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as many may be aware from my previous posts i have a test drive list as i can order 8th dec lease ends 8th march. they are at the moment: all wpms
mokka ultimate £623
juke hybrid n connecta £823
karoq sel £1242
cx5 newground £1546
quashqai epower nconnecta £1546
ateca 1.5 frsport £1646.
in the past the highest ap i have paid is £700 offset by the veterans auto grant of £660. so even with the grant i am going to have to use any gcb etc to make up the shortfall.
but following others i have looked at second hand nissans 4-8 years old and it looks as though i can get something decent for a little over £200 per month on hp. insurance is not a lot and neither is servicing etc.
and in a sense it may be better for me as i hate all the touchy feely screens etc so as long as it has a decent sat nav i will be happy.
so i am now erring towards extending and finding the best 2nd hand deal i can, unless ap’s come down or something really attractive comes on the scheme.
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so i am now erring towards extending and finding the best 2nd hand deal i can, unless ap’s come down or something really attractive comes on the scheme.
Makes sense mitch
I don’t think MB can do much about choice, that’s being driven by manufacturers who in turn are making their decision based on supply chain and profit.
MB have a formula for pricing what cars are available that they know guarantees a healthy profit. I don’t see them moving away from that anytime soon.
For the vast majority of users the scheme is still good value and fit for purpose. We on here are very vocal but represent a small number of users many of whom have been on the scheme for many years and were lucky enough to get some great cars for very little money.
If you were coming to the scheme today for the first time with no prior knowledge your opinion would differ.
Like you I would love to go back to “analogue” cars but I resign myself to putting up with touchscreens and bings & bongs in return for maximum reliability and financial certainty.
We all have to weigh those decisions and make whatever choice is best for us, at least the scheme is there as one option.
If I seem a little strange, that's because I am.
Skoda Karoq SEL.
Very sensible @mitch We all like our ‘new’ cars, but they are only new for a few months and most scheme members seem to be running around in 3 to 5 year old cars at present! As the average age of cars on U.K. roads is 8.5 years, even the oldest of the second hand cars you would consider will be newer than that. Your total cost of ownership will be a fraction of the cost of running a Motability car, even before you factor in the fact that you will have an asset to sell when you’ve finished with it!
12 years (ish) ago we got a cracking deal on a new car, we sold it last year with 20,000 miles on the clock. The reason we sold it was because I could not handle the stress of putting it through the MOT for another year. Our financial position has become more fragile over this period and the idea of an MOT failure and subsequent costs was enough to cause me sleepless nights. Where I live there are a lot of private garages, they are always full and the owners all have really nice motors. Just saying.
dont get me wrong guys, the issues at hand i appreciate are not of motability’s making and i have no complaints about the scheme itself. it is purely a financial decision i am just tight lol. with the grant i can get and the gcb i am happy to run to £1260 plus a bit of my own money for something extra nice. oh and the new £250 new lease thingy.
the cars on the test drive list are all good cars but i dont know they dont quite excite me if you know what i mean. and all of them i would have to pay extra to get a decent colour. sorry but i hate greys,silvers and whites.
it seems at times thats all thats available new captur case in point.
so i will extend and start the search in march for something 2nd hand or hope something interesting comes on the scheme.
mazda mx5 with a seat lift to get me in and out, or a reimagined mg roadster with one.lol
Where I live there are a lot of private garages, they are always full and the owners all have really nice motors. Just saying.
Garages with cars in them? Yikes. Doubtless they belong to that foolhardy majority of motorists who run their own cars and are constantly being crippled by thousands of pounds of bills just to keep them running. Or maybe, just maybe, most of those cars are in for their annual service and/or MOT? Just saying ?
Just back from a long motorway journey in foul weather. No idea how many cars I saw. Must have been tens of thousands. Miles and miles of queues as I’d forgotten it was the Friday before half term. Anyway, of those tens of thousands of cars, number of cars broken down? One. Old banger? Nope. 21 reg Land Rover Discovery! ?
they are always full and the owners all have really nice motors. Just saying.
If they were constantly ripping customers off, as I think you are saying and the fact they are always full is more than likely due to their quality of workmanship at a repectable price. Asides that if they were ripping that amount of customers off surely by now word would have got. I also think most like to show they are sucessful, therefore a mechanic would most likely choose a nice car. I’m not saying some businesses won’t rip you off but the majority don’t if they value their reputation. The other option is take a car to a main dealer and totally get screwed for parts.
Strange how I quoted @wmcforum and it showed up as quoting @mitch ?
The scheme choice will improve when one, or both of the following happen –
1. Manufacturers lower the price they sell cars to Motability.
2. Motability Operations pay a more realistic price that’s closer to manufacturer’s asking price.
Reasons how/why this might/might not occur –
1. Economic situation worsens and people can’t afford to buy new cars. Production ramps up. I think this will happen somewhat, but it looks like manufacturers will be cutting back on mass production and aiming for lower output and higher price cars.
