Luxury cars removed from the motability scheme

[AutumnLeavesandKnittedJumpers]

https://news.sky.com/story/luxury-cars-removed-from-motability-scheme-ahead-of-budget-13475029

too little too late. As a full time worker I can’t afford to run a car, let alone a luxury car. Motability should be a standard car - available in automatic and manual, an option for wheelchair users, and that’s it.

Motorbility matters but let’s not pretend you need a premium badge to achieve it. It is a welfare scheme, not a luxury car access scheme, and the idea that only BMWs and Volvos offer adequate seating, suspension or boot space etc is a leap worthy of Jonathan Edwards. Plenty of perfectly functional mid range/ lower mid cars meet genuine disability needs without taxpayers effectively underwriting prestige brands. Supporting mobility is one thing, subsidising aspirational luxury motoring is quite another. Nobody needs a Mercedes to get them to a Drs appointment or to work.

Yes oops sorry.

so Scotland has it’s own disability benefits - child disability payments and adult disability payment. I’m not sure of the criteria there.

DLA is disability living allowance for under 16s.

i believe there are some armed forces or ex-forces situations where they are eligible aswell.

the majority is pip.

Good, they should have never been included. Now to be stricter about who gets one. People with mind anxiety and adhd should not be getting a car and yes I do know someone in this situation. For all those saying it doesn’t cost the tax payer: can I have a car that is taxed, serviced, insured, has breakdown cover etc for £77 a week with a few grand down payment please so that my son can get to work? Also can my younger child do their test at 16 please so he can drive sooner. I can’t can I because the fact is this - it does cost the taxpayer, a lot.

I'd certainly be happy for means tested of state pension, motability, PIP etc., based on a relatively high income of say £60k/£100k, i.e. the same kind of income level where other benefits are removed. People on that kind of income really don't need benefits paid for by workers earning far less.

I think you’re confusing the number of people on higher rate PIP. According to Motabilty, 840,000 people use the scheme. The most common motability vehicles are a Peugeot 208, Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Corsa. Are these too posh?

Or are you saying that nobody should get help if they are disabled?

I'll set out my situation then and see what you all think.

I'm disabled and drive a Mercedes B class. Not on the Motability scheme but I could trade in my PIP and make a big advance payment.

When I leased this car privately it cost me £264 per month. The car is now paid up and can be used to trade in against another car, something you miss out on with Motability.

However, I have very specific needs in a car due to my disability. I drive with my left foot as my right leg is fixed and straight. I'm quite tall and struggle to fit in many small cars. I also need a very flat seat with lots of cushioning. Again the seat pitch discounted many cars when I was looking. Mercedes and Volvo are most comfortable for me. I think people seem to view "disabled" as one size fits all and forget the individual physical requirements.

Also what if I need a big car as I have a dog or two so need the boot space, or several children. Should someone be penalised for being disabled. We still lead normal lives on the whole and have just as many needs from a car as anyone else. The same car doesn't suit everyone so uynless you think we should go back to the days of the invalid carriage why can't people have the car they choose, and that suits their needs?

Nail on the head. There will be a tiny number of cases where a disabled person has no other choice but to source a high end BMW for their needs. There will be low/mid range options that do the job!

Sadly Aston Martin, while publicly traded, is primarily owned by the Saudis, and McLaren by the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain. So a trip to Great Malvern and Morgan it is. Except Morgan's have BMW engines, gearboxes and electronics, and BMW is now banned. So that leaves no cars available😂.

The article I read had the requirement as British built not British owned

But if the price is the same, what does it matter? The reason Ford, Vauxhall and Austin Rover sales collapsed is because people realised they could lease BMWs, Mercedes and Audis for less money because they had better residuals. Are you saying that the disabled should not be able to benefit from that? On what grounds? Envy?

But then you can't get the adaptations, which defeats the whole object.
Fiestas are no longer made btw and wouldn't be suitable for a lot of disabilities - low ride, small boot for example.

Can you find a vehicle suitable for a large and heavy power chair, two children in car seats and a second adult? His last van was a ford, the one now available doesn’t have the correct roof height, nor did a VW, the other option was a mercedes van. So I would be quite surprised if you could find somewhere an adaptation specialist couldn’t.

The residual means nothing to the disabled person, as they never own the car (a fact that seems to pass people by). But a higher residual is beneficial to Mobility as they get to sell the car on at a higher profit, that higher residual has been funded out of the disabled person's own pocket.

How do you get a powerchair and the user into a ford focus?

Yes because disabled people don't deserve anything nice. Honestly listen to yourselves. Imagine not being able to walk and being begrudged a nice car. Besides which if you're entitled to a Mobility car you have to pay extra for an upmarket one. These cars are not 'given out' they're paid for from the mobility component of your award. And no, I'm not disabled myself, I just think that people who are deserve something nice in their lives.

Great news for Nissan then, and BMW, sorry MINI. And very bad news for anyone that requires a wheelchair accessible vehicle, as there are no UK built models suitable for conversion anymore I don't think

But for the manufacturers in the UK that actually employ significant R&D, technical and skilled workers (rather than assembly ones) like JLR no support. Because they are 'luxury' cars. Way to go in developing a skills based growth economy, by making policy based on public opinion ;)

If I ever lost my legs I certainly would be happy with a subsidised Nissan micra and not unhappy about the fact that I can’t get an Audi.

last thing I’d care about is what make my car is as long as I can get from point a to b safely

🤣

HRM PIP or DLA.

It is extremely easy to spot someone who has no idea of what it is like to live as a disabled person.
As someone else said, all of these cars come with a hefty advance payment that is non refundable.
Not only that, but as someone with a physical disability, picking a car isn't based on what car is prettiest or has the fancy little gadgets that other people get to care about.
It is whether the seat is the right height, is the boot a correct figuration to be able to get your mobility aid in, does the car have a lip that you can't physically lift your legs and feet over to get in? You would be surprised at how much that limits and informs your choices when choosing transport.
I don't have a Motability car, because although I qualify for one, I cant afford it due to all the other bills I have to pay out because of my disability.
I know it is easier to punch down rather than look at the actual reason that people are struggling financially, maybe these huge corporations that don't pay the proper taxes for one, but maybe just once, step away from all the propaganda and have a real think about how you would cope if you were in the same position as other people who are much less fortunate than you.
I can assure you that no disabled person wants to be in this position.

The residual has not been funded by the disabled person - that makes no sense. It's funded by the second had market being willing to pay more for a BMW than a BYD Dolphin.

You can use the mobility payment to put towards a car privately. Motability vehicles are for the benefit of the disabled person and a designated driver only.

Good luck fitting a boot or roof chair winch on a nissan micra!

Erm, yes, good idea. We could call it the Motability Scheme. 🤔

Which is exactly what happens. If you want a 'nicer' car you pay using your own money. If you want a basic Skoda, you pay using your own money. If you want a mobility scooter instead of a car, you pay using your own money. Once awarded, that PIP money becomes the person's own money. They don't have to get a vehicle at all. They can spend it on taxis.