Fancy cars for disabled people

[LemaxObsessive]

Motability.

I am sick to absolute death of seeing people saying on various threads, that Motability vehicles are “given” to us disabled people “for free”.

PIP is awarded in 2 separate elements.

1. Daily Living (day to day care needs etc)
2. Mobility

Each element is paid at different rates depending on how affected by your disability you are (and yes, medical evidence is required). However, to be eligible for Motability, you need to be getting the highest rate of the Mobility element. This is currently £77.05 per week (which works out at £308.20 per 4 weeks or £333.88 per month).

When you join Motability you agree for the DWP to give Motability that £77.05 per week instead of it being paid to your bank. If you also receive the Daily Living element of PIP then you will still receive that directly.

You ALSO, in most cases, have to pay an advance payment (AP) for the vehicle. The better the vehicle, the higher the AP. You do not get the AP back.
The £77.05 per week pays for the lease of the car, insurance, roadside assistance, tyres & windshield cover. Disabled people in receipt of the highest rate of the PIP mobility element are already exempt from road tax.

With regards to the ‘fancy’ cars such as BMW, Audi & Mercedes, as you can imagine all of these have a whopping great AP in the multiple thousands of pounds; Which as I said, you don’t get back.
The taxpayer is not paying a penny towards these vehicles besides the fact that Motability don’t currently pay VAT which I believe is up for discussion.

I think a really important point to make here is that PIP is categorically not means tested (even millionaires can claim it, provided their health meets the criteria) and is not paid to replace a disabled person’s income! In other words, people do not live off PIP instead of working, it is paid to cover the added costs associated with being disabled. Costs non-disabled people likely have never even considered, such as cleaners when we can’t do it, basic gardening when we can’t do it, extra electricity for when medical equipment is used at home, ready meals when we’re bed-bound, delivery charges for every single thing we buy because click & collect isn't possible, taxis to work because the bus always already has a wheelchair user on it, along with lots of other small but mounting costs we have zero choice but to pay because the alternative isn’t an option for us. The lowest rate of PIP is just £29.20 per week so we’re not talking big money!

Millions of PIP claimants work full time but crucially, couldn’t do so without PIP and in many cases, without Motability!

As I said above, even wealthy people are eligible to claim PIP to cover the added costs associated with their disability and they can, if they receive the highest rate of the Mobility Component of PIP choose to use Motability. If they want to spend £7,999 plus £77.05 per week to lease an Audi Q4 for 3 years then they can but not many do because it’s a lot of money to have nothing to show for it after 3 years.

So no, nobody is being ‘given free BMWs, Audis or Mercedes’ regardless of what’s being said by anyone!

🥂

Oh and also, with regards to people (including Nick flipping Ferrari!) saying things like “People are getting Motability cars for bed wetting and ADHD” No, they are not! The highest rate of the mobility component of PIP is paid for one of two criteria 1. The claimant can only walk a certain distance unaided without severe debilitating pain or 2. The claimant cannot go out alone without getting into danger. They may also have ADHD or bed wetting but they are not the reason they receive the element of PIP required for Motability! The way the system is set up just doesn’t allow for that to be possible.

“Millions of PIP claimants work full time but crucially, couldn’t do so without PIP and in many cases, without Motability!”

There are 3.8 million people in receipt of PIP.

16% are in work.

There were 860,000 motability cars on the road in April of 2025 - and that number is growing.

The taxpayer is paying for these vehicles, as the scheme is funded by PIP payments.

You assume the money is spent regardless and therefore ‘doesn’t count’ as people would still be in receipt of it - but, I think that’s a big part of people’s queries triggered by this scheme, do so many people need additional mobility funding?

49% of ADHD claimants get the higher rate mobility allowance, according to DWP data.

OP, I think you need to consider whether drivers without mobility issues would be able to afford the same car for £77 a month. Most of the people I know leasing cars pay a deposit and several hundreds a month. Perhaps that is why people are resentful.

And many motability drivers do not have to pay the AP, they get a grant.

