Motability / vehicles for disabled people.

[MaryMotherOfCheeses]

I'm not being unreasonable, I'd like to explain to my husband why he is being unreasonable

He's complaining that a bloke down the street has a Mercedes. The bloke has been very ill and struggles to walk. We understand that he has financial help to have a vehicle, he's probably registered disabled.

DH has complained that this is "our money" (taxpayers) and why should we be paying for him to have "some fancy car."

I think that this is probably through Motability which is a charity? And therefore they will have probably struck up some good deal with Mercedes so actually it's cost effective? And either way, the state are hardly giving away luxury items and that he should wind his neck back in.

Anything else I should know?

he is BU
it is nothing to do with him

I know he's being unreasonable, I'm looking for ammunition!

ok.
his taxes don't pay for it.
it is a charity.
if man has posh car he will have paid thousands to it.
if he dies it will be taken back.
would he like mans illness...

I also want to explain to DS exactly why DH is being unreasonable since he's clearly listened to his father, and "are your judgey pants chafing your arse?" is not a good argument.

He is BVU

When people claim DLA there are 2 elements, care and mobility. When people are eligible for the higher rate mobility in addition to care they can either have it in cash or use it to pay for a mobility vehicle, in full or part depending on the vehicle they choose.

In addition to paying their mobility allowance each week for the vehicle, so cars also require a down payment from the claimant's own pocket. I happen to know the merchant costs about £1000 upfront.

So please assure your judge DH that disabled people do pay for these vehicles.

I'm pretty certain motability only gives a part of the money off. I'm sure when my grandad got his he had to pay the majority.

Bloody autocorrect! Mercedez, not merchant!

Just search the other 1000 threads on this subject and make him read them word for word as a punishment

Tell your DH the bloke will also get a better parking space than him and see him froth at the mouth lol.

Motability help but it is not out of taxes. The MOMENT a person dies, they take back the car...

What a churlish thing for him to get upset about...

I would have thought as dla is paid by the government from taxes gathered off working people then yes he is paying towards it but as tsm said he would have paid a lot of his own money towards and the car will be returned at some point

Loads of public buses are mercedes. It doesn't necessarily mean a 'fancy' car. In this case, it just means a car that's set up for this person's needs.

Thanks Shakirasma, that's helpful.

my dd gets a mobility WAV(wheelchair accesible vehicle) she is severely disabled.
to pay for it we give up all the mobility part of her DLA. she keeps the care part as that is for her care.
in most cases you have to stump up a lot of money for your chosen vehicle, i think you only get help if you need a specially adapted car/wav then it is means tested.

People who are on the Motability scheme can have more or less any vehicle they like, but they pay a premium for them if they aren't one of the basic models.
They also pay a mileage component too, when the car is returned (every three years) then anything over a set (quite low) limit has to be paid for at so many pence per mile.
Someone who has to have a particular "thing" in a vehicle, like, oh I don't know, a door which opens extra wide or something, or an adjustable seat that goes to a certain height or whatever can end up having to pay to get a car with that feature if none of the basic ones have it iyswim.
It's not a free Mercedes, and in three years, back it goes and if he wants another Mercedes he will have to pay out all over again.

by the way op your dh is not most likely being horrid, it is a complicated system that a lot of people don't understand.

I get the higher rate mobility component of DLA and looked into the possibility of using it to get a motability car. I decided not to as it was far cheaper to get an ordinary bank loan over 3 years AND I own the car, rather than just leasing it from motability.

Really not all it's cracked up to be, the mobility scheme. (if you work, and can get a loan, I guess)

How does he know how much the car cost? Mercedes cars aren't necessarily any more expensive than other cars, especially if they are second hand. Sometimes they are higher value but not always.

I pray this thread doesn't kick off.

Yes as everyone else has said, he gets Higher Rate Mobility then he can if he chooses put that payment towards a vehicle in the Motability scheme.

Anyhow...how does your DH know this is a Motability vehicle? Only a third use their mobility payments in this scheme. This rest presumably use it for taxis etc.

OP, tell him to have a good look at the Motability website. And also perhaps, the guidelines for eligibility for Higher Rate DLA. Because you have to be pretty severely impaired to get it.

In a sense, yes, his taxes do go towards a motability car. People can put the mobility element of their DLA towards a motability car. But if they want most of the cars available through motability they must pay a big advance cash sum and top up the payments out of their own pockets.

The cars are not owned by the recipient. They are leased / hired. No cash back when you return it, no income from sale. People give up the £54-ish they get towards the cost of being mobile towards the cost of the car.

That seems a highly civilised whay for our society to give some dignity and quality of life to people for whom so many public services (like tube stations) are inaccessible. Perhaps your DH will agree if he sees it like that?

I would hope this thread doesn't kick off either.

I'm asking for useful information to tackle an issue.

The disabled person is given an allowance to help them transport themselves about.
They can choose to give up that allowance and have a car instead.
If it's anything other than a fairly basic model, the disabled person has to lay down an upfront fee which can go up to some thousands of pounds.
Before your DH asks where they are getting the thousands of pounds for the down payment, consider if the person is disabled because of an industrial accident and has perhaps received compensation, or maybe they have sold their low slung sports car (now unsuitable because they are disabled) to get the down payment.
A mother I know has two children in wheelchairs due to a genetic disability, she recently had to find £8,000 down payment in order to access a suitable Motability vehicle.
I also know someone who is downsizing from a Nissan Note (such a huge car!) to a Fiat Panda as they can't afford the petrol for the Note.
So many different circumstances out there.

Of course it is entirely possible that the bloke down the road has simply bought a Mercedes. Many disabled people do work, have a good income and like to spend it as they wish!

I use mine for tequila, Jake. Cos I can, you know?

These threads always kick off.