- This topic has 26 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 2 months ago by
.
- Topic
Hi I am grateful of Motability grants but upset as well as the car I choose AP is £2999 and grants tell me i can only add up to 50% more to my £849 grant which leaves me with little choice is this fair or right as i have never heard this before.In other words I Can only get a car up to £1249 they tell me.
- Replies
I am adding actual email from Grants part they says what i am able to add.
You are able to add your own funds if you wish to get a vehicle with a higher advance payment. The maximum you are able to add to this grant, is 50% of the value of the grant award. In this case, you are able to add a maximum of £424.50, which would mean a total advance payment of £1273.50.
Personally, I think that’s a reasonable restriction. I realise that this may be an unpopular view, but those of us who don’t get grants are effectively subsidising those that do. Fair enough if people are in genuine financial need, but I don’t think that it’s reasonable to say that you can’t afford the AP and want financial assistance, only to then say once the grant is made that you can afford to stump up £2,150 over the grant for the car that you want.
As Gos Guy says the 50% rule is to stop the system being abused.
The sole purpose of the grant is to put you in a catorgory of car suitable for your needs Unless you have good reason the catorgory of vehicle offered is unsuitable for your disability needs there is very little you can do about it.
Yes but the AP for a suitable cars should not be judged as this is a breach of Equality act and many say just because they cannot get a grant have sour grapes if we choose a car that is suitable and be be available when you do not have a car is based on need not whether i go without food or others basic needs to get into a car again.
If the Mini works for you then fair enough but my question would be why does the JCW suit more than a Cooper or S?
From April 2024 Toyota BZ4X now From april 2025 Skoda Enyaq 85 Edition due to BZ4x being written off
Yes but the AP for a suitable cars should not be judged as this is a breach of Equality act and many say just because they cannot get a grant have sour grapes if we choose a car that is suitable and be be available when you do not have a car is based on need not whether i go without food or others basic needs to get into a car again.
The whole purpose of grants is to help those of limited means to get a car that meets their essential needs, not luxuries or desires. I don’t think that any of us have a problem with that, even though we are effectively subsidising it, so it’s not sour grapes at all and that is the reason why Motability sensibly impose these rules to avoid abuse.
If you want a Mini JCW then that does not address your ‘needs’, it addresses your ‘wants’. That’s entirely different. If a car as small as a Mini suits your essential needs then you should be able to find plenty of cars with much lower AP’s than £2,999. If you have the means to pay thousands towards an AP for a car, and you really want a Mini JCW, then you could always decline the grant and pay the full AP as the rest of us would have to do.
For the benefit of anyone here who uses the the “breach of the Equality Act” argument, here’s a link to Government guidance about what the Act means:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-guidance
Are the charity has had 20 million of funding recently i do appreciate some help but with the lack of cars Automatics many are over £1500 and by the way i used to fund all my motability cars and now ask for some help and I think if i wait i maybe able to go without to get what i want an mg 4 trophy which has rear ark camara and heated seats am i not worthy of as said waiting going without to try to get one even if it takes 6 months or a year.
Not true as I have a case against Motability operations and been told i do indeed have a case and evidence to back it up the charity is a different story but but they judge everyone every day and we know they have to share it out but i had a friend who sadly is no longer with us and the charity gave him well over £4500 to get a top of the range Volvo executive that is no longer on the scheme with seats that help you get in and a large boot hoist and only used it up to two years and not his fault became bedbound and it was then stuck on his drive for over the 5 years extension so bad that the truck had to drag it off his drive as the electric brake had all ceased and into 6 weeks of having the car told the grants team that the electric seats he wants taking out as he was not happy.
I did have a top of the range Citroen Picasso that due to having park assist above the range below they funded me over £2000 and a boot hoist as well perhaps they have been told to cut back on awards or i maybe think it depends on who you deal with as i was at first refused that car saying they do not fund towards park assist and then when someone else took over i got the full amount.
