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I can fully understand why many think the car choice, as is, is more than adequate to meet the needs of most disabled drivers. I also understand there can be resentment when people post about premium badge buying and opening up the scheme to larger APs. However removing the ceiling on APs will increase the numbers using the scheme and the profitability of the company which can only be a good thing, right?
What do we think then ceiling or none?
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Absolutely not, people 20 years ago would be more than happy with the current choice
Not sure, I’d be open to the idea of increasing it to max 40k, but then seeing the 8k AP for a a250e 35k car is quite bad.
pg can you give a reason for your choice, would you be worried the general public would view the scheme as disabled getting premium cars for free?
I’m joking, people give this exact reply when discussing u25s restrictions but at the same time want the restrictions for themselves lifted… just a wee bit bitter as the cars I was meant to order are gone.
bmw 1 series gone
Ford fours automatic gone
Seat Leon automatic is showing as insurance group 17 meaning I can’t order but in reality it’s group 16… frustrating
Absolutely yes!
this is a scheme for all disabled receiving PIP higher rate.
Those on benefits and not working have a lot of choice at the low end, or can possibly get a grant.
those of us working or with other financial means are trapped in this arbitrary price cap, insurance cap and BHP cap.
remove the price cap, i can understand the under 25 restrictions but other than that it should be about suitable cars being available. so larger suvs for those needing space for wheelchairs/walkers etc. i am not talking about fancy 2 seater sports cars but useful stuff like pickups etc. i know there are a few from other threads that would jump at the chance of a pick up style vehicle being available.
for the under 25,s there should be an appeal scheme where they can apply for a particular vehicle based on need for space etc. not just because they want something a bit sportier. and if agreed they pay an insurance supplement.
Absolutely yes! this is a scheme for all disabled receiving PIP higher rate.
Shouldn’t we injured veterans on WPMS/AFIP be permitted to use the scheme then? Nor those on DLA HRM either?
That was taken as read
Yes.
I work, I want a nice car, I’m willing to pay the extra.
It’s the same with wheelchairs, I want a smart looking high tech wheelchair, the NHS offer only 30+ year old tech wheelchairs that weigh so much they are unsafe to use in some of Work’s lifts & require expensive assistants to get the thing into a car. I simply go out & buy what I want & ignore the NHS, but now we have personal wheelchair budgets it’d be possible to use that pathway if I simply had the time/energy to deal with the NHS bean-counters. For me, being disabled doesn’t mean I have unlimited time on my hands, so I’m willing to throw money at the solution.
It is about the time they removed the price and raised the EV/BHP cap, as I have stated in another post you set your budget and buy what you can afford.
I always do some research several months in advance use an Excel spread sheet, I set my budget based on the AP I am will or can afford and the running cost over the 3 year lease, our present Motability lease vehicle a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV AP was £1699 running cost @ 8,000 miles (£500) per year X 3 = £3200.
Our previous Motability lease car Ford Kuga 2.0 diesel Powershift was about AP £1500, but the running cost over the 3 year lease £3,000, at the end of the lease £4500.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
I see no sense in price caps although accept that there has to be some sort of limit, but nothing like the current restrictions. The condition has to be that all the additional costs are covered by the specific vehicles AP. That way everyone is being treated equally. Very easy to do as every lease company, bar Motability, does it.
As many know, we used to have considerably more choice, including much bigger / more expensive vehicles – albeit at a cost. The price caps were initiated due to a completely inaccurate article in the Daily Mail which talked about disabled people getting ‘free luxury cars at the tax payers expense’. Rather than correct this nonsense, and state that even someone with a zero AP runabout is paying £10k for it in sacrificed benefits, Motability rolled over and allowed the Daily Mail to win at the expense of the disabled drivers who they are supposed to champion.
As others have said, qualifying disability benefits are not means tested and disabled people should be able to choose cars that they would like and can afford, not just what they need. Being completely honest, those who are against higher price cars being available often come over ‘if I can’t afford it, nobody else should be allowed it’. I think that attitude is very unfortunate. Disabled drivers using Motability should have the same choice as able bodied drivers using other lease companies. IMO the current policy is discriminatory.
I wonder if these caps are the reason Motability take up from those on the higher dates us so low?
maybe Motability need to look at why?
Hi,
without wanting to sound controversial, if you can afford it you can have whatever car you want, unfortunately not with the protection/piece of mind that the motability scheme has to offer.
I agree the cap does not really make sense as the amount motability pay will not be reflective of the boom price of the car. I.e the discounts they will get on a £35k Ford will be much better than on a £35k BMW.
in the flip side of this I would expect the residual value after 3 years to be higher on the BMW. They should do a whole life cost calculation. When I used to look after company lease cars, all the lease companies would provide these details, so I think it would be quite simple to do. In a lot of cases due to better residuals an Audi for example worked our cheaper than the seat equivalent. Any whole life cost in addition to the benefits received by motability would then be the AP. This would also give much better transparency to the costs.
I myself don’t see what the problem of having no price ceiling at all is, not that I can personally afford anything near the current top AP.
If folk want to waste their money on a top of the range badges then that’s up to them as long as increasing the top tier doesn’t drag the bottom tier up that’s fine by me.
All these limits to how much can be spent was all to do with the Daily Fail and their attacks on the disable, what with disabled folk driving around in free Rolls Royce’s at the tax payers expense was just not on. Anyone would think there readers would prefer Putin’s favourite paper the Pravda.?
It’s getting closer to the point where having a car on the scheme will cost roughly the same amount as leasing privately. Yes there are still some bargains to be had but they are becoming few and far between compared with a few years ago. I’m more than happy with my 3 series, but if similar cars are not available in 3 years time at a reasonable cost then I will revert to getting a car privately. £10k for a Jeep is a complete joke, wait a year and you will be able to buy a second hand one for close to that figure.
Really it would only be fair for Motability prices to be broadly in line with private leasing. The advantages of the motability security, high milage allowances, very flexible attitude to car condition on return Full insurance, servicing and road tax included plus no credit checks would for many swing the choice to motability.
We run a motability car, quite honestly we would not consider a new car purchace if it wasnt for the scheme, A lot of lease deals look attractive but low milage allowance and onerous return condition would put me off. Possibly secondhand is the most cost effective way but there are risks
It is an absolute no brainer for the ceiling to be removed from a business point of view so the decision to introduce it probably came from government, not in the form of a direct instruction but maybe as a suggestion.
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