[Anonymous]

My son receives DLA with the higher rate mobility component. His allowance ends in Dec ’22 and I will be applying to have it renewed. I am thinking of getting a new car under the Motability scheme, but with the lengthy delays that we are currently experiencing with new cars I may only receive the car a few months before the allowance expires, depending, of course, on the car I order. I am interested in a VW Touran SEL, but have been quoted waiting times of at least 35 weeks by the dealership. This means that I would receive the car in August at the earliest.

I am fairly confident that his allowance will be renewed as he has a lifelong condition and his mobility hasn’t changed significantly over the last three years, but there is a possibility that the mobility component of his award may be reduced to the lower rate. If that happens I will need to return the car and the lease will, overall, work out to be quite expensive due to the advance payment, which on the Touran, is £3,549. Is there a possibility that all or part of the AP would be refunded to me in this case after the car is returned? Many thanks.

Topic

[joss]

@kmp76 Best advice is to give Motability customer service a call on this.

Call centre opening times:
Monday to Friday: 8am – 8pm

Saturday: 9am – 5pm

Tel: 0300 456 4566

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.

[Glos Guy]

Anonymous wrote:

My son receives DLA with the higher rate mobility component. His allowance ends in Dec ’22 and I will be applying to have it renewed. I am thinking of getting a new car under the Motability scheme, but with the lengthy delays that we are currently experiencing with new cars I may only receive the car a few months before the allowance expires, depending, of course, on the car I order. I am interested in a VW Touran SEL, but have been quoted waiting times of at least 35 weeks by the dealership. This means that I would receive the car in August at the earliest. I am fairly confident that his allowance will be renewed as he has a lifelong condition and his mobility hasn’t changed significantly over the last three years, but there is a possibility that the mobility component of his award may be reduced to the lower rate. If that happens I will need to return the car and the lease will, overall, work out to be quite expensive due to the advance payment, which on the Touran, is £3,549. Is there a possibility that all or part of the AP would be refunded to me in this case after the car is returned? Many thanks.

As Joss says, Motability will give you a definitive answer but, for what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure that you would get a pro rata refund of your AP (not the full amount, but most of it in the example you quote). If they didn’t do this, anyone with less than the full 3 years to run on their entitlement would be taking far too much of a risk ordering a car.

What you will have to be careful about is any factory options that you add. Under a normal early termination this isn’t refunded on a pro-rata basis.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Joss and Glos Guy for your help with my question. I will contact Motability as you suggest. Thanks, also for pointing out the issue concerning factory options.

[Author]

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