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So true @Glos Guy. The scheme is rapidly becoming a dumping ground for Far East rubbish.
That’s totally unjustified. You’re forgetting about the utter tosh that Vauxhall has been churning out for the past 20 or so years.
My first ever car on the Motability scheme was a 1.4 Vauxhall Tigra way back in 1995. I loved that little machine – and never had a single thing go wrong in 3-years!
I also had a couple of Astra’s in the following years. They were good, reliable cars and again, never had a single issue with either of them. Like the Ford Focus Mk.I that I also had many years ago, the Astra & Focus were good ‘bread n butter’ everyday reliable & comfortable cars.
Haven’t had a Vauxhall for years now – but that’s only because I don’t like their design. The ‘new’ Astra (now under Stellantis of course) is good looking, but the AP is somewhat high when compared against better competition.
Never watched Quadrophenia being a rocker back in the day – watched it since matured though
Renault nailed it with the Perso button!Superb movie with a superb soundtrack… even for a greasy old rocker like you kezo 😉
Top 3 movies of all time:
1. Quadrophenia
2. Saving Private Ryan
3. The Blues BrothersI can’t think of anything worse than being stuck with a car for three years that I dread getting into each day or one that I’m so glad to get out of at the other end of my journey!
Car manufacturer’s – some of them at least – are finally listening to what buyers want & are changing back to things that worked well in the past and work equally as well nowadays. Take my Renault Clio for example. It’s got proper door handles. I get in – and I’m also glad to see it’s got large rotary dials for all the heating/aircon. Yippee! There is also a proper physical button (thank you so much Renault!) which you press just once… and it stops all of the annoying bings & bongs that would drive me CRAZY having driven just 200 metres down the road! It also has proper physical buttons, one each side of the console, for the heated front seats. I don’t have to press some stupid massive glass screen several times just to warm my butt cheeks!
I’ve been looking at the new Honda Civic hybrid Sport (on the scheme for around £1,400 AP). Read any review on the net and they love it – every reviewer. Fabulous hybrid system, very powerful car, fantastic to drive, very comfortable, all mod cons. Sounds great I thought – will consider it as my next car. And then you read something that every single reviewer writes ; “It’s a real shame then that the Civic is let down by constant annoying warning bongs which require several presses of the screen in order to mute and you have to do this EVERY time you want to drive the car”. Several reviewers said in the end, it was such a faff that they just left it on and tried to ignore the bongs going off constantly in the background as they drove 2 or 3 mph over the speed limit.
Nah, not for me thanks. I value my sanity for starters. Where’s the enjoyment in getting behind the wheel of a car and it nagging you constantly so much so that you’re tempted to drive it all the way to Beachy Head in Sussex & driving it over a cliff – ala Jimmy and his scooter in Quadrophenia!!!
Hopefully you will remain on DLA for another year and pass the age of 66, then you will remain on DLA and won’t have to navigate PIP.
Fingers crossed eh kezo.
My retirement date is August 2027 when I’ll be just short of my 67th birthday as the government have just put the age limit up again by one year. I’m determined to make it to my pension age just to see them off – even if it’s the last thing I do !!!
@Glos Guy ; thanks for the reply mate.
I caught polio when I was a very young kid which left me with one leg very thin and no muscle whatsoever hardly plus it was 3-inches shorter than the other leg. My hips are twisted badly too. Never bothered me in life and I lived a pretty ‘normal’ life to be honest, just like my friends. The only thing it ever stopped me doing was joining the Royal Navy (my dad was a submariner for 29-years and I always wanted to see the world) and driving a manual car with three pedals – so I’ve driven all these past 45-years or more automatic gearbox only and with my left leg, not my right. I joined NAAFI after the Navy said no and, ironically, I spent the next 12-years at sea on HM Ships running the tiny shop selling ciggies, beer, ‘nutty’ (chocolate bars), ‘goffas’ (soft drink cans) etc. Everywhere my ship went – I went, including the South Atlantic during the Falklands War for which I was awarded a medal. Best of all, I did get to see a whole lot of the world after all & that was my main aim in life when I was young and about to leave school.
Now that I’m 65 however, I find it difficult – a minefield – to navigate my way through government red tape. Time has caught up with me somewhat & my legs, hips etc cause me no end of pain and discomfort the older I get. I had big operations when I was 13 and again at 16 to try and rectify my legs. I have a mobility scooter on bad days & use a stick on better days but like many others on this fine, helpful website, I have no idea about assessments, rules, regulations, what to do & say because governments keep moving the goalposts! It’s a huge relief knowing that I will be able to keep my Motability car past retirement age, a real lifeline my car, so thanks for the heads’ up mate. Let’s hope ‘Dim Timm’ does the right & decent thing for us all.
