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Hi. I am a new Motability customer & new to forum. This is my third attempt to post so if it is repeated elsewhere I apologise.
I contacted several dealers with Motability experts available on 16/07/24 to ascertain waiting times for suitable vehicles etc. I visited a showroom where I had been told they had stock vehicles meeting my criteria and one an exact match. When I arrived at the appointed time on 20/07/24, I was em to provide relevant information and documents to initiate an application. There was however no suitable car in stock as the one the salesman had in mind had gone the night before. Perhaps this should have been the first red flag. I was able to test drive a car and completed the application with the promise of a search for a suitable car. Meanwhile application sent to Motability for basic model. I was told that it was easy to update if I upgraded. The following day I had a call advising that a car which would completely meet my needs had been identified in production. The upgrade would incur an increase of £500 on AP. I was happy with this as it was a better fit for my needs. I was told the car would now be allocated to me & I would get regular updates on progress with anticipated ETA of 18/08/24. Meanwhile production delays with Mini developed which I accepted when informed on 19/08/24. I won’t bore you with the details but on numerous subsequent conversations I was given updates on ‘your car’ Finally I had ETA of 01/10/24. To my surprise I was sent a video of a different car from the one I expected but was assured only difference was colour. So I said fine and arranged collection on Tuesday 8/10/24. When I checked Motability account I saw that AP was £500 more than I was told on 21/07/24 ( I checked it and screenshot on the day). It became apparent that it was October price list and original cost not frozen. I was told by Motability that an error on the part of the dealer meant he had not revised information of order on 22/07/24. I admit I was getting a bit annoyed but accepted that if I wanted to go ahead I would pay the extra and take the change of colour. However to add further insult to injury I had an email on Friday afternoon to say there had been a further error and spec of wheels would incur a further £600. So an extra £900 for the wrong car. Am I being unreasonable in feeling this is unacceptable?
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Not at all, Just reject the car, as is your right to do so. You can reject the car so long as you have not entered your private pin number
Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.Not at all, Just reject the car, as is your right to do so. You can reject the car so long as you have not entered your private pin number
Exactly this!
As the others have said, reject the car but I would also say that you give negative feedback on the dealers website to give warning to other Motability customers.
You should get the exact model and colour you ordered. Nothing more and nothing less! Cancel it straight away. You may have to change to a different car if needed quickly but lots of dealerships have cars in stock and ready to collect a couple of weeks after the order.
Thank you all for replying. I have been really upset this weekend but I always try to respond rather than react in difficult situations. My daughter is going to speak to the manager at the dealership in question and my son is planning to visit some alternative dealerships to assess reliability and availability of a suitable car. They don’t want me to go anywhere until they are confident this won’t happen again. Once again, thank you all for reassuring me.
There are times when customers don’t understand how the scheme works and there are other times when dealers don’t. Neither scenario is good, but with the greatest of respect we have a situation here where neither party understand how it works, hence the car crash that you describe!
As others have said, you are under no obligation to take the car and IMHO you shouldn’t do so. The only exception would be if the car is right (other than the wheels) and you’d be happy to accept the colour, you could tell the dealer that as it’s their mistake you are prepared to take the car but won’t pay for the wheels – over to them! If they don’t, tell them to cancel the order, and go to a better dealer.
Thank you Glos Guy. I was prepared to overlook the colour and to pay the extra £300 AP ( even though this was dealer error). But I really struggled when they asked for £600 for something that I didn’t ask for. So I’m not sure what my error was except for trying to be as reasonable as possible? Please advise on what I need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thank you
Thank you Glos Guy. I was prepared to overlook the colour and to pay the extra £300 AP ( even though this was dealer error). But I really struggled when they asked for £600 for something that I didn’t ask for. So I’m not sure what my error was except for trying to be as reasonable as possible? Please advise on what I need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thank you
1) When deciding on a car, be 100% clear about the exact model you want (each model has a different Motability number which you can find on their website under vehicle search) and the colour exterior and interior you want, plus any options you are prepared to pay for.
