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I filled in Motability’s online form expressing my thoughts (shared with most of you) that it would be very helpful if Motability allowed us to order our new cars at least six months before we’re due to change. We all know that there’s nobody getting their cars sooner than that, and in most cases, a lot longer wait.
I received the phonecall I requested about this yesterday. The answer was an emphatic no, Motability will not be extending the order window. There wasn’t any real coherent reason given for this. I was given the line about my lease being automatically extended, along with all of the benefits.
I said that it seemed unfair for Motability to charge the same amount during any extension as they would on a brand new car. Again, no real response to this.
I agree with other posters who have said that Motability do well from lease extensions. The car I’m looking at seems to have a long waiting time, probably a year if I’m being realistic. The thought of paying Motability the same amount for nine months extra in my old car rankles.
I’m looking seriously at options outside of the scheme in response. I’m lucky in that, whilst my credit rating is terrible, I have access to a free loan within the family that I can pay back through my reclained PIP Mobility.
I’ve always been happy with and a defender of the scheme. This intrangient unwillingness to adapt to the current market conditions and help their customers is annoying, especially when it wouldn’t cost them any money.
Maybe their attitudes would change if a lot more of us complained and said we were considering leaving the scheme.
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Spot n @BigDave. I looked into it a while back and the car in question needed ot be seriously adapted to qualify for vat relief. In the end I didn’t bother and stayed on the scheme.
“Getting back to the OP, I also asked Motability if I could order just one month earlier in the same quarter, so same price etc. but they wouldn’t budge. I knew there would be a long wait for delivery and to have that month wasted seemed silly. But thems the rules!!”
Yeah, fully agree. Eventually they will have to realise that this unwillingness to extend the order window is costing them customers.
As said above, if you can home charge then an EV with Motability (from zero AP) is a no-brainer and unbeatable on an overall cost basis.
I provide use of my home charger to two other EV drivers. One’s a close neighbour who has a charger but is in a fixed deal at 26p/kw. This will save them at least £350 in a year. The other person lives in a terraced house with no possibility of home charging. They sometimes leave their EV in Tesco car park all day to charge, for free. Otherwise they use mine. Both of them just give me a bell to organise.
I have parking space outside my house for three cars and normally only need to charge my car a max of twice a week so for five nights my charger is idle. I’m happy for it to be used every night, as long as I’m not out of pocket. Even during the day, my charger could be in use but would obviously cost a lot more at 33.75p/kW instead of 7.5p.
I’m sure there are lots of people like me who would have no problem doing this. It just needs the EV leaseholder to be local and have one healthy driver who could walk back home after plugging in the car and to collect it.
Didn’t realise that BigDave. Perhaps if other bodies were able to compete on equal terms with Motability (but must not be for profit).
Current vehicle: 2022 MINI Hatch 2.0 Cooper S Classic Premium 5DR Auto
Last vehicle: 2018 SEAT Leon Sport Tourer 1.8 TSI FR Technology DSG
Good post Peter, I use an App called Co charger which effectively advertises my charger. Not too much take up though….
Quite a complex financial argument for all this as everybody’s circumstances are very very different.
I stopped a while a go trying to tell people what the right thing to do as clearly I am not armed with all the information……
I avoid politics,Brexit and religion……
Didn’t realise that BigDave. Perhaps if other bodies were able to compete on equal terms with Motability (but must not be for profit).
Having previously had a chat about zero VAT on vehicles for disabled people with my MP (who at the time just happened to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and is currently in the ‘jump off’ for PM), I was left with the distinct impression that any widening of the zero VAT situation simply wouldn’t happen. Also, that if the Motability Scheme was being set up today, there would be no chance of the zero VAT ‘block exemption’ being given either.
Of course, taking away the current Motability exemption could be seen as a ‘vote loser’ as far as disabled people are concerned, but it would hardly be an overall ‘vote winner’ to expand it, particularly in the current economic climate.
So, I think the current stalemate (for want of a better term) is probably as good as it gets or is likely to get.
“I use an App called Co charger which effectively advertises my charger. Not too much take up though….”
That’s interesting! I would have thought that take up would have been decent. Long term it’s got to be popular.
“I stopped a while a go trying to tell people what the right thing to do as clearly I am not armed with all the information……”
I hear you!
“I avoid politics,Brexit and religion……”
Excellent advice! 🙂
Very informative. Thank you!
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