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Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from people who have actually been through this.
My 2024 BMW 1 Series lease is due to end in May 2027. It was ordered before the 1 July 2026 changes, so I’m hoping it might still be eligible if extensions are being offered.
The car has been perfect for my mum’s mobility needs, and with BMW no longer on the Motability Scheme we’re worried about finding something that suits her as well.
Another concern is that paying a large Advance Payment for a replacement would be difficult financially, so we’d really like to keep the current car if at all possible.
I’ve read that some people are being offered 9- or 15-month lease extensions, but I haven’t been offered anything yet.
Realistically, what are my chances of getting an extension? Has anyone in a similar situation managed to get one, and if so, what seemed to make the difference? Did anyone with a car ordered before 1 July 2026 get offered an extension?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people with first-hand experience. Thanks.
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Unfortunately, the issue of lease extensions is all over the place and Motability do not apply a consistent approach, so it will often depend on who you speak to and how you phrase the question.
My first hand experience is just over 12 months out of date, but I’ll share it anyway as it may still be relevant.
Some people have found that if they look at their online account there is an automated option to select an extension. Some have even been able to get full 2 year extensions via this route. In my case, there was no such option, so I called Motability.
I was told that extensions were no longer an option, unless the car had been “substantially modified” or done very low mileage (I can’t remember the figure now, but have a feeling it was less than 20,000 miles over 3 years). Neither applied to us at the time, so the most they would offer was a 3 month extension on the basis that we were struggling to find a car that would be comparable to our current car. They said that anyone can get a 3 month extension.
Having reflected on it, and checked our contract (which stated that the lease could be extended), I called them back and asked again. I got the same answer. At this point I quoted the contract wording and said that under U.K. contract law, the terms of contract cannot be varied by one party without the other consenting to the change or being given the option to terminate the contract without penalty. I was put on hold for a while and eventually they agreed to a 2 year extension, with the right to order a new car at any time within that 2 years.
Annoyingly, as we then needed a new adaptation, we had to order a new car (as Motability won’t fit adaptations to existing cars), so we couldn’t use the extension anyway!
It’s worth noting that quite a few Motability customers tried the same approach via a formal route and were unsuccessful. Clearly Motability didn’t want to open the flood gates should there be publicity about claimants being successful, so dug their heels in, citing some wording buried within their T’s & C’s. However, on an ad hoc discretionary basis that doesn’t attract publicity, they will sometimes still agree to it
My advice to you would be to request an extension based on the fact that finding a new AP, given how much they are now, is challenging financially. If that doesn’t work, politely point out the fact that your contract states that an extension is an option and it was taken out before Motability changed their stance on this.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
As things stand today, going via the grants team, will get you a 2 year extension if your current car is still suitable. Its too early to say for sure, but I’d expect the situation to still be the same, when yours comes up for renewal. Its adviseable to ask nearer the time for more details.
As kezo says, apply for a grant and they’d rather extend than pay towards your AP.
If I seem a little strange, that's because I am.
Skoda Karoq SEL.
As kezo says, apply for a grant and they’d rather extend than pay towards your AP.
how do you go about doing this. Our current car meets my sons needs and changing it would have an affect on him being autistic he does not handle changes well.
i don’t think we would be eligible for this, on what basis is a grant given.
do you just call Motabilty and ask for the grants team first, or go down the route of asking for an extension first, don’t want to ask for an extension then ask for a grant looks a bit suspicious.
Since your lease runs until May 27, I imagine Motability will likely get in touch early in 2027 to offer an extension.
I’m not entirely sure about the exact criteria Motability uses for extensions, but in my case, my current lease ends this October, and they reached out in June to offer a 15-month extension without me even asking.
Thanks so much for all of your replies so far! Sorry I’m not sure how to directly reply.
The motor is absolutely perfect for my Mum’s needs, it fits everything fine she needs, she loves the seats everything low down and easy, she’s struggled in a lot of other cars when getting lifts, and obviously its a perfectly fine car for myself when I need to run and get her supplies or take her for appointments.
Ill try and have a look on the app and website if theres anything at all about extending.
At the time it was a significant deposit that was saved up for so to have to do it all over again for a car that she might not be comfortable in will be a really uncessary pain.
Glos guy do you mind me asking where you found details of an extension was it on the app or website mate?
Thanks again everyone!
@KCFC Hopefully your Mum (or you on her behalf) has registered with Motability for an online account? If not, it’s best to do so as that’s where the automated option to extend appears, although I stress that it seems to be the exception not the rule. We had no automated option to extend on our account (I checked when some others reported that they did).
I’m not entirely sure about the exact criteria Motability uses for extensions.
Nobody does 😂 Nor does anyone understand where they get the random extension periods from, such as your 15 months!
Out of interest, does your car have low mileage (less than 20k miles) or adaptations?
I’m a low-mileage user, roughly 9k over the full term and no adaptations, so I’m curious if that plays into their decision at all.
I just told them I was looking outside the scheme due to no extensions, I received 12 months, my mileage was just below 20,000.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
I’m a low-mileage user, roughly 9k over the full term and no adaptations, so I’m curious if that plays into their decision at all.
Yes, it does make a difference. Under 20k miles was always a green light to an extension, even when the automatic right to a 12 or 24 month extension for everyone was removed.
Im 14k Miles that’s from May 2024 would people advice to keep it bellow the 20k mark?
There’s no adaptions its literally just been perfect for my Mum as previously said she does has issues with a lot of the bigger motors the passenger seat it pretty much in the same position for her always and fits all of her walkers etc.
Really hope we can keep it as its been superb for us all.
