Good that we are all saying the same thing. Dealers must learn the hard way that we are not to be taken for fools.
SV – just to clarify the points about contracts and law should it be bothering you (which it shouldn’t). At no time do we enter into a legally binding contract with a dealer, even if you add options to your order and pay for them up front, or if you pay a deposit. There are effectively two contracts at play here. The first is between the dealer and Motability Operations, who are the retailer and purchaser of the car respectively. The second contract comes into effect when you enter your PIN on the day that you take delivery of the car, once you have satisfied yourself that it is what you ordered and that you are happy with it. That contract is between yourself and Motabilty Operations. At no stage do you enter into an irreversible contract with the dealer. This is why dealers will often ask for the options to be paid for up front as they are effectively ordering them ‘at risk’. Deposits are also discretionary. A dealer could technically argue the toss over refunding the deposit / cost of options but, if challenged legally, to do so under law they would have to demonstrate that they had incurred a loss as a result of your actions. This would mean that they were unable to sell the car (not a chance) or had to sell it without charging for the extra options that you requested. This is virtually impossible to prove given that dealers always sell cars at a discount. None of this will happen, of course, because they won’t want to get on the wrong side of Motability when the error is theirs, as evidenced by your confirmed order on the Motability system. To do so would incur a financial penalty under the terms that Motability has with dealerships. You have the upper hand here and the dealer is talking complete BS.