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In reply to: Extension
@chastw If you are considering buying a new Audi, I strongly advise configuring the car on Drive the Deal and seeing what discount is offered for main dealer factory ordered brand new cars to your exact specification (Audi is one of just half a dozen manufacturers that they work with). You can then go to your local Audi dealer and ask them to match it (or get very close). I am currently discussing a possible new vehicle purchase with my BMW dealer and, having adopted this approach, I am discussing discounts between £12-16k (albeit it’s a more expensive car than a Q3).
I don’t know the detail of your daughters disability, but if she is a full time wheelchair user and she also needs a ‘permanent and substantial’ adaptation (for example, we have to have a person hoist to get my wife in and out of the car) then, in addition to any negotiated discount, you can also get VAT exemption on the full retail price of the vehicle, including optional extras. This VAT exemption continues throughout the time you have the car for things like servicing and maintenance. Also, as you are eligible for a Motability car, you don’t pay Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax), including the exorbitant first year rate (showroom tax) or the over £40k premium (luxury car tax).
As a combined result of all of the above things, I am looking at a potential cost saving (versus a retail customer with no VAT / VED exemption and not having negotiated a discount) of up to 35%. Added to the £12k sacrificed benefits (plus AP) that we currently pay to Motability, the first 3 years depreciation is pretty much wiped out, by which time we can either start again with another new car, or keep the car that we already own outright.
In reply to: Extension
I have posted previously that I requested a lease extension last November, maybe for 6 months or the full 2 years and was refused. Just told they were not doing extensions anymore.
On my fourth Qashqai, lease ending March 6th, 15000 miles, all cars returned with less than 23000 miles in excellent condition.
Motability said I could order a new car up to the end of lease date, and keep the current one until delivery.
New Nissan Qashqai Epower with updated engine has the same AP as before Christmas. With a retail price £38850 for the n connector.
Currently looking to leave the scheme, and buy a “Prestige” car like the Audi Q3 (which was taken off the scheme), new S-Line cars available on Autotrader from £39000.
Taking the Qashqai to Nissan for MOT, then I will do my evaluation of the motoring costs of the Audi against another Motability car.
Only requirement is a boot size of at least 480l for daughter wheelchair etc.
Considered you are signing up to a lease with Motability, were they can apply certain restrictions to some people, but not to everyone, and seem to make things up as they go along doesn’t seem correct to me, but I have enjoyed reading the various comments on this forum, and will continue to do so in the future.
I hope everyone on Motability gets whatever they need to meet their requirements, extensions etc.In reply to: Motability Scheme Daily updates
Tuesday 25th November 2025 – Vehicles on the Scheme – 847 Change -54
Alfa Romeo -3 (petrol) Removed from Scheme
Junior -3
Audi -39 (35 petrol, 4 electric) Removed from Scheme
A1 -11
A3 -10
Q2 -7
Q3 -7
Q4 -4
BMW -10 (7 petrol, 2 phev, 1 electric) Removed from Scheme
i4 -1
1 Series -2
2 Series -1
X1 -5
X2 -1
Citroen +4 (petrol)
C3 Aircross +4 (14 avaialble)
Mercedes Benz -3 (petrol) Removed from Scheme
GLA -3
Mini -1 (petrol)
Mini 2 door (rag top) -1 Removed from Scheme
In reply to: Motability Scheme Daily updates
Thursday 16th October 2025 – Vehicles on the Scheme – 889 Change -2
Audi -5 (petrol)
Q3 -5 These are the outgoing model on the Scheme, removed as stock diminishes.