2) Present that info to a dealer and ask them “whether or not their available build slot allocations will allow them to order that car immediately”. Build slots open up to dealers in batches and unless you ask directly they won’t be honest about this. There are countless examples on this forum of multiple people ordering the same car, one gets it after 3 months and another is still waiting after 6 months. This is always because the first dealer had an available build slot and ordered immediately, whereas the second dealer didn’t and ‘sat’ on the order for 3 months before placing it (without telling the customer).
3) Get order documentation from the dealer that shows the exact model, specification and colour, plus any options. That way you know that they have ordered the correct car.
4) Ask the dealer for a tracking number that allows you to monitor your cars progress. If they don’t (or won’t) provide this the chances are they haven’t ordered it yet.
5) A good dealer should update you monthly, even if just to say nothing has changed. If they don’t, chase them. If you get nowhere, try the manufacturers U.K. helpline.
6) If the AP goes up after you order you are protected from the increase. If the AP drops, ask the dealer to amend the Motability system to the lower AP. This does not affect the lead time as it is not the order, it’s just admin. It takes them 5 minutes and doesn’t affect what they receive for the car. The order is between the dealer and manufacturer and is not affected by an AP change
7) Finally, when the car arrives, make 100% sure that the car is absolutely what you ordered before entering your PIN. Once you enter the PIN you are committed to the car, but you can reject the car if it isn’t correct by not entering the PIN.
Thank you Glos Guy. I will certainly keep your advice in mind. I assumed that I could trust the salesman to be honest and upfront. I will pass on your advice to my son & daughter as I am feeling so exhausted and upset with it all. So thank you again for taking the time to explain it all to me.
As suggested by nearly every comment.
The salesman does not sound very honest or helpful.
If it was me, I would go to another garage. If you cant get the salesperson on the phone, you could visit and cancel your order.
I phoned Motability to cancel an order and the helpdesk said I must phone the dealer and cancel there. They could not do it, must be the dealer.
But if you want to keep with that dealer, get them to amend your order to the lower AP as suggested.
@Ioniq I had a different experience with motability. I called dealer to cancel order as he was messing me around and he said he would do it. He didn’t. I called motability and the lady on the phone cancelled the order immediately so I could go and pick another car at a different dealership.
@Ioniq I had a different experience with motability. I called dealer to cancel order as he was messing me around and he said he would do it. He didn’t. I called motability and the lady on the phone cancelled the order immediately so I could go and pick another car at a different dealership.
As the dealer hadn’t cancelled the order, Motability removed it from their system so that you could order another car. Only the dealer can actually cancel the order, but if they don’t then it’s their lookout! This confusion happens often. What shows on the Motability system does not confirm that the car has been ordered. It simply shows that Motability have authorised the order.
Ah right. So it’s really two separate orders. One between the customer and motability ( the one you see on your motability account) and one between the dealer and the manufacturer.
So an issue can arise if the dealer orders a car on their system that doesn’t match the one the customer orders?
Ah right. So it’s really two separate orders. One between the customer and motability ( the one you see on your motability account) and one between the dealer and the manufacturer. So an issue can arise if the dealer orders a car on their system that doesn’t match the one the customer orders?
No, there’s only one order. It’s placed between the dealer and the manufacturer. The Motability system is just an admin thing, not the order. The dealer inputs the Motability code number of the car you want on to the Motability system and Motability authorise them to place the order (this often happens immediately). The dealer then updates the system with things like anticipated delivery date, although this is a best guess and rarely correct. So whilst the Motability system looks like it’s confirming an order, it isn’t. It simply confirms that Motability have authorised you to have that car and the info is entirely dependent on what the dealer inputs.
This is where it gets complicated, because the dealer may not actually be able to order the car straight away, even though they will imply that they have. This is because dealers get periodic build slot allocations for each model of car and when used up (as they often are) they have a waiting list of orders to be placed. They very rarely tell you this, so often people think the car has been ordered (because it looks like it has on the Motability system) when, in reality, the dealer is sitting on your order awaiting build slot allocations. This wait can be anything from a few weeks to several months before you even get in the queue!
This is why I advise people to always ask, before placing an order, whether the dealer has available build slot allocations and, if not (and you don’t want to try a different dealer who might have an immediate build slot) to keep chasing them until they confirm that they’ve placed the order. Never be fooled into thinking that because the Motability system says that the car has been ordered that it actually has!
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