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Looks good, crazy AP though. The very sloping rear worries me in that it could be yet another car that promises so much but which it would be a struggle with the chair and I would need to check the height too.
aircross 3 is a nice car with a high enough seat last time i sat in one(admittedly 3 years ago). The Bayon looked ok too when i saw one last year.
I really liked the Bayon, it was the perfect height for me but alas the boot wasn’t right for the chair and/or scooter (I think it also didn’t have the electronic handbrake but I could be confused about that). I was gutted as it was available for a really good advance payment at the time.
I agree 100% with mike700 it is a disgrace , but some seem to think it can just be ignored, brushed under the carpet and do not understand what it does to some who are struggling often with coming to terms with their disabilities not all are physical and often become mental one’s and the victimisation they tollerate is disgraceful and oftens adds to their issues. Just ignoring that is a disgrace, aceepting that you maybe abused as you have a disability is not on and by ignoring it and not calling it out or reporting it you are facilitating it and thats the only way it will stop. Even on this site some think it’s funny to have a joke at others expense, without thinking of what others maybe going thru mentally. My wife’s uncle has Parkinson’s pretty bad and the man we once knew ain’t there no more. My partners mum had a stroke few years ago now, and she wants to be dead really. My best friend of 25 years took his own life a few weeks ago, he’d just hit 60, he was a very nice but vulnerable person and always got taken advantage of, in some way or another. Which lead to many attempts at ending his life in the past. Thats the point no one really knows how bad a place someone is due to there condition/s.
I suppose I should have said not react rather than ignore, I will point at my wheelchair and my badge if challenged and state I have as much right as any other disabled person to park.
Re Parkinsons, I know that I have found my new symptoms difficult to deal with and that is without a diagnosis of Parkinsons. I can’t write with a pen and paper any more, holding a book is difficult and as touched upon in my previous post, socialising is not looked forward to in case I go ministry (our code word for when I get the uncontrollable jerks, tremors, loss or slurring of speech). It is absolutely isolating and coming on top of only just getting my head around the fact that no, I am not going to magically be able to walk like I did in my 20’s and some of my 30’s and had adapted to that, it’s a bit of a bitter blow and one hell of a downer.
I’ve said this before, but it is still true, ‘You know your disabled when your opinion means less than others & some people really do think of you as inferior, even though they know absolutely nothing about you or your disability, to them you’re just a nuisance? Someone who is too bloody slow at the checkout, or who parks in a disabled space, which Is not fair to ‘earth mothers and fat boys, who should have an entitlement by law to park inside the Supermarket doors, and who feel that the disabled spaces should be around the back of the stores, out of sight so that the disabled don’t frighten the children However, a disabled person is no different from a fully fit person and as an example , may have a good standard of education, a good degree maybe, perhaps qualified in fields like the law or medicine, or anything else of note, perhaps they had to forgo a chosen career because of disability, they may have been disabled from serving their country, or they simply may be struggling along every single day as husbands, wives, parents etc., but to some, the disabled are mainly just a nuisance , holding them up at the checkout etc.? How some people react to the disabled is nothing short of a disgrace- A 2020 survey of more than 2,000 people for Parkinson’s UK, found that 87% of people with the condition had faced discrimination or harassment. 24% of people had been told they were “too young” to have Parkinson’s 22% said their slurred speech or poor balance had been mistaken for drunkenness 32% said their less expressive facial expressions had been mistaken for unfriendliness 10% said they had been laughed at (57%) said they had avoided or cancelled social situations because of concerns about how others would react to them. As far as I am concerned, I may not look like George Clooney these days ( although I am still taller) but what disappoints me is that I am often looked upon as ‘just this old git ‘ on a mobility scooter thingy, and I am regularly ‘now ‘ treated as one ‘WHO KNOWS NOTHING’? ( this is by a minority of people however, I must admit )
I’m undergoing tests at the moment but presently some of my newer issues are put down to CFS and nerve damage but I get similar symptoms to those suffered by Parkinsons.
It’s hard, middle son has now become my communicator in shops, I can’t trust myself on a telephone and my one social outing in the last two years ended up with me being out in the smoking area all night because I couldn’t control my limbs and had lost my speech and the prying/judging eyes had got the better of me.
