Banger-nomics. Been there. It’s like gambling, people only tell you of their wins. The peace of mind over a Motability car runs far deeper than the financial, it’s about eliminating risk. You have to touch the flame to understand; If you have ever been so scared taking your car for an MOT that it has affected your health, or been in a situation where your car has failed its MOT and needs hundreds of pounds of welding and you have no money, literally no money, no overdraft facility and no credit cards, the only option is to borrow from family, as without your car you have no way of getting to your job as you work shifts and the busses don’t run.
The peace of mind aspect of Motability is unquestionable and probably it’s biggest single benefit. However, I remain at a complete loss as to how those with financial situations that are as dire as you state can have sleepless nights over the prospect of hundreds of pounds of repairs to an old car yet will happily surrender £10,000 of benefits to drive a brand new one through Motability. That’s very odd logic and if I was in that financial position my priorities would be entirely different.