Im 14k Miles that’s from May 2024 would people advice to keep it bellow the 20k mark? There’s no adaptions its literally just been perfect for my Mum as previously said she does has issues with a lot of the bigger motors the passenger seat it pretty much in the same position for her always and fits all of her walkers etc. Really hope we can keep it as it’s been superb for us all.
Even maintaining existing usage, the car should still be under 20k when the order window opens (3 months before the lease ends). I’d ask for a lease extension at that point.
The only thing that slightly concerns me is that due to the governments idiotic decision to ban premium brands from Motability, they may be less likely to allow a BMW to be extended. I did an early termination a few weeks ago and left it at a BMW dealers (as I was buying a new privately owned BMW). They were unable to process the early termination, even though they still service Motability owned BMWs, but got their sister Mini dealership to do so. This would indicate that they are gradually winding down their Motability systems.
Interesting topic. I am surprised they do not permit extension to those who drive over 20K pa: the car’s value deprecated significantly already after 60K miles, so I would assume Year 4 deprication vs Enhanced Mobility PIP ratio is better than of a same car with 6K ?
Sent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)I wonder, in the longer term, if what kind of engine you have, will have some bearing on extensions. If the Government will put pressure on Motability, to reduce the number of extensions on Diesel cars, then Petrol cars, to help meet the Government low emission targets.
Email we got from motability, car currently sitting at 22k
I notice that it doesn’t mention, that you can still renew any time within that period, although it might still apply.
Email we got from motability, car currently sitting at 22k
To ‘give customers ‘more choice and flexibility’ my ar5e!
Motability should just be honest and say:
‘’In order for us to maximise the price (thus profit) we receive from selling your vehicle, we need to regulate how many vehicles we send to auction at any particular time. Thus we will grudgingly permit you to extend your lease for 9 months so as not to cause us any potential loss by having too many vehicles on sale at the same time’ !
The simple laws of supply & demand!
Incidentally, whilst I am still hobbling around on crutches following the new knee ironmongery, hence I can’t get into a tractor yet, a good friend who runs a car dealership in Catterick has invited me to accompany him to the weekly Motability car auction next Tuesday up in Newcastle (I am now registered as his ‘associate buyer’)!
The vehicle auction list is here: https://www.wilsonsauctions.com/auctions/motability-fleet-auction-4516
So, if anyone’s former Motability car is on the list, or if anyone wants to know how much a particular vehicle sells for ‘under the hammer’, let me know and I will do my best to make a note.
Hi Glos Guy,
Which document should I be checking for the wording on the extension? Sadly, I cnnot find the original paperwork so I checked my paperwork online from 2023 and cannot seem to find anything that mentions it, so unsure if this has changed back in 2023.
Hi Glos Guy, Which document should I be checking for the wording on the extension? Sadly, I cnnot find the original paperwork so I checked my paperwork online from 2023 and cannot seem to find anything that mentions it, so unsure if this has changed back in 2023.
It was in the contract documentation. I had a physical copy and, from memory, it was also accessible through the online account as well in the ‘Current Lease’ section. As we have now left Motability I’m afraid that I no longer have either to check, but I think it was in a section about the length of the lease. I can’t recall the exact wording, but it was along the lines of a 36 month lease with an option to extend by 12 or 24 months. We got our last Motability car in 2024 and I have a feeling that it was still in the wording of that contract, as I remember being surprised to see it. Hopefully someone else can fill in the gaps.
Hi Glos Guy, Which document should I be checking for the wording on the extension? Sadly, I cnnot find the original paperwork so I checked my paperwork online from 2023 and cannot seem to find anything that mentions it, so unsure if this has changed back in 2023.
so not saying I agree with motability changes but 25 out of 108 are under 30,000 miles, saying that tho some are not very old either
Hi Glos Guy, Which document should I be checking for the wording on the extension? Sadly, I cnnot find the original paperwork so I checked my paperwork online from 2023 and cannot seem to find anything that mentions it, so unsure if this has changed back in 2023.
so not saying I agree with motability changes but 25 out of 108 are under 30,000 miles, saying that tho some are not very old either
I suspect that a lot will be early terminations of people leaving the scheme. We did this recently.
Hi Glos Guy, Which document should I be checking for the wording on the extension? Sadly, I cnnot find the original paperwork so I checked my paperwork online from 2023 and cannot seem to find anything that mentions it, so unsure if this has changed back in 2023.
so not saying I agree with motability changes but 25 out of 108 are under 30,000 miles, saying that tho some are not very old either
I suspect that a lot will be early terminations of people leaving the scheme. We did this recently.
some are some are damaged
I just did a Google search of the number plate of our recently returned Motability car and found it for sale at Carsnitch Chesterfield for £27,500. From memory, I think it was about £45k OTR. which with VAT knocked off and a likely 15-20% discount would have cost Motability a maximum of £30k.
We gave them around £8,000 in sacrificed benefits over 2 years and, pro rata, an AP of £2.650, plus an early termination fee of £250 so they only needed to clear £19,100 to break even. As it’s for sale at £27.5k I suspect that they got at least £24k at auction less fees, so Motability still made a nice profit out of us even with an early termination.
so not saying I agree with motability changes but 25 out of 108 are under 30,000 miles, saying that tho some are not very old either
some are some are damaged
Yes, it will be interesting to see how much the ex-Motability vehicles go for ‘under the hammer’ tomorrow. Particularly as my good car dealer friend has put me in charge of buying a couple of cars in the ex-Motability auction lane whilst he buys in the other auction lane concurrently. I have been ‘briefed’ to look particularly hard at damage.
Although what does worry me more is the auction ‘return match’ when he comes to the cattle mart with me to buy some cattle on my behalf. I have a fear of end up with a pair of breeding bulls!
It all sounded such fun as a challenge in the pub one night!
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