Buying an ex Mobility vehicle

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motorguy wrote: »

So, a significant amount of time required in the body shop there, wheels refurbished, heavy interior valet and then a full buff up before its ready for a dealer forecourt - no doubt to be then presented as "one careful motability owner from new"....

Speaking from experience, I bought my ex-motability car from a small "ex-motability" dealer, as I wanted a small conventional automatic, and they had a selection in one place.

Really, they are trading on the perception that motability cars are all cosseted and cared for.
The reality is that some are, some aren't, but (stereotyping time ) motability users tend to have restricted mobility, which causes minor damage like bumper scuffs & dings as they can't move around as much to get the best view. They wear the seat edge sliding out, and can damage the sills through contact that the sills are not designed for. Wheelchairs and mobility aids in the load area damage trim.

Now , I'm not saying that there is anything wrong here, or that they are "abusing" their vehicles- they bought the car to aid in overcoming their mobility problems, and this sort of damage is unavoidable if they are actually using the vehicle for that purpose.

This sort of damage is usually obvious when you inspect the vehicle prior to purchase.

Mine, as it came from a smaller dealer is what you might refer to as "grade 2" so it has evidence of scuff repair, and some interesting small dents in the sills, which I saw on purchase.

Subsequently however, when fitting a towbar I found one of the corner internal impact absorbers squashed flat, so it obviously had a bit of an argument with a post/wall when reversing, and a cheap replacement of just the bumper.

Now I could have found this with any car, private or dealer, but I admit that I was taken in by the pushing of ex-motability as if it is a seal of quality, which it frankly isn't.

You do get a full service history, down to bulb and wiper blade replacements, but strangely (or not, depending on your level of cynicism) it doesn't cover all the bodywork and trim repairs.
By the look of mine, some were done years before I got it, and a few were done "on the cheap" by the bodyshop down the road from the trader.

Would I have bought it if I knew all the history? Probably, but I would have expected to pay at least 10% less, it wasn't worth what I paid.