What would be helpful to some Motability customers, if Motability reintroduced what they did in the 1980s and let you choose the car you wanted/needed and used your benefit to pay for the cost of your choice of car, after the AP. In 1984 I bought a Austen Maestro for £5,700Deposit/AP, after a 17.5 % Discount I think that was the cost of the AP Deposit, but the rest of the cost was covered by my DLA mobility monthly benefit, until the cost of the car was cleared and the car was then mine.
So you were effectively using your benefit for an interest free credit loan, after the upfront AP. I don’t think it extended to all cars but certainly Ford, British Leyland, Vauxhall and Chrysler all with a discount and maybe others were included. Insurance, breakdown cover and servicing were not included. But at that time insurance was not included when leasing a Motability car, you paid Motability on top for Insurance. In 1988 insurance was £50 for a Nissan Bluebird, £100 in 1989 and £150 in 1990 when leasing the car.
But this system would certainly give the Motability customer more freedom and choice in what they could pick, to meet their needs.
