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!

because cars that are adapted for wheelchairs cost a lot more money than normal cars.

imagine I need a car for commuting. I can buy a cheap small second hand car. Like the one my son and most of his friends have. Not expensive.

now imagine you are me, you need a wheelchair. You’ve got to get the wheelchair in the car, that in itself means you need a bigger car.

then getting adaptations to get the wheelchair in - lowering the boot and putting and electric ramp on it plus a hoist if needed.

that’s extra expense that the person using a wheelchair is incurring because they can’t just buy a cheap small second hand car.

that’s the point of it. To level the playing field.

Correllation does not equal causation.

49% of claimants may have ADHD, but that will not be the reason why they are in receipt of HRM.

ADHD has many comorbidities. Autism being a big one. Anxiety disorders (not just anxiety), such as GAD, social anxiety, panic disorder etc. Depression, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Sensory Processing Disorders, Sleep disorders such as insomnia, delayed sleep phase syndrome, restless sleep, Tic disorders such as tourettes which can cause transient tics, motor tics, verbal tics, Hypermobility, Dysautonomia/POTS, presyncope, fatigue, tachycardia, Post Exertional Malaise, Hormonal disorders such as PMDD and perimenopausal sensitivity, Emotional regulation issues.

Diagnoses have also been linked to an increased risk for things such as autoimmune conditions, inflammatory conditions like asthma, allergies, and mast cell activation.

ADHD is often one of the earlier diagnoses you get, it's symptoms must be present since childhood, and so it's often the first diagnosis you receive, and the first diagnosis you report.

I receive PIP both HRC and HRM for ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, CFS/ME, Incontinence, Hypermobility and Dysphagia, but if you took that at face value because ADHD was my first diagnosis, you'd assume that I receive PIP because I have ADHD. ADHD is probably the least of my worries, but it's the first one you will find in the list.

I don't claim motability, because I have no need. I don't go anywhere. If I do it's short, meticulously planned journeys and always with somebody else, because I have significant care needs.

I already face resentment from tax payers for being disabled, and being on benefits. For not working, and being told there MUST be a job out there that can accomodate me, and then in the next breath saying the accomodations I need are unreasonable and that my health is my problem to manage and everybody has something going on. The resentment that is being stirred is from tabloid shit stirrers designed to cause us to fight among ourselves while the rich just keep getting richer.

You should qualify. You need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. If your dd has LD and needs significant support to make journeys. Look at the cerebra guide to give you an idea what info to include

Give over, there are too many people fleecing the system. I personally know a family who get the shiny new car for the dad’s disability, however the dad has his own car with his private registration plate and his daughter swans around in the dla car. So many people abuse the system, his jobless daughter would never be able to afford an Audi.

@WaitingForMojo She only gets lower rate mobility as she can walk and use the bus.

@ElizabethG81. The problem is not that we as a country do not have any money, rather that the really seriously wealthy individuals and organisations are provided with ways to minimise their tax liabilities. so that the distribution of wealth remains inequitable.

Consider the universal credit provided to support to low wages: think of that as a government subsidy for the corporations who can get away with paying below a living wage, because their workforce shall be able to claim a top up to their wages.

I honestly have no idea how people are abusing the system. So much evidence is needed to claim higher rate mobility.

I think there's a balance. I know lots of people who really struggle day to day with conditions but can't get accepted for PIP. It's not a binary where everyone who doesn't get PIP is fully able bodied,.so no I don't think it's fair to ask tax payers to fund luxuries.

Essentials yes. But not luxuries.

And I think we should begin to means test PIP. Maybe not until people are earning over £125k. But certainly at that point and beyond , or if they have vast amounts of savings.

Because we need to remember that many non benefit claiming tax payers battle disabilities and health conditions they just don't quite meet the criteria. They should be able to trust that they aren't funding luxuries

I’m one of those people.

i lost my mobility Sept 2014 when I was in an accident.

i didn’t claim any disability or other benefits until I could no longer work so my first pip claim was in 2023. Repeated Covid infections significantly worsened my disability and I was no longer able to work so needed to look at benefits.

i know there are many who were in my position. So it’s not so much disability has increased it’s more that more people are out of work and if you are out of work you need to look at what benefits you are entitled to.

when I was working I would have been just as entitled to high rate mobility but I didn’t claim it because I didn’t need to money. Now I do.

i was a teacher. So many of my colleagues have become very ill or disabled and retired or had to quit after Covid.

Yup. My DH too.

We have an all singing all dancing new Renault through motability. We paid the advance payment ourselves and for the adaptions it needed.

Id give anything to have him able to climb into our little old car again.

No i don't believe someone in there 80s has a life time award for dla for knee pain and has a motability car

Yes! It took my DH months. 5 shattered vertebrae from myeloma. Proving it was a nightmare though. Endless reports and doctor visits and forms.

I'm so sorry to hear about your gorgeous son.

My son had cancer last year and is currently in remission.

Cancer is so bloody awful. Especially when it's your baby.

@Rachie1973 I just don't understand how anyone can do it. Getting lower rate mobility was hard enough.

So what’s your solution? Shoot us all because we cost the state too much? You can’t expect people to survive on less just because less is available!

People outside of the disability community really have no idea how difficult everything is. How hard you to have to fight for every crumb.

Why are you continuing to lie and twist things?

Please stop it.

At no point was it ever said that she had a lifetime award for DLA for knee pain.

If I don’t know what her DLA award was for, you certainly don’t.

Enough.

So she got a lifetime award of dla with no medical conditions and no medical evidence. Sure

I have no idea why she got an award for DLA. As I’ve said many times.

She has obviously claimed to have some kind of medical condition. What that is, I don’t know. Why would I?

There not its only people who have no clue about the reality of claiming for pip who like to state there neighbours, brothers, goldfish girlfriend gets pip for nothing

Maybe, just maybe, start somewhere else & not with the most vulnerable people in our society? Just a thought.

welfare costs are rising, but they're small peanuts compared to other spending, as you well know.

I understand your point op.

But
Millions of PIP claimants work full time

This simply isn't true, sadly.

Only 16% of pip claimants work at all.

A much higher proportion (50%) are in work when they apply for it, and then cease working.

Exactly this. Government spending on disability is only 4% let's focus on the other 96%

But that's part of my point. Plenty of people who are sufficiently disabled to have a very poor quality of life don't get any benefits.
So those that do get benefits need to accept they should be for essentials not luxuries.
It's not fair to claim for luxuries when some tax payers will barely have a life outside of work due to their own disabling conditions that don't quite qualify them for PIP

Let's follow your theory (and ignore the fact that Invacars were death traps and recalled for being unsafe).

They're single seater cars. I don't have a driving licence. How am I supposed to get anywhere? Even if they had two seats, my husband and I can't go out without our daughter. They aren't practical in the slightest.