Motability Car

george9071

Hello all,

I am currently 3 months away from my handback date on my current car. I have an appointment with a dealership tomorrow to order the next one.

I was hoping to return the car I currently have early as it’s a big car, too big for my needs. It causes me a lot of discomfort to get into the car given it’s height and honestly, it’s costing me a lot in petrol each month (I never had this fuel problem when driving manual). 

I have a couple of questions:

- Would my reason above be valid enough to cancel early? (I don’t care about any fees I may incur) 

- If I made an application, would ending this lease early affect it? If so, would I be able to reapply to the scheme pretty much straight away?

I just want a smaller car that doesn’t give me as much discomfort to get into and one more suited to my needs. 

Does anyone have any experience with sending a car back early? If so what was the process like? Also, does anyone have any experience of reapplying onto the scheme? 


Sorry for rambling but I see this is a bit of a grey area online. 

Thanks in advance!

poppy12345

You would need to ring Motability to ask if you can return your current vehicle early. I did this for my last vehicle and there wasn't a problem but I wasn't as far into my lease as you are now. If they do agree (and they may not because it's so close to ending anyway) please be aware that once you give details to return your current vehicle you must hand it back within 14 days. 

The only issue I see would be ordering another vehicle and collection being quick because a lot of dealers are still experiencing delays with orders and sometimes it can be as long as several months, sometimes longer. 

LinLui

I recently did my handover of my car. There wasn't a single car that I looked at that had a delivery time of less than 11 weeks. I would put off considering this at all until you have a clear idea about delivery dates on the car you choose. Delivery dates are often pushed back too, so what you are told in the first instance may not be what happens. If it is available earlier they will take back the car earlier anyway - but at 3 months I suspect that won't be the case anyway.

Danien

Yes, delivery times are estimated at about 12 weeks at the moment for all cars, with some additional delays due to issues in the industry. You're unlikely to be able to hand in your car any earlier than you would already.

As an example, I ordered my new car on 11th April (standard vauxhall, no extras) and the estimated date of new car delivery is 31st July. I have the same issue as you - I got a big car as was planning on getting a mobility scooter and had a hoist in the boot, but have storage and financial issues with scooter, so that was knocked on the head. In the meantime I'm struggling getting in to the big car, and the sliding doors are difficult for me to close, so struggle getting things out of the back like oxygen and med supplies I have to take everywhere. I'm so looking forward to the new car, it will be so much easier, plus Sat nav, so no more variable Google maps on my phone.

Albermarle

Danien said:

Yes, delivery times are estimated at about 12 weeks at the moment for all cars, with some additional delays due to issues in the industry. You're unlikely to be able to hand in your car any earlier than you would already.

As an example, I ordered my new car on 11th April (standard vauxhall, no extras) and the estimated date of new car delivery is 31st July. I have the same issue as you - I got a big car as was planning on getting a mobility scooter and had a hoist in the boot, but have storage and financial issues with scooter, so that was knocked on the head. In the meantime I'm struggling getting in to the big car, and the sliding doors are difficult for me to close, so struggle getting things out of the back like oxygen and med supplies I have to take everywhere. I'm so looking forward to the new car, it will be so much easier, plus Sat nav, so no more variable Google maps on my phone.

Many people with in car sat nav do not use it, and use google or apple maps ( or Waze), especially if the car has Apple/Android car play function.
The reason being is that some in car sat navs are not that great, and traffic problems are not as well picked up as with the smartphone apps.
It is a personal choice of course.

teddysmum

It's not just cars, but some popular powerchairs are also in short supply. I want a Roma Reno with a rising seat, so I can use the worktops when  (good question) my new kitchen is fitted. This is after finding that a basic Vela chair is over £1300, before any extras and VAT, on which relief is not offered (I asked 3 retailers and find it odd as the design is advertised as for disabled users.), so the multi-purpose Reno is actually cheaper.

Getting one is another matter, as one retailer has no stock and has no idea when any will arrive, another is taking pre-payment to join a queue for a possible end of June supply and others just have an 'out of stock' label. I know of 3 places who may have stock, but one is overcharging by £150, compared to others, then offering to beat any price !

Danien

Albermarle said:

Danien said:

Yes, delivery times are estimated at about 12 weeks at the moment for all cars, with some additional delays due to issues in the industry. You're unlikely to be able to hand in your car any earlier than you would already.

As an example, I ordered my new car on 11th April (standard vauxhall, no extras) and the estimated date of new car delivery is 31st July. I have the same issue as you - I got a big car as was planning on getting a mobility scooter and had a hoist in the boot, but have storage and financial issues with scooter, so that was knocked on the head. In the meantime I'm struggling getting in to the big car, and the sliding doors are difficult for me to close, so struggle getting things out of the back like oxygen and med supplies I have to take everywhere. I'm so looking forward to the new car, it will be so much easier, plus Sat nav, so no more variable Google maps on my phone.

Many people with in car sat nav do not use it, and use google or apple maps ( or Waze), especially if the car has Apple/Android car play function.
The reason being is that some in car sat navs are not that great, and traffic problems are not as well picked up as with the smartphone apps.
It is a personal choice of course.

My phone and car don't like each other and android auto isn't reliable because of it - I can get spotify to play, but can't get google maps up on the screen. So stuck with phone in rickety phone holder. I used the vauxhall sat navigation constantly in the previous car (have some cognitive issues which means I get lost a lot), but went for a car that could fit a scooter and couldn't afford the advance payment for one with sat nav.  Not sure why I'm explaining this as this wasn't relevant to the OP.