Cupra -1 (electric)
Tavascan -1 version without winter pack £3995 removed
Nissan +4 (electric)
Micra +4 New car 40 or 52kWh battery Advance Payments £4295 – £6195 (this car retails at £22,995 – £29,865)
In reply to: Motability Scheme Daily updates
Wednesday 1st October 2025 – Vehicles on the Scheme – 899 Change +34
Alfa Romeo -2 (plugin hybrid)
Tonale -2 Removed from Scheme
Audi -12 (11 petrol, 1 electric)
A1 -1
A3 Saloon -6
A3 Hatch -8
Q2 -2
Q3 +6
Q4 -1
BMW +6 (3 plugin hybrid, 3 petrol)
X1 +3
1 Series +2 Return to Scheme £2999 Advance Payment
2 Series +1 Return to Scheme £3499 Advance Payment
BYD +0
Seal-U price drop by up to £1200
Citroen +6 (+3 petrol, -1 diesel, +4 electric)
C3 Aircrews +2
C4 +3
C4X +1
C5 Aircrews +4
Spacetourer -2
Berlingo LCV -2 Removed form Scheme
Dacia +3 (-2 petrol, +3 hybrid, +2 electric)
Spring +2
Jogger -3
Duster +3 Return to Scheme £1995 – £3995 Advance Payment
Fiat +0
Price reduced by £100 – £500
More to follow………………
In reply to: Will the new Mercedes CLA and Smart #5 be available?
I doubt the new GLA will be on. I suspect, like Audi with the Q3, they are using Motability to offload old stock before the updated models arrive.
In reply to: Audi Q3 Keyless?
I feel like I have just been violated by VW Audi in a few days I will hand over my mid range Kia Sportage that we paid an ap of around £1600 that is kitted out to the max basically it doesn’t have 360 cameras or powered boot but it does have heated seats front and back heated steering wheel usb ports front and back powered seat adjustment keyless entry to name a few. When I collect my wife’s Audi q3 I will be handing over 4.5k with the tech pack added so my wife can still have heated seats I feel like I have been robbed 4.5k for a car that is less spelled out than almost every budget car out there and there not even that nice if it was up to me they could keep it I think my wife has gone mad.
In reply to: Vehicle with a dangerous intermittent problem
Is it a fault though?
Presumably it’s a MHEV and being a Golf it probably also has ACT or Cylinder on Demand technology.
It sounds as though it’s doing what it should and shutting down the engine when on light loads and when coasting.
Our Audi Q3 used to do this.
Out of interest, why do you think it’s dangerous? Presumably the brakes don’t shut down too?!
2024 - BMW i4 Grand Coupe eDrive 35 Sport
2020 - Volvo XC40 T4 Inscription
2017 - Audi Q3 TFSi Sport S-TronicIn reply to: Motability Scheme Vehicle numbers
Friday 1st August 2025 – Vehicles on the Scheme – 899 Change +35
Audi +23 (electric +5, petrol +18)
A1 +12
Model 25 and 30, 25 being suitable for under 25 year old. £2199 – £3399 Advance Payment, Sport, S-Line and Black Edition trim.
Q3 +6
35 model, manual and automatic, Sport, S-Line and Black Edition trim. £2999 – £3999 Advance Payment
Q4 +5
Sport and S-Line trim, 82kWh battery 331 mile range, Quattro in Sport trim – All prices at £7999 Advance Payment
Volkswagen +12 (electric)
ID3 +12
£899 – £5399 AdvancePayment, three battery sizes, 52kWh claimed 240 mile range, 59kWh – 268 mile range and 79kWh 350 mile range.
In reply to: Audi Q3
i been told by my local Audi dealer in Cardiff that the new Q3 probably wont be on motability scheme for 2 to 3 years as that’s how long the old model took to come on the motability scheme i was looking at the new Q3 but my lease was up and had to order another car .
Topic: Audi Q3
Hi everyone, has anyone any information as to whether the new Audi Q3 is likely to join the scheme ?.
In reply to: Q3 2025 – New Cars
Picked up an Audi Q3 few weeks back if I’d been able to wait I’d be on the bmw x2 at 3999 bit cheeky to ask but Is it possible to change ?
Not once you’ve taken delivery. You can cancel right up until the day of collection (although it’s very unfair on the dealer to do that), but once you enter your PIN you are in a 3 year contract.
