If the AP goes to motability I stand corrected. I apologise. In my opinion there needs to be another operation like motability for competition, it may help APs. Motability hold all the cards. I know it will never happen but the have the monopoly and are laughing all the way to the bank
No need to apologise Azzy. As we pay the AP to the dealer it’s easy to misunderstand how it all works. It doesn’t help that dealers are full of BS, implying that they make virtually nothing from Motability orders when they get a fixed fee, plus margin on options plus (most significantly) Motability sales count towards their dealer / franchise / manufacturer incentives, which are significant. Sadly, the service that many of them provide to Motability customers doesn’t reflect all of that.
I completely agree with you that a monopoly is never a good way to operate for all sorts of reasons. It allows Motability Operations to have a an extremely generous pay and benefits package that most disabled folk (who pay for it) would give their right arm for and they are poor negotiators. My wife is the Motability customer and I have bought several new cars myself in recent years for myself and my daughters, all from main dealers. I am just one person (albeit a pro haggler ?) and I have managed to negotiate 20% off a Hyundai, 18% off a Volkswagen and 25% off a BMW. All factory orders, so not ‘in stock’ cars that they wanted to shift. If one private buyer can negotiate deals like that then Motability Operations should be doing significantly better than that. Perhaps they are and it’s just going into their profit coffers rather than through better AP’s?
Anyway, ‘‘tis the season of goodwill’ so I will leave it their and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!