Good spot BigDave. I hadn’t noticed that and it seems to have slipped in without announcement. Can’t say that I’m surprised. Motability have been tasked with addressing the fact that only one-third of those eligible to join the scheme do so – hence the current TV ads. With less and less choice on the scheme and more people (like yourself) preferring to go independent this is, as you say, one way of making it less easy to leave. Have to say though that I am surprised that many people buy their cars at the end of the lease. Out of interest, we have always asked for a purchase price at the end of each lease and the prices quoted have always been ludicrously high, even though we have added quite a few options to every car we’ve had (which, supposedly, they don’t take into account). In every case, we could have bought a newer version / higher grade model from a dealer, even before factoring in the inevitable discount that you could negotiate, and that car would come with a warranty. Buying a Motability car gives you no warranty and they won’t negotiate over the price so it’s always seemed pointless to me, but it’s a shame if the option has gone as some people do choose to go down this route, in spite of the financials .