Hi Kim,
I can only comment from my experience and perspective of using the scheme over the years.
The DWP made a decision on my daughter’s allowance when we were just starting the second year of the lease which meant that it was stopped and we had to appeal. This was a long process and while Motability gave us some room to appeal/find a new car, an additional 4 months use of the vehicle, we eventually arrived at a point that it had to go back. At the time we had a BMW X1 and the market value for the vehicle was between £21-23K (depending on age and mileage, specs were identical). We asked for a purchase price and were quoted £17K – which was just beyond us at the time. I’m not sure if this price was based on our circumstances (the DWP review/appeal process) but it might give you some indication of the “fair” potential purchase price (we were only asked to confirm mileage, not condition).
I’m about to rejoin the scheme, I’ll be popping in to place my 3008 order today. One benefit that is often overlooked with the terms of the MB lease is the mileage – 20,000 per year is generous. If you look at lease, pcp, hp etc and slide the mileage option to the right the costs will change dramatically – probably closer to £600-700 per month before you consider the other costs for a 3008 hybrid. Also, the maintenance is covered – the number of tyres alone that I’ve had replaced due to punctures (my luck is terrible) has been a huge saving (especially on a car with bigger rims). The insurance is great, somebody drove into me and failed to stop (again, my luck is terrible). I had the car collected for repair in one day and a decent courtesy car while it was away (although it has put me off of CVT autos for life). Everything was painless and kept my daughter moving – which was the key thing.
You’re right to weigh up your options but I’d factor in all of the extras the scheme provides before making a decision. I hope this helps.