This is the absolute minimum Motability should do. PIP payments will increase in excess of 10% in April, an absolutely massive increase of £6.50 a week, £1,014 over the three year lease.
Motability may be a registered charity, but it’s there for two groups to make easy profits – the banks who finance the cars & the manufacturers who sell the cars. The banks have pretty much zero bad debt risk, as the government will never default on its payments. The car manufacturers get to supply vehicles at huge volumes to Europe’s biggest car fleet. Both industries do very well from Motability.
My experience with Motability has been pretty poor. Applying for a grant to help pay an AP is a pretty horrible experience, I was continually reminded that Motability had limited funds, and was encouraged to get a cheaper model that didn’t fully meet my needs. In the end I felt so embarrassed & upset I got a loan to pay my AP.
Used car prices have increased substantially, meaning that Motability will make very substantial extra profits when they sell used vehicles after the lease expires. These excess profits are absolutely massive.
Motability’s customer service is very poor. I ordered a new Hyundai in January 2022, for delivery approximately June 2022. It’s now December 2022 & I’m still waiting. I wrote to Motability for some help, but their entire attitude was to pass the problem back to the dealer, when it’s not the dealers fault. Dealers are small fry to car manufacturers, they can effectively ignore them, which is what Hyundai do. Motability have serious clout, but they not only refused to help, they specifically stated they couldn’t offer me a vehicle in the interim, when I never actually asked for that! I found that most depressing, especially when Motability find themselves up to their neck in excess profits, and more than capable of filling gaps with short term rentals – but they actively choose not to do so, which doesn’t really match their charitable aspirations.
My apologies for my rant! I just feel so abandoned by Motability, when they are a charity in the perfect position to actually help, but they chose not to do so.
So, so depressed. I’m at the point of seriously considering cancelling my order & buying a used vehicle. Much, much more expensive, but after almost a year waiting for delivery – the date of which has been pushed back six times, every single time without contacting me with an update – with no vehicle, and no help whatsoever from Motability, it seems the only guaranteed way to get myself mobile.