Which Motability car?

Cornucopia

Just been through Motability selection (for a friend).

He went for the Honda Jazz in the end, though the taller/auto vehicle selection at £0 deposit is not huge and the Jazz is something of a compromise on sill height.

The other options would have been the Skoda Yeti and the Citroen Cactus.

knightstyle

Hi Robisere, We are in a similar position but we buy ex motability cars at 3 years old. We currently have a Cmax and like you find it ideal for our purposes.
Have a word with your Ford dealer and see what they can do for you if you buy a second hand Cmax, no deposit low payments over 3 years will probably cost less than your Motability payments.
Alternatively look at the low interest credit card offers which we get all the time.

To others posting about other Motability cars with no deposit the main problem we found was that these cars do not have a good size boot which is needed to put a wheelchair in.

ukjoel

Have a look at
http://www.motability.co.uk/whats-on/one-big-day/

They are run across the country and are a really good way of looking and comparing a lot of different cars in one place so you dont need to visit lots of showrooms.
You can also do test drives on the day of lots of different models if you like.

Robisere

Thank you all for the advice. I had looked at buying the current C-Max, and compared the difference. It was more expensive to buy than lease something newer. I cannot raise the money to lease another similar C-Max, and it's a moot point, as Ford no longer list the 2.0TDci auto as a Motability car. I have looked at most of the cars suggested and none is suitable. The Jazz is (IMO) horrible, could not wait to get out of it. the Volvo being described as "compact" is actually a good draw for us. I will judge the ride height when I see it. The Yeti and the Cactus I really do not like for several reasons. We have tried out several models before choosing the ones that look best on paper.

I have chosen those 3 models as appearing to be best for our needs. Size of boot is not a problem: we now find that the deep and long boot of the C-Max is increasingly difficult to negotiate, and much more spacious than we need. We have no mobility aids except for elbow crutches. All our grandchildren are grown except for the 11 yo, who uses an adult seat. So room is not a problem. I have appointments with the Volvo and Hyundai dealers on Monday. The Kadjar may be too high a seat for my wife, who is only 4'9" and has spinal problems too.

Once again, thank you for all the help and advice. I am glad that only one person found it difficult not to have a small dig, and that accompanied by reasonable advice. For Benefits-Bashers, Karma always finds a target! that does not bother me, it's just disappointing to my usual faith in human nature.

Robisere

Mercdriver wrote: »

Just don't ask about a Volvo XC60

:rotfl::rotfl::T

Robisere

ukjoel wrote: »

Have a look at
http://www.motability.co.uk/whats-on/one-big-day/

They are run across the country and are a really good way of looking and comparing a lot of different cars in one place so you dont need to visit lots of showrooms.
You can also do test drives on the day of lots of different models if you like.

All of thos events happen after my lease is due. I actually went to one last year and was not impressed. Too many tyre-kickers wasting dealers' time, masses of people all trying to talk at once. Never again. But thank you for the link.

knightstyle

I will add that the Nssan Juke has a very similar driving position to the Cmax, but has a small boot which is why we changed from one to a Cmax. It is available for no deposit as an automatic.
However, ours had a "normal" auto box and was heavy on fuel plus a small fuel tank. Appart from that it was fine.

Robisere

knightstyle wrote: »

I will add that the Nssan Juke has a very similar driving position to the Cmax, but has a small boot which is why we changed from one to a Cmax. It is available for no deposit as an automatic.
However, ours had a "normal" auto box and was heavy on fuel plus a small fuel tank. Appart from that it was fine.

Thank you, knightstyle, I have tried one today and renamed it "Joke". Today and yesterday I have been looking at and trying out all possible cars in the spec and price to suit my requirements. I must have travelled a fair few miles, but the result is that the only car I would add to my list of 3, is the Skoda Yeti. It comes in at No.4, behind the Renault Kadjar. Tomorrow I have appointments to try out the Volvo Cross Country Geartronic, Hyundai i30, Renault Kadjar and the Yeti, which I only had a chance to sit in today. Driving position was good.

ukmaggie45

I don't have experience of the Renault you mention (Kadjar), but the Grand Scenic. I had 2 prior to my last one which on the whole were fine. But they were exchanged at 3 years. Because I had low mileage on the last one I kept it on for extended lease to 5 years. Even before the 3 years were up we had some problems, but once we were past the 3 years they came thick and fast! :eek:

Maybe your local dealer is better, but ours was unhelpful and rude. Because of our experiences we will never touch a Renault with a bargepole ever again.

Motability were kind and helpful throughout all of my problems, finding replacement cars for us while my car was in for repairs. I can't recommend them highly enough. Unfortunately I no longer have a Motability car due to changeover from indefinite DLA to PIP (I'm 68 but missed out on keeping DLA by around 5 months). I am currently waiting for a date for Tribunal.

My best wishes to you, and hope you enjoy many more years of motoring with Motability, and find a car that both you and your wife can be comfortable in.