I don’t agree, Rox. That behaviour suggests they are “not right” (as my mother would say). Best just to ignore them.
I agree. Best ignored. I’ve had some scornful looks which soon turn to embarrassment when I get the wheelchair out. There are an awful lot of people with mental health issues, particularly as people age. Even without Alzheimer’s and dementia, peoples ‘filters’ often disappear when they get old and people can be very rude. One that we still laugh about now was when we stopped at some temporary traffic lights. An elderly lady suddenly appeared at the side of our car and banged on the window. “Why are you stopping outside my house?” she shouted at us. “Why can’t you park outside that scruffy garage and not mine?” (pointing to her next door neighbours house). I tried to explain that I wasn’t ‘parked’ just stopped temporarily and couldn’t drive away just yet as the traffic lights were still red. That’s was a waste of time though as her rage didn’t wane and she was still there to gesture at me as the lights changed. I’m guessing that she had a busy time having to chastise people every time the lights changed!
Yeah, I just ignore, life is too short to get into a fight about it.
None of what has happened has scared me or made me feel bullied, I’ve a thicker skin than that but it does give me a chuckle sometimes when you get the about to challenge and then pretend to be looking at something else close by or ask a first thing that came into their head question when they see the wheelchair.
We regularly get people coming to challenge us for parking in blue badge parking, I’ve got a badge but there appears to be an instant judgement by a few over 65’s that a younger person cannot be disabled.
It’s quite funny seeing it really, my middle son will get out of the car to retrieve my wheelchair from the boot but in the meantime, someone will make a beeline for the car to start to have a go at him…and then do a last second swerve almost at the point of reaching him when he hauls the chair out.
I’ve even had one guy block my car, get out and come over and start shouting at me (whilst I’m sat in my wheelchair), that I can’t park there as it’s not for young people. He just wouldn’t accept that disabled meant disabled of any age only those over pension age, his rant made that very clear. He even went as far to say that I couldn’t be disabled as I was too young….
I suppose I should be flattered that so many people think I’m young but I’m no spring chicken, had the retirement age stayed the same as it was when I started work, I would have been retiring in 8 years time!
I think the hate of what I call drivers cars on here is reflective of the drivers. I like something that gives me more than just a means of getting from A to B. I have a company car that does that, it’s not slow but it’s certainly not a drivers car. I look forward to getting behind the wheel of my 3 series and experiencing why I enjoy driving. I enjoy nothing more than putting the gearbox into sport mode and using it like a manual one, powering through corners with the car handling like it’s on rails. I’ve had a lot of cars as company ones, Hyundai’s, Kia’s, Ford’s etc and yes they’ve got me from A to B but that’s all they’ve done.
For me it has to fit my basic needs – can I get in and out, will the wheelchair and mum’s scooter fit in the boot, is it automatic, does it have an electronic handbrake, a rear reversing camera (limited neck movement). Then I have to look at comfort as sitting in rock hard seats does my spine no good at all, can I comfortably reach the pedals without having to do any stretching etc.
Finally, I want a car with a bit of go, that is smooth, that doesn’t feel every lump and bump and doesn’t look an absolute b word that means I would be trying to hide it/be embarrassed to be seen it.
An EV is a complete no no, I have no means to charge one and we don’t have the infrastructure locally to support one, a petrol one would be too eeky on costs so my preference is diesel or possibly, a non plug in hybrid.
My current car (Skoda Karoq diesel automatic), is surprisingly quick off the mark, is responsive and very comfortable…I just struggle to get out of the blessed thing now!
I’m not fussed by the badge on the front, I just go with whatever fits the above criteria.
Nice to see my current car in the top 5 of that survey, whilst it is not completely suitable for my needs now, it has been a comfortable and responsive drive for the last 3 and a half years with few annoyances. I’d only discounted getting another because of the dealership and its location and the lack of support whilst it has been in my ownership. Not that it is on the scheme now anyway…..
Re the new prices, nothing affordable and suitable, in fact, everything is so much farther away than it was when it comes to affordability. The Sportage and the Tuscon (Tuscon had been on my list of possibilities after a trial getting in and out and checking wheelchair space in the boot but not a test drive), are way outside of my affordability.
