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@Winston, fair point re Motability being the bad guys, they are usually pretty flexible and to be honest I’d not bother telling them about activating something like auto folding mirrors but something as seemingly simple as windows tints could lead to issues.
The factory will only tint to whatever meets the regs but what’s stopping someone going to a shady back street place and putting limo black tints on all the windows? They might drive for years without issue or could get 100 yards down the road, pull out of a junction in front of a biker and cause serious injury – could open a big can of worms from an insurance / T&C of the lease point of view.
Maybe a little far fetched but given the blame culture we seem to live in its got to be worth checking with Motability before changing or adding anything that could cause problems down the line.
Technically its still a mod and should be cleared with Motability and for insurance purposes declared to RSA…. Fair enough its not the most extreme modification going but there are plenty of stories of people having insurance voided for similar things, also ultimately Motability own the car and may not want anything that changes the car from factory spec being done without their say so.
Kai, as Macca has already mentioned it’s best to talk to Motability, they are normally pretty understanding and given a good enough reason can sometimes find a little wiggle room.
Ethan, somewhat related to the above, seen your other thread (https://forum.whichmobilitycar.co.uk/forums/topic/under-25s-2/) and if the 2008 was available with 4WD then that would probably help your rural conditions argument but again give Motability a call and see what they have to say.
Not sure on the XC40 but some makes can have stuff like that activated with 3rd party tools or done at independent dealers, similar to the dongle you mentioned but not so DIY – might be worth looking on some dedicated XC40 forums as no doubt it’ll be a fairly common question and in general the posters on such forums are enthusiasts with a lot of knowledge.
@Delta4427, very nice 🙂 Love the colour and lots of toys is always a bonus. Vauxhall seem to come in for a lot of unfair criticism but we’ve had a few and they’ve been decent enough, especially our last Astra K which in terms of spec and build quality would have put more than a few more expensive cars to shame.
Can remember when there was a choice of flat, metallic and depending on make / model pearlescent colours included in the scheme / AP but having a “premium” one seems like yet another way of “forcing” options on people. Pretty sure I’ve seen something as exotic as a variation of white being considered premium, popular maybe (no idea why) but expensive to produce and apply I very much doubt….
We picked up a Leon ST in Xcellence Lux spec in July and its been a great car, ours is also a DSG / auto but with the 2.0 petrol. The DSG and power from the engine makes it effortless to drive, I’d imagine the 2.0 diesel is similar in that respect. It takes a little while to get used to manoeuvring at low speeds with the DSG as there is no clutch to slip so you have to be gentle on the throttle when parking for example, even more so with the auto hold for the brakes.
Not sure how important it is to you but the Xcellence Lux doesn’t have the driving modes or paddle-shift gear change like the FR, its more a comfort than sporty spec which so stuff like the paddle-shifters have been replaced with extra tech / driver convenience features. The digital dash is also great, with lots of different options for what is displayed.
To be honest the only slight let down is the fit and finish is bit “off” in places and once xmas is out the way I need to get the dealers to look at a couple of the door seals – they are not leaking as such but are letting water past.
Despite the above niggles and the quirks of the DSG we’re really happy with it – a great mix of performance, tech, looks and practicable for the Wife’s wheelchair.
Reckon JS has hit the nail on the head with the grant system or some variation of it being the best way to deal with option packs that are genuinely required to make a car suitable.
The manufactures are in the business of selling cars to make a profit and forcing them to give away or heavily discount option packs runs the risk of them leaving the scheme due to reduced profits.
Creating a “Motability spec” specific model is probably very costly from a production line perspective and may end up reducing the range of standard models available or end up being a compromised spec where some features have been removed / replaced, for example rear view camera added but satnav deleted to even out the cost.
Its a shame really that manufactures are going down the option pack route as it more or less forces people to pay for stuff they don’t want / need in order to get the bits they do… The cynic in me wonders if its a way of temping people in by having an attractive sticker price knowing full well that many will buy option packs in order to make up for the “missing” bits that should have been included for a given spec.
Can’t help with car suggestions but we also do low miles and currently on our 5th scheme car. We’ve always paid a smallish ( under £300) AP to get a higher trim / better spec, we look at it this way…
The lease costs the same each month regardless of make / model but if paying an AP of around £10 a month over 3 years puts us in something nicer, faster, more toys etc then regardless of mileage its a small price to pay to be in something I enjoy driving and the Mrs is comfortable in.
