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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Motability / vehicles for disabled people.

57 replies

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 04/01/2013 23:09

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

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?

OP posts:
PandaOnAPushBike · 04/01/2013 23:32

How does he even know how the neighbour is paying for his car? Do they having stickers on these days saying 'paid for by taxpayers'? I'm disabled and have always had a nice car paid for out of our earnt income. (Have never applied for DLA as the forms freak me out too much)

springlamb · 04/01/2013 23:33

Also, the Mercedes A-class (if, of course, it is one) is quite often recommended to disabled people with back/hip issues or bending problems as its' seats are quite high so access is easier.

MsCellophane · 04/01/2013 23:34

If he receives the highest mobility component of DLA it will be because he cannot walk or cannot walk without severe discomfort.

He can use this payment to fund anything that helps with his mobility. Some people pay for taxis or give it to carers to drive them for petrol or use it for bus travel or to buy a car and pay finance or it just gets eaten up by day to day living. All of those things are allowed

You can use this money to lease a car through the motability scheme. Motability take the DLA payment and in return you hire a car for 3-5 years. Insurance, tax and repairs are covered by the DLA payment. You put petrol in the car. The person who has the car doesn't need to be able to drive it, there will be two named drivers covered by motability. You have to make a non refundable down payment on most of the cars - eg Renault espace 5 years ago was a down payment of £8000. The nicer the car, the bigger the down payment

At the end of the 3-5 years, you give the car back. With nothing to show for it, no money to put into next car - as all you've done is leased a car for around £7000 for 3 years (not including the down payment)

Your neighbour will have paid a large down payment and monthly payments to lease a car. It isn't free.

NotOnTheBeach · 04/01/2013 23:35

And some disabled people use their mobility allowance to get them to work! Pretty necessary if you can't use the tube or local buses, or walk, or cycle.

(That is to the OP, not to the tequila slamming JamesBSpeed!)

Original poster
MaryMotherOfCheeses · 04/01/2013 23:35

Long complicated and boring story as to why we know he gets some support from Motability.

I don't know anything about Motability which is why I'm asking here.

OP posts:
deepbreath · 04/01/2013 23:35

If you have money, you can pay a deposit upfront to get a more extravagant car. You lease the car for 3 years, at a cost of c.£200 per month (the disabled person's entire Mobility part of their DLA), then have to hand the car back to Motability, who sell it on.

We have our second Motability car right now, ours is a Nissan though. To get this, our 9 year old dd has a life threatening medical condition that could potentially take her from us at any time. Next month, dd's DLA is up for renewal, we are worried sick that they will take her DLA away, she has just been put on the waiting list to have hydrotherapy on the other side of the city and generally has a lot of medical appointments.

Having a Motability car means that dd is less at risk of collapse, we can get to appointments without having to rely on public transport and get her and her wheelchair clobbered around. On one occasion, dd had chest pain (with her condition, it could easily have been an aortic dissection so no time to wait around - it thankfully turned out to be costochondritis instead) and I took her in the car to A&E rather than wait for an ambulance. We would not otherwise be able to afford to buy, insure and run a car at the moment.

JamesBexleySpeed · 04/01/2013 23:36

Spot on, NotOnTheBeach. I am a wheelchair-using professional woman who works full time. I do claim, and get, HRM DLA, but it's no ones business what I choose to spend it on.

Original poster
MaryMotherOfCheeses · 04/01/2013 23:36

That's interesting, thank you springlamb.

OP posts:
JakeBullet · 04/01/2013 23:36

It might also be the case that this man has worked all his life and has savings.

DLA is awarded regardless of whether someone is in or out of work or is wealthy or not. David Cameron and wife claimed it when their son was alive and would also have got higher rate mobility. They could have chosen a really expensive vehicle and put the cash towards it and self funded the rest.

This man must have savings or a wage to have this car.

PandaOnAPushBike · 04/01/2013 23:38

Ask your husband if he'd like to swap his mobility for the neighbour's car.

threesocksmorgan · 04/01/2013 23:38

tbh even if it was all covered by motability, why does your dh care?
at the end of the day the man must be disabled

springlamb · 04/01/2013 23:38

Yes Panda there is that. I happily drive around in our 53 plate wheelchair accessible Kangoo (ds has a physical disability) and am often asked why I don't have a Motability car. I don't see why we have to justify ourselves either way. If we, our doctors, and the DWP are satisfied, that's enough for me.

