Motability - Is it worth it?

Miss.Twizz

Is it worth taking a motability car? If you have chosen not to, what have you done instead?

It seems very expensive but it does include absolutely everything except fuel.... Due to my disability, I need newish "light/easy to drive" cars and I need reliable cars (I am easily thrown into a tailspin if I have anything unexpected thrown at me to arrange and I'd be very stuck without a car if mine has to go in for work.

Buying and selling nearly new cars every few years seems like a lot of stress and hassle, but I'd like to have cars only a few years old to try and minimise wear and tear faults/age related cropping up. I'm struggling to understand how the loss of money through depreciation compares to mobility taking the whole of my PIP award 🤯

I've also been very put off motability by hearing that I loose all my no claims bonus after having a motability car. I know how easy it is to loose your PIP so I have to consider the impact on me if I have to get a car after loosing a motability car having lost 15 years worth of no claims. 

I'm just so confused! Am I a fool to take a mobility car for an easy life? 🤔 (Although not so easy if I get it taken away when they reassess PIP every few years!)

Advice welcome! 

poppy12345

I've been a motability customer for 4.5 years and i'm on my 2nd car. At the moment i have peugeot 3008, which i know would cost me a lot more if i had it through anything else other than motability. The piece of mind that if anything goes wrong i can just ring the dealers and book it in and ask for a courtesy car and not even think about it. Knowing i only have to add fuel is also a bonus.

Before i had a mobility car i had older cars and there was always something going wrong. The worry of whether the car would even get me from A to B and i knew that if something did go wrong, i didn't have the money for repairs.

I cant answer the question about your no claims bonus though but maybe others can.

For me it works and i'm more than happy and i love the easier life.  My PIP is currently up for review, if i'm not awarded Enhanced mobility i will of course lose my car. I will fight it all the way to Tribunal, if i have to. For me i have an added bonus that my daughter also claims Enhanced mobility, she lives with me so she would have a car through her award, she's unable to drive so i would be a named driver on that car.

Good luck, what ever you decide.

Miss.Twizz

Thank you poppy. Yes the ease and worry free driving is a massive bonus. That's the most tempting thing! but I am worried about what would happen if it's taken away. I'd fight it too but I'd be absolutely stuck with no car in the meantime. I still manage to work so I'd be completely unable to get there without a car. I've been a little shocked at some of the stories from people who've lost enhanced rates and cars just being left high and dry and desperate 💔

poppy12345

I don't think about the "what if's" i always think of the here and now. If you lost the Enhanced mobility then you would lose the car of course. If you got the award back then you would be able to order a new car, providing you have at least 12 months remaining on your award. How long is your current award for?

strawb_shortcake

When my friend lost her mobility element she kept the car until all her appeals were complete, she was then able to purchase the car for not an unreasonable amount which she now pays monthly 

poppy12345

annabanana82 said:

When my friend lost her mobility element she kept the car until all her appeals were complete, she was then able to purchase the car for not an unreasonable amount which she now pays monthly 

Was she transferring from DLA to PIP when this happened? There's a support package available to those that lose mobility award when transferring across. https://www.motability.co.uk/about/allowances/personal-independence-payment-pip/unsuccessful-reassessment/

This package isn't available to those that haven't transferred from DLA.

Miss.Twizz

Thanks poppy, it's 3 years award for PIP. Disappointing because I'm not going to get any better but they seem to think you'll magically be cured of lifelong conditions in 3 years 🙄

poppy12345

Yes, i know that feeling. When you have your next review, there's nothing stopping you from asking for a longer award and if a shorter award is given ask them what evidence was used to give that shorter award. You would also need to to send evidence to show your conditions are unlikely to change. I did this for my daughters review this year because this was her 3rd review since August 2017 (which i first applied) she has ASD and a learning disability, so her conditions will never improve. Thankfully, this time she was awarded for 6 years.

JamesPeter

There is a 'stopped allowance' support payment of £1k available from Motability if you lose your PIP (on reassessment from a PIP award to a new PIP award):

If your allowance ends during your lease

If your allowance ends during your lease, you will no longer be eligible for the Motability scheme and we will support you through the process of handing your car back. You may be eligible for a £1000 stopped allowance support payment if your return the car in a good condition to your dealer within our given timescales. Depending on your individual situation you will have up to eight weeks from your allowance payments ending to return the car. If you receive a stopped allowance support payment, you will not be eligible for a pro-rata Good Condition Bonus, but any Advance Payment you have paid will be returned to you on a pro-rata basis.

If your allowance ends following a DLA-PIP reassessment there is a transition support package available, including a financial element.

If your allowance ends we will write to you supplying all the information you need, including details of any support payments you are entitled to. Please call us on 0345 155 6011 to discuss this.

https://www.motability.co.uk/your-lease/car/if-things-change/

LocoLoco

Hi OP

I found there were pluses and minuses to it.  It's my son who's eligible but he can't drive.  I loved how easy it was - we literally just picked the one we liked and they do absolutely everything for you.  To only have to put petrol in and not do anything else after years of driving old bangers and having to keep arranging repairs and getting lifts from people was heavenly.  But - it was his whole Motability award (which meant petrol costs and anything like train fares had to come out of his Care allowance).  I can't drive it just for me so there were times I'd still have to fork out for a taxi for myself whereas if the car was ours obviously I could just use it whenever I needed to.  I did lose my No Claim bonus but I'm middle aged so premiums aren't horrendous for me anyway.  And I was very nervous about getting any kind of mark or damage on it so was forever cleaning it and trying not to drive near overgrown hedgerows

We've just bought our own vehicle again and it's already been a pain in the bum to sort out insurance etc, plus we've only had it two days and there's already a fault.  To be honest, if I had access to another vehicle (partner, for example), then I'd have rather kept the Motability just for the lack of stress.  I think it's worth the money for that.  I understand the concern about losing the award (especially as it's probably hard to save when all of it's going on the Motability vehicle).  But I'm a bit like Poppy and I concentrate on what I can do now in situations like that.  Have you done a pros and cons list to see which one is longer?  It's always difficult to make suggestions as everyone's individual situation is different - I find pros and cons lists help me make decisions, even if there's not a perfect answer, it helps me work out which one's likely to be less of a risk x

poppy12345

LocoLoco said:

I was very nervous about getting any kind of mark or damage on it so was forever cleaning it and trying not to drive near overgrown hedgerows

I've never had any problems with motability and what they allow as "general wear and tear" everyday scratches and marks on alloys are allowed. When i returned my first car it did have a few scratches and several marks on the wheels but it made no difference at all to the good condition bonus i had back. You mustn't forget that we do have the car for at least 3 years before we can choose another and to expect that car to be "as new" would be a little OTT.

I don't begrudge the whole mobility award for what you get and it's well worth the money you pay. The advance payments can be rather a lot, depending on what spec you want. Although there's plenty of vehicles available with no advance payment.