How long did you wait for your motability car?

[Motabilityhelp]

Please no bashing

I ordered my new car on Friday, was told it would be ready to collect end of July and gave me a actual date.
Just wondering if it’s realistic or if I will get a call to collect sooner?

Stupidly had the money to pay for the AP there & then but DH had a unexpected bill go out (do have nearly all but down by £50) and of course I do not get paid till end of the month. Terrified they will ring me next week to collect and I don’t have the funds!

Usually several weeks. On our 3rd and have never had one come early. Our last one took 8 weeks. It was ready when we were on holiday so they had to hold it until we got home.

Never had one come early. But once you have your first one it’s easier to then just reorder when the lease is coming to an end.

It’s my third one on the scheme but different make so different dealer than I usually deal with. Last one was pretty on point in predicting to when they had the car just worried by some freak act of nature this one will be ready before I get paid again 🥴

I thought they only hold it for a week & then it moves to the next customer waiting. In that case I should hopefully have some wiggle room then!

Ours was about 8 months but that was a WAV.

It’s unlikely they will have it much sooner. They are made to order so that’s why the wait. Occasionally there are cancelled orders meaning you can get a car sooner rather then wait for a build but you would know that at the time of ordering as the dealer would not place an build order if they had any stock motors.

He didn’t say if it was a build order or a stock motor to be honest. Just said it would be ready end of July after orginally saying 2 weeks… am I best ringing do you think?

There's no answer to that question. If it' a car in stock, then it's four days, if it's a factory order then it's months and all points in between.

If you're flexible on colour, it might be quicker than if you're fixed on a particular one.

Source: Fifteen years of selling Motability.

If it was a cancelled order from stock he would gave said as these are usually available within days.

No, it's not worth ringing.

He won't get paid until the month after you receive the car, so there is absolutely no incentive to delay it any longer than is absolutely necessary. If he has an update, he will contact you to get you into the car as soon as he can.

One thing you need to remember is that as an existing customer, you can't have it until the three years is up on your existing one, regardless of when the car arrives at the dealership anyway.

Calling for an unnecessary update is wasting your time as well as the salesman's. As I say, you'll get it as soon as possible.

The dealership have to get the car to showroom they also have to organise road tax etc

I have never had a car handover early and on occasion it’s been late
hope all goes smoothly

Not always true. Some Motability customers order on day one of their ordering window, so have to wait the full three months.

Dealerships will be paying interest to the manufacturer on cars in stock for over 30 days, so wouldn't ring fence a stock car for someone who can't have it for three months and commit themselves to an unnecessary bill. In those circumstances, we'd do a factory order.

Wouldn't matter as Motability will say when the earliest the car can be handed over is for an existing customer. That's the bit of information we need.

I was told by motability I could order end of April but I wont have my current car for 3 years to the date they said in July?
so does that mean they must wait till July date earliest to exchange?

Actually, this is enlightening.

For existing customers, Motability cars can be ordered three months beforehand. Having reread this post, I am 100% certain that you have just received your renewal letter, gone to order quickly and didn't tell him that you couldn't have the car until end of July, so he thought it was a new application and could have it in a couple of weeks. He's gone to submit the application and the system has told him.the earliest handover date is end of July, hence his seemingly conflicting information.

Yes. See my post of 1905.

You can change early if you pay £250 to break the contract you willingly agreed to in July 2023. I wouldn't, but that's how you can get it early.

The guy has done nothing wrong, but given you the best information he had with the information he had received. When that changed, the information he gave you changed accordingly.

Ah… okay so it’s correct then I cannot exchange till end of july? With my last car I didn’t order till 2 weeks till my lease was ending and it was ready at the end of those 2 weeks so I don’t know how it works.

Oh okay I get you now! I thought as I could reorder before July I could get the car early. 🤦‍♀️😂
Bless him he probably thought as Ive been a customer for years I know how it works.

Yep. You were lucky there was a car available, but even if it were in the showroom, you wouldn't have been able to have that one until the two weeks was up

Don't worry, it sounds like everything was done correctly as per Motability guidelines. You'll get your car when you're allowed it and you've got 11 weeks to save up that little shortfall

You can order three months in advance so there is time (in most circumstances) for a factory order to arrive for your earliest handover date.

Oh thank heavens. 😂
Thanks everyone, panic over. Plenty of time for me to put the shortfall back in. Probably why motability told me to get my MOT done for my current car as well, was thinking it was strange to ask me to get it done if I was handing the car back before MOT was due!

I promise I’m not being goady but i really want to understand more how this works as it’s been on the news/ talk radios a lot. If you both work, why do you get a motability car? Please don’t all come for me, I genuinely am interested.

What do you mean?
I do not work I have disabled DC & I am disabled myself I have to use a roller to get around as my legs give way & dislocate a lot. (very granny of me I know 😂)

Ah ok You said you didn’t get paid until the end of the month, so I assumed you worked. x

And even if the OP was able to work (many people with disabilities can), she would still be able to get her car on the Motability scheme, as long as she receives the qualifying benefit.