Motability cars - should they be UK made?

As stated I am ND and not fabulous with words.

So how about pause before start an inflammatory thread like this @Pandersmum ? Just a thought

for the 100th time. it's not a bloody free car. People exchange part of their PIP/DLA award for the car or a perk. People pay for it!!! Their monetary award is significantly reduced if that opt into the mobility scheme

I can also tell you that having a learning disabled child is very much a mobility need. Imagine having someone in your household who cannot leave the house at all on their own and needs accompanying for every drip, even just the supermarket around the corner. Often, these children or adults are runners without any understanding of the dangers (traffic and otherwise around them). How not being able to get from A to B without a person with capacity taking you is not a mobility problem???. For a self proclaimed problem solver you are pretty dim if you do not even have a remotely understand the root problem for many.

I have never been so sickened by an OP in my life.. what a waste of time and energy ..ad then to bow out hilariously by saying she doesn’t know what she’s talking about when it’s a subject so fucking important to so many people’s lives.
This site has become a festering hate-filled sounding board for Reformwannabees

Here’s some advice. If you’re not good with words, maybe don’t start threads about things you don’t know about and where you’re likely to upset and offend those people who you are talking about.

Not one of is on here wants to be eligible for a Motability car, however we’re not the cause of all the ills in this country. Me driving a Skoda EV instead of a Toyota Yaris is not why this country is broke. Maybe ask Michelle Mone to pay back her £122m? And then go after the rest of the fuckers who robbed the country during the PPE scandal and claimed dodgy bounce back loans.

How on earth can you make useful suggestions on how to fund something when you don't actually know how it is currently funded?

I have never heard something so ridiculous in my fucking life.

How would it benefit the tax payer to reduce the selection of cars available on the Motability scheme - a lease hire scheme subsidised by a charity when:

• the mobility payment from PIP/DLA remains the same regardless of what vehicle you choose (the advanced fee varies).
• the mobility payment from PIP/DLA is only given to those who who have disabilities that affect their mobility or ability to plan/execute a journey
• where do you think the tax is paid on importing a car manufactured elsewhere (clue. if you import a car here, you pay the VAT and import duty... here.)

As there is no way to ensure that only manufacturers based in Britain will provide sufficient variety and options to meet everyones needs, you would simply be cutting the number of Motability cars sold.

Last I checked, reducing the quantity of a product sold in a country, harms the economy rather than benefits it.

With fewer cars suited to various adaptations, you would also be harming all those adaptation companies whose sole business is adapting cars from a variety of manufacturers. British companies, hiring british people.

It's really not sounding good from any perspective whatsoever.

Hateful and ignorant. Nice.

@Pandersmum so why did you start a thread on something you know nothing about?
you didn’t ask for people to tell you how it works - and if you read the replies you CAN learn - so why?

Well, if you don't know how it is all funded or how the scheme works then you really ought not to be making assumptions and stupid suggestions about it.

And there are no "perks" to being disabled. But you might find that out one day.

I would stop while your ahead here @Pandersmum because the hole that your digging for yourself is just getting bigger and bigger and with each new post your finding more ways to offend people. You don’t know how the scheme works, the cars for some people are just “perks” and you want to limit disabled peoples choices even further by giving them a very limited number of choices on cars that they need.

@Pandersmum I'd love to know how our WAV is a perk of the fact that my little boy is unlikely to make double figures. I would give everything I possess, including his WAV, to see him grow up.

It is none of your business.
Yes it does offend.
A "perk" free car for parents caring for a child with learning disabilities.
You sound so hateful towards disabled people. Why?

Regarding WAV maybe they should be exempt from my ‘buy British’ suggestion if they are not available, but I believe they are actually only a small proportion of the vehicles.

Not everyone who doesn’t have a WAV would have a suitable British alternative. DS1 falls into that category. The AP and adaptations for his current vehicle were 5 figures. The vehicle he has is also currently available as a WAV but he doesn’t have a WAV version. He could have. He has a wheelchair he can travel in. However, he prefers his SN buggies and to travel in his specialist car seat. So he has a ‘normal’ vehicle adapted with adaptations such as a swivel seat that comes out of the vehicle and a hoist in the boot. It is far from a ‘perk’.

If you don't know the ins and out of how it is funded then maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself until you do.

Including the fact that it's a ''perk''.

Yep. Not eligible for the full amount and still cant afford what they want us to pay.

Limited basic models don't tend to be suitable for wheelchairs which would deem them useless for many people.

The vast majority of people also need to pay advance payments towards the car which comes from their own money so why should it be a basic model if they can pay more?

Have you looked into applying for a grant? Worth a try.

They won't answer this question honestly. I personally think that it angers them to think that disabled people on the Motability scheme, could be driving nicer cars, than they are. It is pure jealousy. They tend to forget, or not want to understand that the people able to access this scheme, are living with health conditions, that they would never desire to have.

I use a large powerchair but I dont have a vehicle at present. I've just had a look on the motability website tonight and there are currently 24 wavs available on the scheme. The manufacturers are:

Citroën (French)
Peugeot (French)
Vauxhall (Owned by Stellantis, a Dutch/American combo)
Ford (American)
Dacia (Romanian/French)
Volkswagen (German)
Renault (French)
Mercedes (German).

I then narrowed down the search parameters for something I could actually get my chair into and what works for the family and got a choice of Peugeot, Vauxhall, Mercedes or Volkswagen. The advance payments start at 17k which unsurprisingly I dont have, especially as the vehicle would need renewing every 5 years. Just to be clear, this isnt a small family car we are talking about, its essentially a converted van. Having been in several of them before, they are far from lavishly carpeted, luxury vehicles some people seem to think they are. Tinted windows is probably as far as it gets luxury wise.

Somehow I don't think your idea to restrict it to British cars only is going to work. Are there even any British manufacturers left who make vans???

After today I’m tempted to get a flag that says “free” on it and hang it on top of my WAV just to aid those who can’t already see the Allied Mobility sticker or the please leave 3 metres behind this vehicle (to allow the ramp to drop down) - I might feel victorious about how much I’ll spend on this WAV but never own it (£23,000 for a 5 year lease).

@Pandersmum
Please explain how the scheme is funded?

Clearly this thread has been started off the Daily Mail’s article about Rachel Reeves planning to “review” Motability (allegedly) - in order to force the charity to spend more on VAT because of its billions of profit (allegedly).
The bit that will have disability hating people frothing happily is the alleged notion she had of reviewing the scheme so that “only the most severely disabled “ can use it - which if any of that can be trusted … so this isn’t the ha! ha! That the haters would want - sure Motability can be reviewed all she (RR) likes but she’ll have a hard time explaining why she’s considering something that is already a prerequisite for the scheme- namely that only the most severely disabled can access te scheme (because only the most severely disabled get higher mate DLA or PIP).
Otherwise she should start at base - if she thinks the DWP is issuing those benefits inappropriately she can review that to her heart’s content.
That’s on the government past and present if they truly believe there are people receiving benefits they should not.
I think it’s RR spouting shit as usual - winter fuel allowance etc etc

Why?

If anyone think that the answer to the countries financial issues is to stop supporting the most vulnerable people then I suggest you take a long hard look at yourself then stop voting reform