I’m still on DLA and have been for almost 30-years now. I haven’t been reassessed for a good 10-years I would guess. I have recently turned 65 and I don’t even know what, if anything, changes once I reach retirement age next year?!?!
I’m assuming DWP will write to me nearer the time? I’m hoping that once I reach retirement, I am still entitled to PIP or its equivalent and allowed to keep my car?
Apologies for my ignorance.
True, but there are dozens of Mini’s that would satisfy the ‘Motability customers can’t have a fun car’ brigade. I hope that you are correct, but I can see the JCW version being axed the second that someone queries why the JCW version is more suitable for disabled people than lesser variants. Let’s face it, they removed very sensible family cars like the Enyaq Coupe, just because it is called a coupe. That’s the crazy world that we are now in
I love the new Honda Prelude full hybrid coupe – a car that would have been at the very top of my list a year from now when re-order time comes around. Alas, it’s a ‘coupe’ – a filthy, banned & triggering word in Motability HQ these days – so no chance of it now appearing on the scheme – alas.
I can’t see the Mini JCW being removed anytime soon. Motability want to promote British-built cars they said recently after all the media hysteria – and you can’t get anywhere more British than Oxford.
If you do end up using Dobbies Mitch, there’s a VAT cut on public chargers on the way which will save a few pence…
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/consumer/mooted-vat-cut-public-ev-charging-brilliant-news
@kezo, I have seen an article that Fiat announced immediate price reduction up to £4,000 for its 500e and 600e. I had a colleague, who bought himself a retirement present last year: Abarth 500e in acid green. I loved this car! Too small for me, but looks amazing and drives… Oh how it drives….
And not to mention…
Mitch ; have you looked at the Renault Captur Esprit Alpine? Great little SUV which now comes with the new 1.8 full hybrid self-charging system? It’s got all the bells & whistles and is £623 on WPMS.
Now imagine if the Daily Mail got their way and we are only allowed a 3-wheeler Invacar to get about in during heavy snow…
That would make sense (the EV4 being European built) as opposed to a Korean built & shipped K4. I say that because the petrol versions of the K4 (of which I would be interested in) are quite pricey as regards AP.
I’m not due to change for a while yet though (14-months) so not concerned about AP’s just yet and anyway, new cars are coming in 2026 like the all-new Peugeot 208 and the beautiful new Renault Clio 1.8 full hybrid which will both be on my shortlist come early next year. The biggest downer of all though is the fact that the stunning new Honda Prelude hybrid won’t be coming to the scheme because it’s classed as a coupe. A real shame that – because it is stunning… and a hybrid… but the ‘free cars for the disabled’ brigade have won out on that one – sadly.
I think, reading between the lines, that once you get to the 3-month notice for when you can order your next car, Motability will “push” you to order at this point & not allow you to wait for the next quarter to see if prices change or wait to see if new cars come onto the scheme, etc. That way, any new car should be ready to collect 3-months down the road and this will prevent long waits/lease overruns. Makes sense if you think about it on their behalf.
At least – that’s the way I read it.
Don’t Honda build the Civic at Swindon?
The Honda Civic factory at Swindon closed in 2021.
Perhaps Motability could increase the good condition bonus from say £250 to £500 as a way of helping absorb the AP on your next car?
You’d like to think they’re on our side in some small way after today’s budget…
That was my first scheme car, a black one, I had it between April and October. It had 7 visits to Howards Taunton within that time. It was scuffed when I picked it up which they took 5 months to finally resolve.
How about the Skoda Fabia 1.0 TSI Monte Carlo Edition? Good car which gets good reviews in all the motoring media.
Have you looked at the Hyundai i20 N-line S ?
Great looking small car. Comes with heated front seats and a lot more kit. It’s £999 AP and can be driven by under-25’s.
Motability have told me they need to find a fault with the vehicle in order to action a replacement. Although they’ve told me that it must be “Like for Like” Ie, another Clio from Vertu Exeter, which I don’t want because I don’t trust them or Renault anymore.
I have a Clio 1.6 Esprit Alpine full hybrid which I picked up in June 2024. You must have had a lemon because my car has had no problems & I am very pleased with it. If you are offered another (replacement) Clio, I would accept it. Chances are it would be like mine next time around. If not – you know what to do.
The Clio was the 2nd best selling car in all of Europe last year with 216, 317 sold. Personally, I can see why.
@solent60 Motability have been doing what you fear for over a year already! The reason that APs have risen across the board is due to Motability’s exposure to EV residual values. They have been spreading this risk across all cars APs so as to still encourage EV take up. A dealer principal I know was told this at a meeting with Motability in summer 2024.