Yeah saw that after posting. Might be added in the future with different engine options though.
Yeah shame really, it was really looking like a possibility although as with all cars that look possible, a potential advance payment would play a big part.
There are, or at least was, cars that were absolutely perfect and met the brief exactly, however their advance payments were way out of my league and so they had to be discounted from my list.
Banger-nomics. Been there. It’s like gambling, people only tell you of their wins. The peace of mind over a Motability car runs far deeper than the financial, it’s about eliminating risk. You have to touch the flame to understand; If you have ever been so scared taking your car for an MOT that it has affected your health, or been in a situation where your car has failed its MOT and needs hundreds of pounds of welding and you have no money, literally no money, no overdraft facility and no credit cards, the only option is to borrow from family, as without your car you have no way of getting to your job as you work shifts and the busses don’t run.
I’ve said about my successes, you’ve asked about the failures.
I’ve had one. My second ever car, a Lada that cost me £100 and cost me £10 per mile….because I only ever did 10 miles in the blooming thing.
My first car – Renault 14, cost me £150, did over 40k miles and took me all over the country. We made the huge mistake of scrapping it over a CV joint repair that we deemed too expensive for the initial cost of the car but ended up paying way more and not just financially in the end because of the mistake that was the Lada.
Then the Lada – Massive, massive mistake.
Astra estate – £235, Again, went all over the country, many many thousands of miles, low repair costs but decided to trade up for a more luxurious car. Did have an annoying leak in the boot though..
Cavalier saloon – £285. Oh so comfortable and in good working order but not really suitable for our growing family as once middle son arrived and a double buggy was needed, an estate needed to be purchased. Sold it to a friend for £200 who ran it about for ages and who then sold it to my brother who ran it for a few more years.
Sierra Estate – £425. Hated this car, nothing was bad about it but after wanting one for ages, I just didn’t like how it drove, how if felt, the seating etc.
Passat estate diesel – £2,400. Loved, loved, loved this car. It was built like a tank, drove like a tank and protected like a tank. It sailed through the MOT for the 5 years we had it and only needed the normal things like tyres, filters and oil. We put over 100k on this car and it took us all over the country but more importantly, when a lorry decided it wanted my lane on the M25, it protected us from serious injury.
Audi A4 estate diesel – £3,200. Hated, hated, hated this car. Blooming great white elephant not helped by the fact that I gave up my beloved Passat for it because it was the newer car (it came from the husband’s employer) and because I got it from the divorce. It felt too light and was buffeted going over bridges and had so many problems we lost count. The cambelt went on it despite it not being due to be changed through time or miles and that was the end of my ownership of it….I wasn’t sad to see it go.
Astra estate diesel – £461. Ambivalent about it, it was suitable for the double buggy and later the wheelchair but comfort was next to zero. Had a few things over the years but nothing too major or worrying and I ran around in it for over 6 years before it finally gave up the ghost.
Peugeot 406 estate diesel – £750. Oh the luxury, the person who first bought this car had added every conceivable extra to it. A stately and oh so comfortable ride and loads of miles put on this in my ownership, it was also another car that sailed through the MOT every year and in fact, had never failed an MOT in its lifetime. Sadly, by this point my issues were becoming greater and it was becoming impossible for me to drive as it was a manual vehicle with a handbrake that at the end I could no longer put on independently, nor could I get out of the car without lots of assistance and it was at this point I opted for a Motability vehicle. I sold ‘Peggy’ to my brother and it served him well.
I did rely on the bank of mum and dad for the second Astra and the Peugeot (loans not gifts), even for the normal stuff like servicing and yes, I did get a few panic attacks just prior to putting all the cars in for MOTs but then the bank of mum and dad also helped with the advance payment for my second Motability vehicle too (again paid back over time)
I get your point though, one of the major things aside from not being able to afford a suitable vehicle for my needs on the second hand market, was the reliability, the ease and more stress free experience of having a Motability vehicle, it was a major point of attraction for me.
