@ElTel I agree with many of your points but must just correct one. You say that there is now more choice. The polar opposite is the case. At its peak the scheme offered (from memory) something like 5,500 cars, and they were all petrol and diesel so were suitable for anyone who could afford them. Now it’s less than 900. Take off all the EVs and PHEVs, which aren’t appropriate for many people, and that choice is far less again. During that time, the number of manufacturers, makes, models and trim levels of cars in the general market have increased substantially. If it were possible to work out what percentage of the total available makes, models and trim levels were available to us at Motability’s peak, versus the same statistic at today’s level, the contrast would be amazing.
@wmcforum Interesting that even after a few years of really pushing them, 760,000 of the now 860,000 Motability customers (88%) have been unwilling or unable to make the transition to EV. Meanwhile the choice of ICE cars on the scheme has fallen and APs rocketed
Finally, several people have rightly flagged that if you compare a Motability lease with a private lease then the Motability lease is the better offer. No doubting that, as Motability get a block VAT exemption. However, it’s almost as though people think that there is a law that says that you can only buy brand new cars. The vast majority of private motorists don’t buy brand new cars (which aren’t brand new for long anyway). The average age of cars on our roads now is around 10 years old. Most modern cars will easily last 20 years plus without major concerns, especially at the sort of mileages that most Motability customers drive. Buying a car that’s just a few years old means that the first owner has taken the hit on the initial depreciation and during that time any initial glitches have been sorted out. The £12k sacrificed benefits, plus the AP, plus any options all add up to a huge sum of money that will cover the bulk of the costs of ownership and when you come to get rid of the car you have an asset for trade in. That’s certainly the way we are thinking (having done it before and it worked extremely well cost wise). I’d rather have the sort of car that would never appear on the Motability scheme that’s a few years old, than a brand new one that wouldn’t be something I’d personally choose, and isn’t brand new for long!