Trying (for one moment) to look on the bright side, it’s worth reminding anyone who is not all over this that the VAT will only apply to the Advance Payment and not the core lease. In other words the £13,000 that we pay for the core lease (even for a car with zero AP) won’t be subjected to £2,600 VAT, as Motability’s block VAT exemption on the core lease remains.
Furthermore, It doesn’t necessarily follow that all current APs will rise by 20% next quarter. As I understand it, the reduction in mileage allowances, removal of overseas cover, tyre limits etc have all been introduced in order to help offset some of the impact of the VAT on APs and the 12% Insurance Premium Tax.
For all we know, the changes made so far could result in a much lower hike to APs of say 5-10% which, given what we’ve been experiencing over the past 2 years, will seem like a normal new quarter 😂