Motability car

peachespeaches

Is it a good idea to have a motability car, or should I carry on with my old car? Recently got a 6 year award for enhanced Pip.

[Deleted User]

Motability is a good deal a new car taxed and insured with breakdown recovery servicing and repairs all for £77(?) per week, however if you can do it all for less then that then its not such a good deal.

peachespeaches

Anyone with a motability car? I'm wanting a large 7 seater. I realise I will have to pay additional costs.

LocoLoco

Hi Peaches,


We have a Motability Vehicle - it's my son's car but I drive it as he isn't able to.


We went for one that we didn't have to pay any extras for (no deposit and it's the same amount as the Mobility Element of his PIP). I find having someone else sort out the insurance, tax and servicing a huge help. We're on a low income so have always driven old bangers with the constant worry of will we get there, is it going to overheat, how much will the repair bill be this time and so on. So for me, being able to drive a brand new vehicle that isn't likely to break down regularly (or at least it hasn't so far!) is a huge luxury and takes a big weight off my mind.


That said, I would prefer my own vehicle, but that may be because my use of the Motability vehicle is restricted because it's my son's award, so I can't use the car for my benefit. But I'm assuming from your post that you'll be driving the vehicle so that wouldn't affect you. I'm also quite paranoid about keeping it clean and looking after it well because of needing to give it back at some point - I'm usually far less fussy about my own car



I found the choice of vehicles to be huge and for someone like me with limited knowledge it was a bit overwhelming. The chap at the garage was a huge help to me, really friendly and supportive and made the whole process very easy.


Personally I have been amazed by the scheme. It's extraordinarily good value for money and to have hassle free driving is a huge bonus for us. We live quite close to the garage we leased the vehicle from and the chap was happy for me to contact him anytime with queries (the dashboard looks like a spaceship and I still have no idea what half the buttons do). The only thing to keep in mind is if your award changes you might not be entitled to the vehicle any more. For us that isn't a problem - if my son improved enough to no longer qualify for enhanced rate then getting around wouldn't be a problem anyway so we wouldn't need the car. But for others it can be an issue.


So yes, as a new user to the scheme I've been blown away by what you can get for your money and how easy it was to get something that suited us (I wanted something big enough to get his adapted bike and wheelchair in the back but not so big that parking in town would be a pain). There's also no pressure to choose - you can take as long as you need to select something, test drive it, think about it some more and then let them know. I've been very impressed with the whole thing and feel very fortunate to have it. Hope that helps a little bit

poppy12345

peachespeaches wrote: »

Anyone with a motability car? I'm wanting a large 7 seater. I realise I will have to pay additional costs.

If you're under 25 then there's restrictions to the vehicles you can have. There are some that you won't have to pay towards and manuals are less than an automatic. If there's any deposit then this will need to be paid when you collect the car.



You'll need your award letter when you visit a dealer of your choice and your driving license. I'd recommend test driving a few before deciding which one you want. All you have to do is ring a few dealers before going.



Time scale for collecting the car will depend on what car you choose. I waited just 2 weeks for my car but the dealer were expecting delivery of it the following week after i ordered it. Some you have to wait months for. It really depends on what you want. If it's not at the dealers then of course it can take longer.


Everything else you need to know is here.
https://www.motability.co.uk/

w06

It depends what you want in a car and how you use it. I won't use them again despite having an ongoing (review not before 10 yrs) enhanced PIP award

I had a motability car for 15 years, well 6 different motability cars. It was great in that I had a new car that was for the most part reliable. The administration of it, the insurance especially, was very difficult and restrictive though. I realise part of this is because I'm deaf but as an independent, working, middle aged woman the way that my policy was dealt with made me more dependent and made simple things such as adding a colleague to the insurance (which is permitted and they met all the criteria) impossible. I even paid for a 3rd driver that a year later I'd still not managed to actually add because RSA were so inept and intransigent.

2.5 years ago I ended the contract early, to their credit Motability acknowledged how difficult RSA had made my use of the vehicle. I took a loan out that was just under the PIP mobility payment in repayments (i.e. roughly what I'd been paying Motability). I was on a low income and the bank accepted my PIP award and that I'd been paying that money to Motability since 2001 as proof I would make the repayments. I bought a vehicle and am running and maintaining it, all within the loan amount - and so it's costing the same as the Motability car, but all being well in September when I've paid off the loan I'll still have the vehicle, even if I don't I'm no worse off and it's been much easier and more fun!

It adds up to ~£9k that you pay for a Motability car over 3 years, and the car is not yours

The vehicle I bought was a ten year old van, which I've converted to be just right as a camper van/dog carrier/easy wheelchair stowage vehicle. Perfect for me, so much so that when it recently broke down and I hired a car, the all singing all dancing sporty Ford (i only paid for a basic one!) was horrible in comparison!

So in summary, it depends

w06

Oh and a lot of cars are not built until ordered (in general not just Motability) and so there's a 3 month or more wait - you can't order your new car until three months before the end of the contract. Sometimes you can get one at shorter notice if there's one in the pipeline, a cancelled order or promotion over order, but often there is a long wait for a new car