[Kieron]

My 3 months until end of lease is coming up next month and I want to buy my car from them. It’s a 2018 BMW 3 series. Is it still possible to do this and if so how much would I be looking at?

Topic

[Lou]

Kieron hi, I contacted motability regarding this query last year and they confirmed that it is still an option providing you request a quote 3 months before your lease ends. You will of course be quoted the high book price but it will be for a car which you know the full history of etc so in my personal opinion worth it. I would have a look online for a car that matches yours for a rough idea on price (I could be wrong in that idea tho!)

[mitch]

thats the only drawback kieron they will give you a price and its take it or leave it. but then as lou says you already know the car so it reduces the risk element.

[BigDave]

I believe the rationale for Motability asking a high price from a customer to buy their vehicle at lease end, is to deter the customer from actually doing so.

The reason? In most cases, Motability would then have lost a profitable lease customer (unless the vehicle was being bought as a second vehicle, or for someone else, which would only apply in very few cases).

Leasing customers are profitable to Motability and the dealerships, likewise the resale through MFL Direct. If the customer buys their vehicle and goes ‘off scheme’ it is a net loss to Motability and the dealership network, who all want the customer to lease another scheme vehicle.

Hence Motability asking ‘top book’ or even over ‘top book’ price for the vehicle.

Business is, after all, business!

[Glos Guy]

I agree with BigDave. At the end of each lease I always request a purchase price out of interest and it’s always been way too high. You can usually find a newer, better model or far better equipped car for the same or even less money, even from franchised dealers. Don’t forget that, unlike the prices quoted by Motability, dealer prices are always negotiable, so don’t just compare against advertised prices. In the current climate I should think that 10-15% discounts should be fairly easy to achieve. Buying from a franchised dealer will also get you a very good warranty. I think that the only time it might be worth considering buying the car from Motability is if you added a lot of optional extras which you are unlikely to find replicated (especially if the price asked by Motability doesn’t seem to reflect them – if it does, you are paying for the options twice) however, in the case of BMW dealers, most second hand cars on their forecourts tend to be loaded with a lot of options.

[ChrisK]

I’ve read this past week on that other Motability site to get the best price for the car is to ask the dealer who you would be returning the car to to buy the car from Motability then sell it back to you.
The dealer gets first refusal on the car if you don’t buy it first and I’m sure they would get a couple of thousand off the price that Motability offer you for said reasons noted above.
The dealer will want a cut for sure and I don’t know if this actually works but in theory it should.

If you do buy the car direct make sure everything on the car in the way of consumables are all up together with the likes of tyres and the likes and get these renewed a few months before asking for a price to buy because once they give you a price it will be on a “sold as seen” basis so no come back if you noticed a couple of tyres are near to being worn out or the wiper blades are smearing the screen and need renewing a few days after agree to buy, they will ring you and ask if your happy with the car the way it is along with any scraches in the paintwork or dents.

 

 

 

 

[Glos Guy]

That’s interesting ChrisK and I could see that possibly working if you were getting a different brand of car (e.g. returning a Ford to a VW dealer), as they wouldn’t sell it themselves. However, as a point of interest, our last 2 Motability cars were VW’s and were returned to VW dealers in excellent condition, fairly low mileage and with a number of optional extras, yet were both dispatched to auction, for which they receive a processing fee from Motability, which is a guaranteed and easy income for them. On that basis, I guess that they would want at least that fee, on top of the price that Motability quotes them, plus extra to cover any warranty that they might have to provide.

[Kieron]

Thanks for the replies it’s appreciated. I would like to ask one more question though which is when at the 3 months until end of lease they give you a price can you buy there and then or do you have to wait until the end of lease?

[Author]

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