I had used the same dealership for the last 3 cars. The dealer whilst they didn’t mind Motability customers as it boosted their sales numbers always bemoaned the fee/margin – £650 for supplying a scheme car. The biggest burden was all the paperwork, sorting out the Advance Payment, final MOT, inspection and assessment of the car condition. Also note that with many models Motability skips at least one service plus tyres are supplied by Kwik Fit. So the dealers get even less revenue.
In terms of preference over scheme or mainstream retail, dealers defiantly discriminate against the scheme. Several years ago I arranged a test drive for a Ford Kuga, everything went well and went to place an order. The dealer had two in stock and I could have had either in 2 weeks. However, when I mentioned it would be a Motability car, the dealer declined and said these were reserved for retail customers.
It is still the same in 2022. I did some testing of the local dealers in my area. My wife would ring first and get the standard delivery date of a few months. I would ring a little later and be told 9 to 12 months or even unknown.
It does make you feel a second class citizen and when you inform Motability you get a bland response and no action