In reply to: Q3 2025 – New Cars
Picked up an Audi Q3 few weeks back
if I’d been able to wait I’d be on the bmw x2 at 3999
bit cheeky to ask but Is it possible to change ?
In reply to: additional pack discount
It’s always worth asking directly. You’re more likely to get a more positive result by doing this face to face rather than on the phone.
We got a discount on a pack in an Audi Q3, 50% off if I remember correctly but this was 8 years ago and on a stock car.
By the way, Advanced Payments are not non negotiable but many dealers are reluctant to offer a discount. Some do though, so keep an eye on the sticky thread about the latest offers.
2024 - BMW i4 Grand Coupe eDrive 35 Sport
2020 - Volvo XC40 T4 Inscription
2017 - Audi Q3 TFSi Sport S-TronicIn reply to: Audi A3 Removed
the audi a3 hasn’t been removed from the mobility list just the a1 q3 q4 q5 its just the audi a3 available from the audi now
In reply to: Motability Scheme Vehicle numbers
Tuesday 1st April 2025 – Vehicles on the Scheme – 883 Change -1
Abarth – No change
Alfa Romeo +4 (2 Plugin hybrid, 2 electric)
Tonale +4 return to Scheme £3999 Advance Payment as a Mild hybrid or £7999 as a PHEV
Audi -25 (petrol)
A1 -12 Removed from Scheme
Q2 -9 Removed from Scheme
Q3 -4 Removed from Scheme
BMW -6 (3 electric, 3 Plugin hybrid)
iX1 -2
iX2 -1
X1 -1
2 Series Active Tourer -2
BYD +3 (Plugin hybrid)
Seal U +3 New to Scheme from £6345 Advance Payment up to £7995 AP for the 4WD 320bhp version.
Citroen -3 (petrol)
C4 -1
C4x -1
C5 Aircross -1
Cupra +2 (1 Plugin hybrid, 1 electric)
Tavascan +1
Leon +1
Dacia -1 (electric)
Spring -1 the entry level at £60 per week remains
DS Automobiles – No Change
More to follow……..
In reply to: Here we go again.
As I feared, the attacks on Motability continue. This from todays Telegraph;
Benefits claimants can still get subsidised BMWs despite welfare cuts
Certain people eligible for disability payments can continue to access the controversial Motability scheme.Benefits claimants can still apply for subsidised top-of-the-range BMWs worth more than £50,000 despite the Government’s welfare cuts.
The controversial Motability scheme, which was handed a record £2.8 billion of taxpayer cash last year to fund new cars for people on mobility benefits, will not be cut back in Labour’s welfare reforms.
The leasing scheme allows successful claimants to exchange part of their disability payments for brand new cars – including BMWs and Ford Mustangs that would otherwise cost as much as £54,000 – if they also pay a down payment.
It has been branded out of control by critics who fear the broad range of conditions under which recipients may qualify – such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and anxiety – leaves it vulnerable to exploitation. Applicants must prove that such conditions affect their mobility to be eligible for Motability.
A series of benefit fraud cases have seen claimants exaggerate illnesses to acquire Motability cars, including a mother who exaggerated her arthritis to obtain seven cars on the scheme.
The Government’s changes to personal independence payments (PIP) – the benefit required to qualify for Motability – are only changing its “daily living” component.
It means anyone who receives the enhanced level of “mobility” PIP, worth £3,939 annually, can continue to exchange it for a Motability car worth up to 12 times as much.
The most expensive cars available on the scheme retail for up to £54,000 and include the BMW i4, BMW iX1 SUV and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Other options include a £36,000 Abarth 600e, £33,000 Audi Q3 and £32,000 Mercedes A-class.
These high-end cars require recipients to pay a down payment of at least £2,999 but the total cost still comes in at a fraction of what ordinary members of the public would pay.
On TikTok, claimants boast of “driving in style” thanks to the taxpayer-funded car scheme as they pick up cars including a £37,000 Skoda Karoq, £30,000 Nissan Qashqai and £29,000 Kia Sportage.