My major issue now is that I have been priced out of the Motability market (if you can even find something that suits your needs that is). I was supposed to change my car last September but there was nothing that was both suitable and affordable, I could get affordable but worse in suitability than my current car so I have extended my lease for two years in the hope the market settles down, advanced payments comes down to a more reasonable amount or I can get a grant. If none of those happen, I will have no choice than to speak to the bank of mum (dad no longer with us) and source a second hand car that is more suitable and use the mobility element of PIP to pay for the ongoing costs instead.
In fact the majority of people who get the Motability part of pip are not on the scheme. BirminghamLive reports how Motability says that of the 195,000 eligible people in the West Midlands, only 39,365 people are leasing a vehicle through the scheme. Which means around 155,000 are missing out on the chance to use a vehicle to get to the shops, meet friends or just have a change of scenery.
My son gets PIP mobility but doesn’t use the scheme, he gets around by using his own vehicle.
get another for £500. I ran a £461 Ebay purchase
I’ve paid more than that for a mobility scooter!!
Yep, there’s bargains to be had if needs must.
Ok, you have to take what is on offer and not have a long list of wants (mine was usually large boot for the wheelchair and before that, a double pushchair and diesel) and know what to look out for to make sure it’s mechanically sound.
I switched to Motability when my requirements couldn’t be found in the cheap second hand market and the current car was becoming painful and almost impossible to drive due to the deterioration of my health, only the far more expensive and unaffordable 2-5 year age group of cars but we are now more years down the line and those cars are now not too far from the target market.
Remember if you go for a second hand cheap car, you will need to put aside money for repairs, which can be significant, no car to tied you over, plus if the engine goes, you are looking at £5,000 for replacement and fitting for example.
I wouldn’t pay 5k for a new to me car, let alone for a new engine. I’d just scrap the car and get another for £500.
I ran a £461 Ebay purchase for over 6 years and the upkeep/repairs/MOT averaged out at a couple of hundred at most a year. My last car before Motability cost me £750 and it cost me the grand total of £10 in repairs in almost 3 years (a dirty sensor), after that it was just the MOT fee which it sailed through each time and a couple of tyres and some oil.
I’ve always had a courtesy car from the garage doing repairs or an MOT.
Whilst inflated car prices present problems for those looking to buy used cars at present, they are resulting in very cheap motoring for many. I was talking to a dealer the other day and he told me that he is taking back cars in part exchange from customers at prices that are only a few hundred pounds less than the customer paid for them 2 or 3 years ago! Thinking about it, the two cheapest cars that I have ever run were the two oldest – one that was 8 years old and one that was 7 years old. I sold them both after 18-24 months for more than I had paid for them. Millions of people never spend more than a few thousand on a car, so their total motoring costs are always limited and would never come anywhere near to the £10k (plus AP) that we spend every 3 years on a Motability car. I suspect that a good number of those are the 1.2m people who are eligible to join Motability but choose not to. In the current cost of living climate, I suspect that many people who exist on benefits wouldn’t dream of spending £10k every 3 years on a new car when they can get from A to B at a fraction of the cost. Having a brand new car is a choice, not a necessity.
Youngest is one of those who is eligible for Motability but is quite happy to continue to run his own car that cost him 1k two years ago. It’s suitable for his needs and although he was tempted with getting a Motability vehicle, it didn’t make financial sense to him when his car suited him perfectly.
I’m one of those who before getting Motability vehicles, would run around in sub £1k cars (more often than not sub £500 cars). It was only because it was difficult to get the sort of car that I needed second hand at the time and at the right amount, that I swapped over to Motability. Time has moved on now though and the sort of cars that would be suitable are now getting old enough to be cheap enough (for me), to purchase especially when the advance payments for vehicles on Motability now far exceed what I would be paying outright for a car.
My last owned car was 18 years old, it sailed through the MOT in all the time I had it and then I sold it to my brother. I would have kept it if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to fall into it to get in and then had to be hauled out by others to get out of the begger and my hips and/or shoulders dislocating every time I had to change gear or put the handbrake on.
Are you all of the opinion that it is not possible to replicate (the car i have Ford Kuga) with all you get from Motability for the £250 per month on the open market,now ? Its looks like a minefield should you choose to jump ship,to get (like for like) car wise and cost wise,another thing that would worry me,is the sky high cost of cars on the second hand market they are at a premium,and at some point in the not too distant future they will begin to drop in value and the car you have will more than likely take you into negative equity,unless you put a huge deposit down initially. And how is inflation going to play its part. Thanks for all your inputs above.
