the odd service but again haggled that and they were also VAT Excempt.

Not sure I'd do it on a 10yr old car (couldn't get it all VAT Excempt that way, only the Hand Controls). But it can workout cheaper (depending on the car you buy and the insurance).

I have no plans to return to Motability, but it's a great scheme depending on your needs / finances.

GwylimT

It depends on your needs really, we go with motability as the car my wife has is purely based on the size of her wheelchair/equipment, and there is no way we could afford to buy one that fit everything in, unless it was a complete wreck with a few months left in it.

pstuart

So, back to the OP's question, apart from a Mercedes or BMW, what else would look nice on the drive, be reliable and last for some years for £3k.
A big old petrol thing that carries a high taxation class (free for us) or?

I only ask because we are getting into a similar situation - the Motability car we have has to pull our caravan and house a large dog.
Sadly we will soon be physically unable to enjoy a touring caravan and not have the need to have such a heavy and ultra reliable car, therefore looking in the same direction as the OP.

zaksmum

CTcelt1988 wrote: »

I would stick with Motability. Even if you were to lose the higher rate under PIP, Motability will pay £2,000 in a one-off payment. You could then use this to buy a used car.

Do you have a link for that information CTcelt?