I had to leave scheme in January 2019 (DLA to PIP screw up) and bought what was my Motability car. Over the last 3 years it’s cost approx. £795 insurance (minus approx. £100 cashback), £84 for M.O.Ts, approx. £120AA Breakdown (using Cashback websites and discount codes), 1 major service at main dealership £369, £114 tyres , £39 aircon recharge, £186 on Spark plugs & VW specific removal tool, sump plug & washer, oil filter & filter wrench. Norbar torque wrench. Casterol Edge Oil. £62 car ramps. £27 Casterol Edge Oil and MANN oil filter (3rd service since owning). £90 2x brake disk shields (fitted). £17.50 cabin(pollen filter). K&N air filter £53. £5.50 socket, £4 sparkplug grease, NGK spark plugs £40.
That’s £1906 running cost for just over 3 1/2 years. This also includes more services than Motability pay for as they choose the cheapest service plan, every 2 yrs for my Golf, but I serviced it every year. I also used the exact same parts, over superior (such as the K&N air filter).
At current rates 3 1/2 years PIP would cost £11,739. So I’m already £9,833 better off and I now have some tools such as torque wrench, genuine VW sparkplug removal tool, car ramps and many others that I can keep/sell.
Now, of course, although I’m almost £10k better off, I did have to buy the car, which cost me £10,800. But unlike Motability where I’d hand the car back, I sold it…….for £12,750. This gives me a £1,950 profit. Obviously the current market is very beneficial for selling used cars, but even in “regular” times, I would be able to sell the same car for many £’s more than the £0 you get when handing back a Motab car.
My sums above don’t even include any AP costs for a Motab car. The car I bought and sold was a top of the trim range(except for GTi/R) Auto Golf GT. The only Auto Golf on the scheme is a low powered, low trim level and costs £3,999 AP.
So better deals can be found, if you have enough cash to buy a second hand car. I’ve also seen lease deals that beat Motability, even with the added running costs (although if you drive 20,000 miles a year, it’s probably best to stick with Motability).