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Gloss your absolutely correct. It’s been that long I forgot. I’ve been a Motability customer mostly on than off for past 25 years but I’ve always owned my private Land Rover whether classic or modern. I went through the phase of losing all my NCB shortly after going over to Motability in 1999 and having a serious fatal crash in their car in 2002. Many factors come into effect but with Motability being a commercial provider, at the time almost all the private insurance companies refused to accept the mere couple of years with Motability when I didn’t insure my own vehicle. Their cut-off is usually two years but one allowed three to get me back onto the rails. Three years isn’t thirty seven (1965-2002) though and even worse is when comments are made even today, that stick in your throat.
Although I was blameless in that fatal accident and the other driver totally responsible i decided to go private because we felt safer in a big car such as Land Rover. The insurance companies that offered me a policy still treated me as the villain and I’ve not recovered since 2002. Premiums are tenfold from what they were and now I’m fearful that I’ll ever get private cover at any price.
One very common reason given was “because I’ve never had an accident caused by me and any convictions I must be at greater risk and well overdue”; end quote. “You live in a highly ethnic community and Land Rovers are at the highest risk”. I have a 14 year old Discovery 4.So yes I agree most underwriters will accept some driving history but not the full entitlement. Unfortunately they control the market.
If you’ve not owned your own car for more than a couple of years your biggest headache will be insurance and loss/lack of “No Claims Bonus”
Electric Vehicles are insanely expensive to insure because of their capital cost and high depreciation.
Furthermore changes in VED, particularly the “Luxury Tax” is compounding the problem with selling new cars so we might find ourselves in a partial vacuum. Dealers going under and severe lack of trained mechanics. It’s not that modern cars are worse for reliability or faults but the forums all agree that the service provided by the dealers is severely lacking.
With Motability cars you do get better assurances than owning a private car however their rules about handing back have to be taken into account.
I suffered a similar issue with my Hyundai Ioniq 5. Severe vibration from the tyres due to inserts and no heating and air conditioning. All from day one of driving it out of the showroom. It took 19 weeks before Motability woke up and responded to the tyres. I wrote to my MP who acted as a witness to the duration of the account and eventually the Ombudsman who insisted the complaint had to be recorded for at least 8 weeks. The ombudsman forced Motability to fix it or give a full refund. Motability replaced the tyres because Hyundai do not warranty tyre despite them being faulty from day one and the dealer confirmed it. I decided to keep the car provided the heating and air conditioning was fixed immediately, which it wasn’t. The dealer made every excuse about being witness to the fault before it could be officially recognised. Not easy when they are 20 miles from home. Almost 10 months into the contract and we eventually proved to the dealer the fault existed so it was booked in. Like you we found the car almost impossible to drive. A month later the dealer took the car in and we didn’t see it for a further 4 months. All this time we are still losing our mobility allowance. Finally the ombudsman convinced Motability the car was unfit so ordered a full refund minus the monthly rental for a year because even though the car was unusable for journeys we could use it locally.
My ears on for posting this is it’s not our first complaint. Two previous cars suffered severe faults making the car undriveable. One was exactly the same issue as yours. The forward sensor activated the emergency brakes. I discovered that by changing the cruise control safe distance range it was at one particular setting that caused it. The other vehicle was the cruise activated the brakes when the map changed the speed limit. Not the road signs as quoted. At 70 mph on the motorway I’d pass an area such as under a bridge and the mapping would suddenly indicate a lower speed and the brakes applied. Despite vehicles almost crashing into the back of us Motability used the same pretext.
They refused to consider the car unsafe despite three dealers confirming the faults were real and the manufacturer being unable or unwilling to remedy it.
I too was faced with a £250 fine and threats of being taken off the scheme if I returned the vehicle.Motability has changed over the past twenty years and while I try my best to support them their policies are not entirely about caring for the safety of their clients.
My advice is to ensure you have the backing of your MP as witness to the fear and losses you are encountering. Remember, Motability whilst being a very good and charitable organisation doesn’t always understand the dangers “you” perceive because they are under pressure from those “above”.
If the car is dangerous then demand the dealer takes it back but don’t accept a loan car and if necessary dump it on their forecourt. Don’t take it home because they’ll consider your still have access to it. You chose your car for a reason and it’s doubtful a loan car will meet your expectations but if you take one they won’t refund you and Motability will assert they’ve met their obligations . After eight weeks insist on taking it to the ombudsman especially if they haven’t fixed the car.
Motability have a get out clause if they show they’ve looked after you and you will be waiting like me for over a year whilst still paying.
Dealers sometimes cannot fix these problems for month if not ever. Until you can prove there is little hope the ombudsman will insist the dealer has the opportunity to fix. Once a reasonable period such as 2 months has passed the ombudsman will reach the decision that the vehicle isn’t of merchantable value or fit for the purpose so will authorise a full refund without you losing any of your rights.
whilst this may appear a long drawn out process it could happen within 12 weeks of your first complaint so long as you make certain the Ombudsman is notified as soon as possible. However the ombudsman needs evidence of the date you registered your complaint and Motability don’t always help you with that which is why your MP is important as an independent witness.
sorry for the long story but until manufacturers stop using us for testing and laws improve to protect customers it’s the only way.
