Motability cars - should they be UK made?

[Pandersmum]

Motability cars are currently in the news with suggestions VAT will be added. I realise they are a lifetime to some and a perk to others. They are a huge annual cost to the tax payer.

AIBU to think that all motability car choice should be limited to those manufactured in the UK? This would support British manufacturing worker jobs and increase UK business tax revenue whilst still providing cars for those who need them?

No one on here knows you personally. People are just disgusted by the opinions you are expressing.

@Harriet9955
well before the apocalypse.. sorry the “whole benefits system collapses” I would expect that the government would eradicate ..

universal credit - over £50 billion on that in 2023/2023.and -
State pensions - same period £124 billion.
DLA less than £7 billion.
Pip £21 billion.

then there’s Defence £53 billion
Education £116 billion

Which part of that spending do you think would go first.. and why

Why?

I get the same amount of PIP for mobility whether I use it to pay for the Citroen Spacetourer sat outside my house now or a Toyota Yaris.

The difference is of course I can get my wheelchair in the Spacetourer, and not in the Yaris.

What actual difference does it make to you? The sum of money is the same. The up front advance fee either I pay for, or I apply to a charity for a grant for.

At the time of ordering my car, the only vehicle my chair will fit in is the Spacetourer, which is made in France.

So your idea would save you nothing at all but would deny me a car I can get my wheelchair in.

Be honest eh, you want to punish disabled people for existing don't you. The idea that they're getting something subsidised by a charity, with a benefit the taxpayer (and I am a taxpayer myself remember...) contributes to, really squeezes your pips.

@yellowspanner try reading the comments in the thread and you will understand why that won't work and that your understanding of the Motability Scheme is totally wrong.

@yellowspanner
Has someone dropped a spanner on your head? Do you actually have the vaguest idea of what you are talking about?
The basic comprehension skills are so lacking-
a charity funds leasing cars.
Thats what you and others are whinging about.

If a charity offered you clothing or shoes or food - but you would pay over the odds to have those items because there no other fucking way for you to get them either because you don’t have the immediate capital or because your needs are so specific that you couldn’t get those things elsewhere you have the choice not to engage or you take it up. If this charity was then described as abuse of taxpayer money you’d see the issue more clearly.

For those who don’t understand very well - Motability is a charity that agrees that DWP funds are taken directly from DWP and do not go to the recipient so that the otherwise recipient can drive or have access to a car. That car might have to be a several tonne vehicle to have hoists or ramps or whatever or extra side doors but it’s not - for the fucking numpties who cannot or will not get it - a car paid for by taxpayers and given out for nothing to the recipients any more than your universal credit mate’s beers and fags are. Simple?

I imagine they will scrap the triple lock first.
I don't see how they can scrap UC as that would leave millions homeless and without the basics to live off. They are already halving the LCWRA element form April for new claimants.
I guess child benefit could go.
They will make PIP harder to get.
There's no easy answers really are there?

I am saying that the cost of the motability scheme could be offset by increased taxation revenue from UK manufactured cars in the form of direct business corporation taxes and employee taxes from the car companies and indirectly from more jobs and tax revenue in the wider automotive supply chain.

UK manufactured cars would still need servicing by UK dealers.

I never said the scheme should not exist.
I never said that people who currently get cars shouldn’t get them.

I was just making a suggestion of how it could be funded differently than current.

I’ve paid tax for 36 years, why am I not entitled to get a vehicle I can get my daughter in to in her wheelchair?!

Have you actually read the thread? We have explained that people have very specific requirements, depending on their needs. Bulk bought cars would not suit a lot of these needs. Why punish people? Why not let them choose a car?

Well if we had your concept right now, I would not have a vehicle I can get my chair in - the car I have is manufactured in France. There is no other vehicle on the scheme that will take my chair.

So you would also need the UK to manufacture more cars, more models of cars -how would you make that happen?

The reality is, you wouldn't, it wouldn't happen.

Currently the Motability scheme is responsible for 20% of all new car sales in the UK. And you think that cutting that number would improve the UKs economy?

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

Why?

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

@Pandersmum
Please explain how the scheme is funded?

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).

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???

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 don’t know the ins and out of how the scheme is funded. I am not a recipient.
My OP was to suggest choosing UK manufactured cars would help raise additional taxes for HMRC which would help fund the scheme.

BTW I don’t read the Daily Mail nor do I vote Reform.

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.

Of the 3 close family /friends I know with motability cars - one has a Mercedes for reasons of epilepsy (his daughter actually uses the car on a daily basis but not for driving him around, he has another car), one has a Citroen for learning difficulties of a child (this means they don’t have to pay for another family car) and the other has a BMW for reasons I am not aware of (it’s none of my business). None of them need any special vehicle adaptions or have to have WAV. Honestly all 3 could afford to fund their own vehicles but using the motability scheme is more financially beneficial to them. So I class that as a ‘perk’. I’m sorry if that offends.

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

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?

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

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''.

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’.

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?

@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.