Yes but the AP for a suitable cars should not be judged as this is a breach of Equality act and many say just because they cannot get a grant have sour grapes if we choose a car that is suitable and be be available when you do not have a car is based on need not whether i go without food or others basic needs to get into a car again.
I think you are misunderstanding how the grant works. They have allowed you a total grant of £1273. This will get you in the into a Mini. Whats under the hood as very little say in the matter, so there is no breach of the Equality act.
Those that have posted have no reason to have sour grapes. I myself applied for a grant and was in a similar position to you wanting a higher spec model than my grant allowed. The end result is grants put me in the type of car I wanted but not the spec. It’s just tuff titty at the end of the day.
The grant they have allowed will only get you into a “Mini” electric 2. You could go back to grants and ask for the £226 more for the Mini Cooper classic £1499as an EV wouldn’t be suitable with only a 145 mile range. The other option is to see if a dealer is offering cashback or will do you a deal but, it won’t get you into a JCW.
The only other option is to cancel the grant and fund a JCW yourself.
@John Newton hit the nail on the head unfortunately.No I have had a Mini Cooper sport and it is the same price as the JCW at £2999 the cooper i did have was only £1249 AP but the prices have all gone up that is why Grants have not taken the this into consideration and the shortage of cars now if you want a petrol still.
It is your choice and if you wish to wait and it means adding something into the grant to do better means having a car or not makes no sense in reality with the prices all gone up and i have been told Mini prices might go up more in april quarter.
Indeed prices have all gone up and the PIP mobility payment hasn’t taken this into consideration either. Life is not always as fair as we would all like it to be.
No I have had a Mini Cooper sport and it is the same price as the JCW at £2999 the cooper i did have was only £1249 AP but the prices have all gone up that is why Grants have not taken the this into consideration and the shortage of cars now if you want a petrol still.
What is your reason fow wanting a JCW over a Cooper classic?
With Covid then inflation demand is high for those who want a grant, it now takes upto 6 months rather than 6 weeks. So there will be less money to spread around.
I thought the 50% limit above the AP was to stop manufacturers and dealers from abusing the scheme?
They could put a car up for AP, and charge a ton for extras like paint, other features. It really is used to stop the dealers from ripping the customers off.
If you go to buy a new car, its worse…..all these extras add thousands on top of the base price.
Although I’ve been on the scheme for many years, I wasn’t aware that any form of grant was available. Can I ask where I should be looking please?
Grants?
I receive PIP. I find the car which best ( perhaps not completely) fits my needs.
I have not heard of grants. Might I have been able to more closely marry car to needs?
Although I’ve been on the scheme for many years, I wasn’t aware that any form of grant was available. Can I ask where I should be looking please?
https://www.motability.org.uk/charitable-grants/
If you can’t fund the AP yourself, grant team may help you with costs towards your AP 🙂
I thought the 50% limit above the AP was to stop manufacturers and dealers from abusing the scheme? They could put a car up for AP, and charge a ton for extras like paint, other features. It really is used to stop the dealers from ripping the customers off. If you go to buy a new car, its worse…..all these extras add thousands on top of the base price.
In a word no!
If you can’t afford to pay the AP to get suitable car for your needs you may be eligible for a grant towards the AP. The amount of grant you are awarded can be topped up by 50%. This is stop people applying for a grant and adding as much money as they like on top of the grant award.
You are able to get grants towards other items, such as a hoist.
The AP is set for a car by Motability, if you choose to add extra’s such as paint or option packs, you can do so out of your own pocket regardless of cost.
Thanks for the help. Really appreciated.
Maybe the grant is for WAV’s?
I have not heard about a grant. But there is no easy one size fits all on the Motability scheme.
There will be exceptions to the rule as everyones mobility is different, and it certainly does not improve with age…
@Berty is can be for cars, SUv’s or WAV’s
look at the link I posted for Fiestared.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.