Is it time for Motability ?

MouldyOldDough

I am disabled and receiving PIP enhanced on both Mobility and Care - (so can use Motability if I want to) and have a dialemma...

The car is now 8 years old and starting to concern me as to it's ongoing reliability (and costs).

I need reliable transport - that WILL start and get me from A to B - 100% of the time.

Do I use Motability or not ?

I have to balance up the loss of spendable income (£75 per week) against the savings (they pay for insurance, tax, servicing and breakdowns) and DEPRECIATION

I drive (or rather my wife drives) considerably less than 5000 miles per year.....2000 miles in last 12 months....

And then there's the choice of car - it has to be a small automatic and preferably Torque converter box !!

My Suzuki Baleno is a huge car as far as my wife is concerned !!

What would YOU do ?

Toyota Yaris or VW Polo (althoiugh neither are TC) ? Clio hybrid

or Hyundai i10 / i20 ?

Beeblebr0x

Do you foresee a time when you might need to put a wheelchair in the boot, as you will struggle with the cars you mentioned with the possible exception of the Hyundai i20? The Dacia Sandero has a large boot for a car of its size if available on the scheme. 

teaselMay

I'd do the sums carefully. I suspect you'd be much better off buying second hand.

I had a series of Motabiltiy cars over about 18 years. They, or more problematically their insurers, were increasingly difficult to deal with as a deaf customer which restricted my use even more than the standard restrictions. Ultimately I gave my last car back, about a decade ago now. For less than I was paying Motbaility then (I've not redone the sums) I bought a van and converted it to a camper, and run it. Actually on the second one now as lockdown finished the first van off, and I still haven't spent more than I would have given away without actually owning the vehicle. My vehicle is now much more suitable for me, and I've had much more fun!

MouldyOldDough

Beeblebr0x said:

Do you foresee a time when you might need to put a wheelchair in the boot, as you will struggle with the cars you mentioned with the possible exception of the Hyundai i20? The Dacia Sandero has a large boot for a car of its size if available on the scheme. 

Yes I do use a wheelchair now and that fits in our present Suzuki with room to spare - we fold the rear seats down

MouldyOldDough

teaselMay said:

I'd do the sums carefully. I suspect you'd be much better off buying second hand.

I had a series of Motabiltiy cars over about 18 years. They, or more problematically their insurers, were increasingly difficult to deal with as a deaf customer which restricted my use even more than the standard restrictions. Ultimately I gave my last car back, about a decade ago now. For less than I was paying Motbaility then (I've not redone the sums) I bought a van and converted it to a camper, and run it. Actually on the second one now as lockdown finished the first van off, and I still haven't spent more than I would have given away without actually owning the vehicle.

Reliablity is the be-all and end-all

teaselMay

I was probably a bit unlucky but two of my Motability cars had major reliability issues. Worth having a look at what's available second hand at least.

Mildly_Miffed

There's two or three questions getting rolled up together here, and you really need to separate them out.

1. Do you need to replace your current car?
8yo doesn't necessarily mean inherently unreliable, any more than spankin' new means inherently reliable (and, obviously, the mode of financing makes zero difference to that).  How much did you spend on your Suzuki in the last year? What maintenance, consumables, repairs did that include? How much was insurance? Depreciation is still not zero - average Autotrader asking price for a 2017 Baleno is about £5.5-6k. 2016 is below £5k, so let's say there's another £1k/year of depreciation over the next three years or so.

2a. If you do, do you replace it with a car through motability, or provided elsewhere?
That's a sums question. £4k/year for insurance, depreciation, maintenance, etc etc is a pretty unbeatable deal for a brand new car.

2b. Do you even need to own a car, or would a taxi/car club subscription be better?
...but £4k/year is £2/mile (+ fuel) if you're only doing 2k/year. Obviously, your location plays a large part in that, as does the timing/flexibility of your usage.

born_again

If you can charge at home. Dacia Spring. Base is only £60 Top is £63.20 of your £75 allowance.
More than capable of 2K a year.

Picanto or Hyundai i10 is not full allowance either.

Best bet go & look at them & see if they suit your needs. 
I know you can get some wheelchairs in picanto

MouldyOldDough

born_again said:

If you can charge at home. Dacia Spring. Base is only £60 Top is £63.20 of your £75 allowance.
More than capable of 2K a year.

Picanto or Hyundai i10 is not full allowance either.

Best bet go & look at them & see if they suit your needs. 
I know you can get some wheelchairs in picanto

Petrol /Hybrid please 

born_again

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/cars/

Have fun playing around with the options. 👍

MouldyOldDough

born_again said:

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/cars/

Have fun playing around with the options. 👍

Severe lack of comparison data

Not even "Type of Auto gearbox" or length/width

I know that if I go further into the manufacturers websites, the data will be there but not readily available to compare