LegoAcupuncture · 04/01/2013 23:39

Motability have a whole website www.motability.co.uk/. Send him there.

lisad123everybodydancenow · 04/01/2013 23:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
MaryMotherOfCheeses · 04/01/2013 23:41

I'm trying to get my DH to wind his neck back in, and I usually find a rational argument is better than telling him to just do that.

This thread is moving very quickly, thank you for all the information.

I could look at the motability website but this actually gives more opinions rather than "how it works".

OP posts:
NotOnTheBeach · 04/01/2013 23:41

but it's no ones business what I choose to spend it on.

Unless the tequila drinking is while driving your Mercedes Wink

threesocksmorgan · 04/01/2013 23:42

just show hime this thread.

JamesBexleySpeed · 04/01/2013 23:43

In all seriousness; I can't walk. My legs don't work. It's not very nice at times, you've all read the threads about wheelchairs on buses and discrimination at work.
Unfortunately it is also true that some people don't believe that their neighbour/aquaintance is as disabled as they claim to be, which is why these things kick off.

OP, I would rather be able to walk than to get HRM DLA, please just ask your DP to go through a normal day imagining he's in a wheelchair instead of on his working legs and to consider what it would be like not to be able to walk.

springlamb · 04/01/2013 23:46

My last post sounded rather aggressive, I didn't mean it to be so at all.
It's human nature to wonder how such things work, especially if you have no direct knowledge of such things. Once you have the knowledge, you can stop wondering.
I wonder stuff about my neighbours - I wonder how they ever get any sleep since they have a 50-inch TV on the wall of their (uncurtained) bedroom and it's on 24 hours a day. But I don't think Mumsnet could help me understand that one.

JakeBullet · 04/01/2013 23:46

Still giggling at the Tequila slamming JamesBexleySpeed comment further back.

Absolutely right that its nobody's business.

I get LRM DLA for DS as he needs support/someone with him for supervision. So many people think I can "get a free car". Er...no DS can walk.....although getting him out the door on a school day can admittedly be a struggle,

I use it instead to fund my ancient old car (£250 on eBay just in case anyone thinks I am having it too easy Wink). It goes towards petrol costs.

perceptionreality · 04/01/2013 23:47

You can use the mobility part of your DLA to pay for a new leased car, but you often have to pay some of your own money towards it (would certainly be the case with a merc).

People like your DH really annoy me, sorry. They make life hard for disabled people and spread prejudice about them and encourage disablist attitudes. The man in question must be significantly disabled to qualify for higher rate mobility. I doubt your dh would want to swap places with him tbh - jealousy of disabled people makes me really cross.

JamesBexleySpeed · 04/01/2013 23:48

Me too, Jake, and you have a wonderful Red Dwarf name too.

threesocksmorgan · 04/01/2013 23:50

oh yes Jake I get you,
I often wonder about my neighbours(disabled) they always seem to be getting stuff done.
I think I am jealous as we have to wait years(they get new lift, seen the old one taken out and new one taken in, we will have to wait years with dd stuck)

ouryve · 04/01/2013 23:51

The payment towards a car is pretty basic. A corsa or a zafira for a wheelchair user might be "free" (ie cost the higher rate mobility component alone). Anything above that, including a need to accommodate a second wheelchair user not in receipt of higher rate mobility of DLA, has an extra, often large 4 figure, deposit to pay.

Tralalalaha · 04/01/2013 23:51

My mum had to pay four hundred pounds up front to get my Dad's last motability car because they wanted one that had a couple of extra features (air conditioning because he sweated terribly and parking sensors as it was a big bugger to get the wheelchair in). He died three months after they got it, so it had to go straight back of course after the funeral, and my mum didn't get any of that money back :( they gave up his mobility allowance for it and then bought extra miles because you're limited to mileage on them as well. So it's not all flash cars and free driving sadly.