One says, “thank you Government” in the video, adding: “Me and the girls will be driving in style.”
Car dealerships are now advertising specifically to benefits claimants on the platform, showing off the features of the £46,000 Audi Q4 e-tron, £36,000 Mercedes A-class and £24,000 Audi A1 that can be acquired on the scheme.
The soaring popularity of Motability has seen the number of users balloon from 635,000 in 2020 to a record 815,000 last year.
Over the same period, the scheme’s income from benefits payments – paid for by the taxpayer – has increased by £800 million, rising by 41 per cent from £1.99 billion to £2.81 billion.
Motability was first designed in the 1970s for those with physical disabilities but welfare recipients can now get onto the scheme with conditions like ADHD, autism and anxiety if these conditions affect their mobility.
Since 2016, the number of those eligible with ADHD has increased by 1,400 per cent, up from 2,348 people to 35,115.
Andrew Miller, its chief executive, received £748,000 in total remuneration last year.
According to an analysis by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), the number of those eligible who have autism has also increased by 703 per cent, from 3,509 to 28,225.
John O’Connell, the TPA’s chief executive, said it was “beyond doubt that honest taxpayers are being taken for a ride by those who have worked out how to game the system”.
On Wednesday, Sir Stephen Timms, the social security minister, said Labour’s welfare reforms would not tighten PIP to stop payments to people with conditions like anxiety.
“No,” he told Times Radio. “It depends what the effect of the condition is on people’s well-being, and the indicators are all published and set out. So if you have difficulties doing certain things, then you get points on the PIP assessment.”
However, there is evidence that the assessment can be exploited by benefits fraudsters aiming to take advantage of the scheme.
These include mother of four Linda Hoey, who faked her way to seven Motability cars between 2001 and 2015 by claiming arthritis left her barely able to walk.
She was given an 18-month suspended sentence in 2017 after photographs were uncovered showing her scuba diving on holiday in the Maldives.
Carer Colette Udall took £21,000 in handouts – including a Motability car – by claiming she could not get out of bed unaided, only to be filmed taking out the bins at the care home where she worked. She was handed a community order in 2019 and told to pay it all back at Minshull Street Crown Court.
In 2021, it emerged that Aaron Hooper, a supposedly wheelchair-bound man from Axminster, Somerset, had appeared in a video on Instagram pulling his Motability car through a car park on a rope. His mother Ann, who claimed the benefits on his behalf, was jailed for nine months at Exeter Crown Court in September 2021.
Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “The Motability scheme is a textbook example of a well-intentioned idea that has got way out of hand. It is symptomatic of the country’s spiralling welfare costs which Labour are failing to grasp.
“This week the Government had an opportunity to step up on welfare, but they failed. Their announcement fell short on savings but has left disabled people terrified.
“What Britain needs is a government which is both willing and able to make fundamental reforms to welfare. Sadly, we have the opposite.”
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, vowed that his party would “cut the waste” if it formed the next government.
“This is yet another example where successive Tory and Labour governments have failed to get a grip on the misuse of public funds, squandering exorbitant amounts with very few checks and balances,” he told The Telegraph.
“Only Reform will cut the waste, crack down on fraud and reinvest in Britain.”
‘No additional cost to the taxpayer’
A spokesman for Motability Operations said the DWP was solely responsible for determining who received disability benefits.“To use the Motability scheme, someone must receive one of a number of Government-funded higher rate mobility benefits which are defined in legislation,” the spokesman said.
“The Motability scheme gives 815,000 disabled people the freedom to get to work, school, and medical appointments – helping them live independently and play an active role in society. The scheme isn’t just life-changing for individuals – it also boosts the UK economy.”
A DWP spokesman said: “The Motability scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society. People claiming benefits must sacrifice some of their existing payments to lease a car, so this comes at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
“But we are determined to stamp out benefit fraud in all its forms with our crackdown due to save the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years, part of wider plans that will save £8.6 billion by 2030.