2. Frustratingly I don’t think Motability Operations will pay more realistic prices. The reason I write “frustratingly” is the fact that Motability Operations make more profit than neccessary. Obviously they need to make a healthy profit to keep the scheme running through any difficult situations that may arrive. But with the cash reserves they have generated; the fact that they can afford to pay staff higher than average wages; they have enough cash to make donations at will with the money the scheme users pay and are “owned” by banks who do it out of the goodness of their own hearts, makes me believe they are generating enough money to offer manufacturers a realistic price WITHOUT needing to increase APs.
If they were constantly ripping customers off, as I think you are saying and the fact they are always full is more than likely due to their quality of workmanship at a repectable price. Asides that if they were ripping that amount of customers off surely by now word would have got. I also think most like to show they are sucessful, therefore a mechanic would most likely choose a nice car. I’m not saying some businesses won’t rip you off but the majority don’t if they value their reputation. The other option is take a car to a main dealer and totally get screwed for parts. Strange how I quoted @wmcforum and it showed up as quoting @mitch
Main dealers are the only garages that can consistently provide poor service and still survive.
Don’t ignore s/h Kia, Mitch which has a 7 year manufacturer’s warranty.
Just make sure that any cars that have a long remaining warranty have followed their service schedule EXACTLY.
Although many standard warranties from manufacturers which are around 3 years let you have services done anywhere that uses genuine parts, I think some of the longer warranties such as KIA and Toyota require services done at main dealerships. Not 100% sure, but check before buying on the basis of a very long warranty.
Main dealers are the only garages that can consistently provide poor service and still survive.
In fairness, they aren’t all rip off merchants. I use 2 different local main dealers for my daughters cars – Ford and Hyundai. Both provide first class personalised service and I’ve never felt ripped off. Both offer heavily discounted services for cars of 5 years old or more and these include free breakdown and recovery cover for 12 months as well as a discount on the MOT. They also collect and return the cars at no extra cost.
I suspect if I looked hard enough I might be able to get them looked after cheaper again at an independent, but the fact that we always sell the cars on with full main dealer service histories always gets us top prices when we change.
Main dealers are the only garages that can consistently provide poor service and still survive.
??
I think some of the longer warranties such as KIA and Toyota require services done at main dealerships
I will stick my neck out and say it can be serviced at any VAT registered garage, who are a member of the good scheme and use genuine parts.
Main dealers are the only garages that can consistently provide poor service and still survive.
In fairness, they aren’t all rip off merchants. I use 2 different local main dealers for my daughters cars – Ford and Hyundai. Both provide first class personalised service and I’ve never felt ripped off. Both offer heavily discounted services for cars of 5 years old or more and these include free breakdown and recovery cover for 12 months as well as a discount on the MOT. They also collect and return the cars at no extra cost. I suspect if I looked hard enough I might be able to get them looked after cheaper again at an independent, but the fact that we always sell the cars on with full main dealer service histories always gets us top prices when we change.
@Glos Guy that’s a fair point.
What I meant was, IF a main dealership’s garage consistently offers poor service, they’ll still survive. Whereas it’s unlikely an independant will survive long term, if it offers consistently poor service.
As you said, main dealership full service history, does help with achieving top price when selling on.
Hi Mitch , as a war pensioner myself and my Toyota Corolla hybrid lease is up
In feb 23, I have test driven the new Renault arkana suv coupe e tech hybrid , I would totally recommend a petrol hybrid ( self charging) as I have been getting a minimum of 50+ mpg round town with my Corolla and it has saved a huge amount in fuel costs and its very nice to drive. But I need something a bit bigger , stylish and well equipped and as nice to drive. The top spec e engineered trim has leather/ suede , heated seats steering and electric adjustment and all safety features and physical climate knobs. Ap is £1542 q4.
I will try the R/S line also but that is just a mild hybrid before I put my order
in. I do agree the Aps and choice is not great but until my needs can,t be met
the scheme still gives that worry free motoring.
Car colours should all be free to motability customers. Unless something has changed.
Main car manufacturers reckon the shit should be out of the frier next year mostly. The higher end makers look to be going down a different route and selling less for more to badge huggers.
Current Car: Hyundai Kona Premium EV...2 way 40kg hoist
Last Car: Toyota C-HR Excel Hybrid...4 way 80kg hoistyeah, although some offer the fancy ones too. toyota gave me the fancy white free. forgot its name. really sparkles in the sun. but point i was making was the couple of options they give that say free and the rest are extra in brochere doesnt really apply to motability.
Current Car: Hyundai Kona Premium EV...2 way 40kg hoist
Last Car: Toyota C-HR Excel Hybrid...4 way 80kg hoist
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