For car channels I’m enjoying Cleetus McFarland (https://www.youtube.com/user/GARRETTmitch) and Fasterproms (https://www.youtube.com/user/Fasterproms1) – quite a few of the videos cross over as they both share the same building but something very watchable about a bunch of guys messing with 1000hp cars whilst not taking themselves too seriously.
Tech related has to be Big Clive (https://www.youtube.com/user/bigclivedotcom), pulling apart random cheap / junky electronic stuff, informative but quite funny at times as he has a very dry sense of humour.
Would be nice to see something like this on the scheme and know there are a good few here that would jump at that opportunity but as the cynic / pessimist in me can foresee the following issuess..
Price: Not as simple as just chucking the price into a currency calculator, swap the $ for £ and that would be closer to the mark.
Supply & Demand: Will be massive demand for this and no reason for Tesla to offer Motability any kind of discount – wouldn’t surprise me if dealers are able to sell them for higher than RRP such will be the demand.
Image: Bit of a touchy subject this one so sorry if it causes any offence but Motability customers may not be the target market / fit Tesla’s “brand image” and its possible they wont want to join the scheme, making the price and supply irrelevant.
We also had a bit of a delay on our Leon but that was mainly due to the engine being discontinued after the order was placed – did get the correct spec / engine in the end but was a bit up in air at one point.
SEAT seem to do fixed trim levels rather than offer lots of options, if your willing to comprise on colour for example then the “same car” may be available from dealer stock.
Failing that there is normally a pretty decent range of similar sized estate cars on the scheme so if your not able to wait then there a good chance something else suitable will be available. Not sure on the current Advanced Payments but we previously had a Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer in Elite trim and whilst not as “exciting” as the Leon was comfortable and very practical.
Might be a bit off topic but you can get after market heat pads which plug into the 12v / cigarette lighter socket – seen these (https://www.aldi.co.uk/auto-xs-black-heatable-car-seat-pads/p/096844226927400) in our local aldi for example. No idea how well they work but at a tenner its cheaper than an option pack and will fit most cars.
Is our current car (Seat Leon ST 2.0TSi Xcellence Lux) but the Astra ST 1.4 Turbo Elite we had last time would be a very close second…. The Astra felt better built in places but the Leon with the 7 speed DSG and 190ps is just so much more fun to drive and the tech is great.
The quarters are based on the calendar year so Q3 is the current price list running from 1st July to 30th September. I believe it used to be the case that new cars / models would be added at the start of a quarter with little or no changes until the next but this has now changed with cars / models being added and removed part way through.
If your renewal is due this quarter its worth remembering that you can extend the current lease if below a certain mileage so if your heart is set on the T-Cross and it isn’t added this quarter it may appear on the next or one after, having extended you’d be able to order at some point in the future without penality or loss of good condition bonus.
Not sure about the FR Black Edition being added but the FR Sport is still listed – might not be able to get one as a factory order but as its one of the more popular trims there’s a good chance a dealership will have one in group stock. Pretty sure its only a few minor tweaks like larger wheels and back wing mirrors but otherwise the same as the FR Sport.
The petrol Focus ST is over the BHP limit and given the current negativity around diesels it I’m not sure they would add effectively a diesel only trim but who knows, stranger things have happened on the scheme lol.
Bit late as the OP says its all sorted but was going to say it might be a fuel deposit type thing – you pick the car up with 1/4 tank and are expected to return it with the same and get given the £15 back, if not they use the money to cover the cost of the fuel and someone’s time to put it in.
Bit of both really – not in a position to pay a large AP so its a case of getting the best “bang for buck” whilst getting something the ticks the boxes looks wise and spec wise. Been lucky this time around with the Leon ST as it looks quite sporty, has lots of kit and was zero AP, our last car was an Astra estate and some of the styling was a little plain but not really ugly either and again the spec was very good for the small AP.
Guess our list of priorities goes a little like this…
Space for wheelchair / ease of access
Comfort and kit
Looks / performanceBadge doesn’t really come into it as some “better” brands fail on the above list whilst “lesser” ones tick the boxes – at the end of the day regardless of badge there isn’t really such a thing as a “bad” car these days anyway.
Not a regret as such but we got a Vauxhall Zafira around 2010, it was practical and in Elite trim well equipped for what it was but was very lifeless to drive.