There are always two sides.

£77 per week not month

My DH would much rather be able to walk than being entitled to a mobility car. It’s not a fucking fun choice!

No one on DLA or PIP is renting a car for £77 a month.

do so many people need additional mobility funding?

Born visibly disabled, developed additional disabilities over time.
Self employed (no one wants to give me a job) wheelchair, several physical disabilities, no motability vehicle.
Simply can't pay my own way without additional mobility funding as being this disabled is actually expensive.

Two options:

1. help me be able to access paid work so I am not on UC and as a bonus do something useful for society..
2. Take away mobility funding, put me on UC, and make me stay at home doing nothing and not doing something useful.

Guess which one is cheaper and better value for the tax payer? (of which I am one)

Finally someone explained it op 👏

Please read things properly

I know someone who relies on a wheelchair adapted vehicle and large electric wheelchair. There aren't safe pavements between their flat and the nearest shop and even if they drove electric wheelchair down the road they wouldn't be able to access the shop as it has steps. They have to live in this location as they need a wheelchair accessible flat. They are often unable to access the bus because the bus is full, the bus driver on the day won't stop at the only raised pavement from which the wheelchair can access the bus because technically that's not where the stop is or they just couldn't get there because someone parked over the drop curbs or blocked the pavements. They cannot access their GP surgery, they have to travel 3 miles to a dentist that is accessible. They struggle to get into cafes, restaurants, shops, etc and so the vehicle is a lifeline in being able to access life.

Some won't be happy till it's the Flintstones style cars that are available.
It's just another divide and conquer tactics..oh look what they're getting that you're not.

It is free though. Choosing a free car instead of free money doesn't change the fact that it's free.

Disabled people need cars so I agree that there should be some kind of a motability system in place. However nobody needs a BMW and if you can afford the £££££ down payment for it then do you actually need a motability car?

These people with ADHD that are getting the higher rate mobility allowance are not people who have a bit of ADHD, they probably have co existing conditions, such as autism. Its unlikely they are the drivers in these scenarios and they are the people with ADHD who are claiming PIP (most people with ADHD wouldn't qualify for PIP) these are people who forget what they are doing half way crossing the road. Children who will dart into the road because they've seen a friend on the other side. People who have limited depth perception so struggle to cross the road on their own, people who can only find their way around very familiar, recently used, routes.

People think that ADHD is a bit of restlessness and the inability to focus (because you're not trying hard enough) but, in severest forms, it can be very debilitating. It's not forgetting where you've left your keys, its forgetting to take your meds, to eat drink, forgetting to turn the reckon' oven off. Its dealing with ALL THE STIMULI because you have no incoming filter so you can't filter what is important and what you can ignore.

You think that you fill in a quick form and get given several hundreds pounds every month without any evidence. It's bollocks, you need medical evidence, reports from specialists.

A friend can afford the down payment for a vehicle to take his power chair (with him in it), does that mean he doesn’t need a motability car?

Also if your element changes at any point you lose your car.

Well said.

I have a Motability car because my son gets high rate DLA. He's a wheelchair user and so the car is a large WAV due to his needs.

I've seen so many comments about only having 'basic' cars available without a thought to those who need a large, accessible car and sometimes with adaptations too.

People understand all of that, and still disagree with it.

Based on some of these replies, I think that is questionable.

If someone is spending the price of a normal car as a down payment for a luxury car do you really think that's acceptable?

In what way is a WAV a luxury or unacceptable?

So if people getting the higher end cars are paying £8k upfront for them, why can they not put that money towards their own needs before claiming PIP? From what you’re saying, that £8k would fund 2 years worth of the weekly £77 payment. This is what pisses people off.

How does affording a larger AP make anyone or their child less disabled?

What on earth are you talking about?

I think the problem is so many people are now falling under ‘disabled’ criteria. I don’t think any taxpayer minds providing the necessary help for those severely impacted by their disability. It’s the woolly stuff around the edges that’s starting to stick in the craw.