MickC – Sounds like you should definitely stick with Motability. It’s not a wise move to jump ship if you are nervous about it or not in the financial position to do so. For most people, Motability will remain their best option. You are right that used prices are artificially high and that will only go one way. If we jump ship at the end of our current lease we will buy new. Lots of deals to be had (see my last post) so buying at inflated used prices doesn’t make great sense IMHO. We would order in time to allow for the long lead times and if delayed extend our Motability lease until it arrives, so it would be seamless As mentioned before though, your maths are flawed! You cannot get a Ford Kuga for £250 a month on Motability. The cheapest Kuga on Motability at present has an AP of £3,245 so you have to divide that by 36 months and add it to your sacrificed benefits to make a correct comparison. You are looking at an outlay of around £13,500 over 3 years (so £375 a month, not £250) or almost £17,000 if you keep the car 5 years – and you have nothing to show for it at the end. Motability is a great scheme (current poor choice aside) but it’s not the absolute bargain that many believe.
Good info @Glos Guy I did get a full grant for the AP last time,i would hope for the same next time fingers crossed,thats why i put £250 ish. It does bug me not having anything to show for all the £’s taken at the end,but there is a bonus !
I didn’t know about the grants for my first car, knew about them but not how they really worked for my second car but when I rang asking for help with my third car they told me I had to extend for two years and maybe they will help then, despite the car presenting problems for me getting out on an increasing basis.
I could have pushed it a bit more (I got a slightly better response the second time I rang) but with all the delays etc and everything else going on, I ran out of energy.
Are you all of the opinion that it is not possible to replicate (the car i have Ford Kuga) with all you get from Motability for the £250 per month on the open market,now ? Its looks like a minefield should you choose to jump ship,to get (like for like) car wise and cost wise,another thing that would worry me,is the sky high cost of cars on the second hand market they are at a premium,and at some point in the not too distant future they will begin to drop in value and the car you have will more than likely take you into negative equity,unless you put a huge deposit down initially. And how is inflation going to play its part. Thanks for all your inputs above.
I wouldn’t be trying to match it, just trying to have a vehicle that will get me from A to B. It wouldn’t be as suitable as a Motability vehicle but beggers can’t be choosers and it would be better than nothing.
There wouldn’t be an issue with negative equity, mine would be purchased outright and sub 1k.
During winter the thermostat is set at 18.5 – 19 degrees but only between December and beginning of March. It’s now at our spring setting of 15 degrees (as in it won’t come on unless the house temp goes below 15) and in a few days, I will further switch it down to 10 for the rest of the year.
We use quilts on the sofa and fleece blankets over quilts on the beds if needed. It’s not as if I am a warm person either, I’m one of those that feels the cold but I fear the meter more, need to control the bills and economise as much as possible to balance the books.
I’ll not be putting the heating on at all next winter at the rate the increases are going, I won’t be able to afford the standing charge let alone any gas usage.
For me, it would be a run down to the local second hand car sales and get a car for sub 1k (which is what I did before Motability) and just put up with the difficulties getting in and out and length of journey – did it before, can do it again although the thought of going back to that very restricted (and painful) life is not nice. The mobility element would then very much cover the fuel, insurance and tax month to month with enough left in the tank for MOT and other bits.
I wouldn’t be able to get a loan, finance etc due to my income although the bank of mum would probably help initially and be paid back on affordable terms.
It will require a massive change in infrastructure to be open to the masses in just 8 years time. At the present time, it is not a viable option for me, no abundance of charge points, no driveway or off road parking, not enough range etc and I really can’t see things moving that fast to improve in what is a relatively short space of time.
Round here, charge points are still a novelty item.
Sue now you know how the “trade plate drivers” feel lol.
Possibly but they would be used to it, me as a complete newbie not only to Motability but to a brand new car, assumed that there would be enough fuel to be getting on with for a day or so and not having to be having kittens on the way home.
I’d purchased second hand every time before that (none over £1k) and there was always a good quarter to half a tank thrown in.