It was also a diesel as the car industry were pushing them heavily at the time and the AP on the petrol was much higher, we often ended up driving around aimlessly just to allow the DPF regen to complete – in retrospect it was the wrong fuel choice for our usage but at the time I don’t think the whole DPF vs city driving thing was very well understood and would never go back to diesel again.
So over all whilst there was nothing wrong and it did everything we needed it just felt more like a tool for a job rather than something to actually enjoy, and to be honest put me off the whole MPV / SUV thing – for what we need and want an estate car is the better option and probably the nicer drive.
WardyGTC, we had similar – our build week was the same one we should have taken delivery, total delay was about a month in the end but worth waiting for… Living in a large city the DSG is so much nicer than a manual for everyday driving and the 2.0TSi has plenty of power when needed and the tech is brilliant. My only criticism is some of the plastics feel a little cheap but overall still well put together, no doubt more VAG group politics to protect sales of the Golf.
If nothing else on the current price list takes your fancy then personally its probably still worth the wait.
Hi again,
Just realised I wasn’t very clear, both the Astra and the Leon were / are estate cars which i’ve just seen your a little worried about size wise… The Leon is a bit smaller than the Astra and the Xcellence Lux trim comes with a reversing camera as well as front / rear sensors for £199ap for the 1.5TSI (petrol) auto – thought it was £99 as mentioned above but was having a reading fail at the time it seems lol.
Is dropping one of of the rear seats for the extra length an option? Some cars also have “ski hatch” that drops down between the two outer rear seats, this lets longer items fit whilst only loosing the rear centre seat – the Leon ST has this feature for example.
Possibly slightly biased as we’ve just collected one but for the AP the Leon ST is hard to beat in terms of what you get for the AP, the only potential downside is the new version is due out in the near future but what the specs / APs will be like is anyone’s guess.
Welcome 🙂 120cm is about 4ft in old money so quite long to be fair, by “mobility chair” do you mean something line the Maclaren Major or a typical wheelchair just smaller for a child? Only asking as we’ve just returned a Vauxhall Astra and my wife’s wheelchair fitted with ease but a friends Maclaren Major was to long and had to go in diagonally or leaning upwards.
Our new car is Seat Leon ST and whilst the boot is slightly smaller the wife’s wheelchair fits fine but again the Maclaren Major wont.
Can recommend both the Astra and the Leon – currently an auto Astra starts at £499 for the Elite Nav (top spec) and the Leon ST at £0 with £99AP getting the top spec version. Our Astra was the Elite Nav and whislt not as sporty as the Leon was comfy, well equipped and very practical – only had the Leon for a few days but first impressions are really good.
EDIT
Pretty sure the 12months is when you place the order, not at the time of delivery. Also if it helps with dimensions of boots, door widths etc https://www.ridc.org.uk/content/car-search has quite a few models listed with lots of info.
Daveblue, that’s a silly amount of money, even more so with a “better brand” like Mini as you’d expect it to be standard across the range – seem like a great way to artificially increase the price, I cant imagine many private buyers not speccing it as come re-sale time its bounds to have a knock on effect.
Agree with parking sensors being offered as standard, modern cars are getting bigger and safety requirements means viability can be restricted even before limited movement / ability to look over shoulder is taken into account.
Same sort of thing with electric handbrakes, in general controls have become lighter but the mechanical handbrake hasn’t really changed much over the years and requires a degree of physical effort to use, certainly more than the electric versions anyway.
Some manufacturers offer parking sensors as a “free extra” but quite a few have them fitted anyway and more and more models in general are getting EPBs, a good example of features once limited to higher end models filtering down and helping everyone.
The having to buy a pack of mostly unwanted options to gain one you do is a bit of a problems across the whole car industry, lots of complaining about it on many different car forums so not just us lot unhappy about it. To be honest not really sure what the answer is, trying to get manufacturers to create new “disabled” packs could be tricky as its means changing the production process and trying to offer a one size fits all Motability spec could reduce the range of trim levels offered.
Collected ours this afternoon 🙂 Really happy with it, the DSG will take a bit of getting used after years of driving a manual but so far so good and the DSG feels really smooth. See what others mean about the performance, we needed to pass a cyclist and gave it some welly, took a second to shift gears and then woosh – we both looked at each other and said “bloody hell, this is quick” lol.
Anyway time for a pic, is only the back as that’s where the sun was shining….
