Personally, I would always have a really good look around and get the absolute best car for your needs rather than go for the first car that seems OK. Dealership location shouldn’t really be a consideration. Most dealers will collect your car from home for servicing and deliver it back again (or supply a courtesy car if you prefer), even if you are some distance from them (we are 20 miles away and it’s never been a problem). All our Motability cars have been factory orders as we always add options to get the perfect spec for us and want to choose our ideal colour exterior and interior. We have usually had to wait 3 to 4 months for the car – all pre covid. Once you have your first Motability car, delivery lead times become less of an issue as you keep your existing car until the new one is ready.
If you are new to Motability and if Advance Payments aren’t too much of a restricting factor, it’s worth keeping in mind that the better value is often to be had at the upper end of the market of what we are allowed to choose from. For example, a £20k car with a zero AP may seem like a good deal, but you might be able to get one that, if you were a retail customer, would cost you almost twice as much, for just a few thousand pounds AP. You sacrifice the same approx £10k in benefits over the 3 years, regardless of what you order so, for me, £10k outlay for a £20k car is nowhere near such a good deal as say £13k (£10k benefits plus £3k AP) for a £35k one.