Yeah GG, I keep a regular, keen eye on the scheme & how AP’s always seem to be creeping up & up on small ICE and hybrid cars. One can’t help but think that the current ‘reasonable’ AP for a small hybrid car like my Clio is only going to grow bigger & bigger as EV’s are returned at the end of their lease & Motability pass the shortfall onto people like me via ever expanding advance payments.
As a footnote ; car prices are forever going up and I realise this. Manufacturers are as much a victim of ever increasing costs for parts, raw materials, rising wages, etc as every other manufacturing industry. Look at how much your weekly food bill is nowadays for example! But what I don’t want to see is Motability, because of their drive to see all of us in an EV or big SUV that just isn’t needed by everyone on the scheme, make us pay by way of ludicrous advance payments for what is a ‘smaller, cheaper car’. After all, the whole point of the scheme is to enable us to get around in whatever vehicle suits our needs.
I don’t want to leave the scheme after 28-years. Currently, it serves a terrific purpose. But if I have to – I will.
I have a worrying niggle that in order to offset the losses Motability are facing on the used EV market when a lease ends, they will start to apply a much heftier AP to full hybrid vehicles like my Clio in order to balance the books. I cannot charge at home, so an EV is not even an option for me. Motability, via their newsletter, keep pushing & pushing an EV as my next lease but no way (for me) is that a viable option.
A full hybrid is the perfect option for me. I do approx 9,000/10,000 miles per year maximum. My top-of-the-range Clio has done exactly half of those miles on pure electric alone. The AP for my Clio last year (June 2024) was £495. That has gone up in this quarter to £1,245 already. Now I get that car prices worldwide have increased & it is the way of life now, but I hope that Motability do not target hybrid cars as a way to balance losses on used EV’s.
As I mentioned on another thread ; the AP’s for small electric cars are eye-watering at the moment. The AP for a Micra or R5 makes no sense to me whatsoever. Even with the Clio hybrid being £1,245 advance payment – as opposed to £5K/£6K for the Micra/R5, I would still be saving a lot of money by choosing the Clio hybrid because that four or five thousand pound difference is more than enough to fuel the Clio for the 3-years of running it for the 10,000 miles or so (per year) that I do.
There is a new updated (and very smart!) Clio 1.8 full hybrid coming very early next year. It will be interesting to see what AP Motability apply to it. I do fear the worse though. I can only see the likes of small hybrids like the Clio and indeed Toyota’s becoming stupidly expensive as Motability, in their wisdom, demand everyone be driving an EV – no ifs or buts. It is then that I shall be leaving the scheme after 28-years of happy motoring on it…sadly.
I’d also like to put a good word in for full hybrid vehicles.
Having been on the scheme for 28-years now, I have only ever had ICE cars. I cannot charge at home, so an electric car is totally out of the question.
I currently have a Renault Clio 1.6 Esprit Alpine full hybrid. Have had it since June last year, so about 16 months. Because it is the ‘top’ model, it came with beautiful heated sports seats, ACC, SatNav, heated steering wheel, etc – and I want for nothing as regards ‘extras’.
I have done 11,400 since new – and exactly half of those miles have been in electric mode. I am therefore saving myself 50% petrol costs compared to my previous ICE cars! I can’t complain at that!
Did someone say that APs are now searchable up to £15k? Maybe the BMW X5 will join? They do a PHEV one? Just shy of 500 bhp. Put me down for one
Yeah, put me down for the new Honda Prelude next year!
The Prelude gets the same powertrain that’s in the Civic Hybrid. It pairs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with two motors (but it’s still FWD).
As with the Civic Hybrid, output amounts to 200 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque for the Prelude. In the Civic, the grunt enables sprints to 60 mph in as little as 6.1 seconds, quicker than the Toyota Prius, Corolla Hybrid, and the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid.
Lots of changes to Peugeot Q4 proces plus down a little from 36 to 31 Peugeot models on scheme , up to £9,199 AP.
The 208 GT Premium 6-speed dual clutch is new to the scheme. I had the previous model and it comes with all the bells & whistles like heated seats, ACC, Satnav, front & rear cameras, etc that Peugeot charge a fortune for separately.
AP is £1,199.00 which isn’t too bad for what is THE sexiest & smartest small car on the road bar none!
@mitch – I’d recommend the new Renault Clio 1.8 full hybrid Mitch – but although it gets released soon in Europe, it isn’t coming to the UK until early 2027 for some strange reason!
I have the current 1.6 Esprit Alpine full hybrid & it’s been great. Lovely comfy sports seats, full of all the kit you need and 58mpg to boot. The new, very smart, refreshed version will certainly be on my list…