“This comes alongside our plans for the largest welfare reforms in a generation – backed by a £1 billion investment – to support those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot, putting welfare on a fairer, more sustainable footing, to unlock growth as part of the Plan for Change.”
In reply to: Motability question? We can answer it.
Hi All, Not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone ever been able to pay extra for a higher spec or trim that’s not available on the scheme? For example the normal Audi q3 s line 35 etc being changed to the sport back version? If anyone has experience with this, with any dealership could you advise, what did you get and how much extra you may have paid please?
I think there would also be an issue with insurance if you got a car that wasn’t officially on the motability list 🤔
In reply to: Motability question? We can answer it.
Hi All, Not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone ever been able to pay extra for a higher spec or trim that’s not available on the scheme? For example the normal Audi q3 s line 35 etc being changed to the sport back version? If anyone has experience with this, with any dealership could you advise, what did you get and how much extra you may have paid please?
It’s a definite ‘No’ I’m afraid. Each specific model has its own unique Motability order code number and an Advanced Payment calculated for that particular model. A dealer would be physically unable to assign any additional models to Motability. Great shame, but that’s the way it is.
In reply to: Motability question? We can answer it.
Hi All, Not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone ever been able to pay extra for a higher spec or trim that’s not available on the scheme? For example the normal Audi q3 s line 35 etc being changed to the sport back version? If anyone has experience with this, with any dealership could you advise, what did you get and how much extra you may have paid please?
It’s generally not possible. I guess if it was, then lots of folk would be doing it.
The closest we’ve got to it was several years ago when we pointed out to a Volvo dealer that the trim level of a car named on the scheme (a base trim) had been discontinued by the manufacturer, and asked if we could therefore have an SE (the trim level above). After a lot of head scratching they said yes, but when we collected the car, the dealer admitted to us that they’d got into trouble for doing so!
@Jojoe – Quite right, the Ford Motability lady is brilliant, just a shame the newer Kuga FHEV wasn’t available when she ordered it for me, was supposed to be an MY24 but all it had was a mild facelift with the same problematic info system so went for the Enyaq instead.
@Oscarmax – Glad I don’t have your VW dealer! mine was bad enough! Audi and previously Skoda were very good, Seat/Mazda frachise likewise.I think the worst for me was Lookers VW in Newcastle, after my Yeti got wrote off the Tiguan I’d ordered from JCT600 was nowhere to be seen (due to Covid delays) so I looked around and Lookers assured me there was one on the way over they had available. So, cancelled the JCT order (and lost the £600 discount) and placed the order with Lookers, 2 days later he rang me and said sorry, we didn’t have one after all!.
At that point I had no car (hire car had gone back) and I had to find something very quickly, luckily the Seat dealer had an Ateca, but, not the diesel I wanted as they’d been removed from the scheme in the Q3 update, so I ended up with a 1.5TSI petrol for the next 3 years.
Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!
In reply to: Motability question? We can answer it.
Hi All,
Not sure if this has been asked before but has anyone ever been able to pay extra for a higher spec or trim that’s not available on the scheme?
For example the normal Audi q3 s line 35 etc being changed to the sport back version?
If anyone has experience with this, with any dealership could you advise, what did you get and how much extra you may have paid please?
In reply to: Anyone waiting on a GLA 200 premium or Audi Q3?
Hi Olivia,
If you haven’t managed to sort something, I’d love to help at Brighton Audi on a Q3?
Feel free to message me direct at nathaniel.tubb@caffyns.co.uk
If you are sorted then no problem 👍
In reply to: Anyone waiting on a GLA 200 premium or Audi Q3?
Hi Oliviaa, are you saying the Q3 is off the scheme?
I just looked on the Audi site and they’re still advertising it.
I was going to get one but interior wise it’s a 10 year old concept obviously had updates over the years but it’s extremely dated. And it doesn’t have much kit. There’s a new generation Q3 coming out, but have absolutely no idea if it would come on here.
