motability and my large family

[bonkers321]

Ok so Im aware that as from sometime soon the whole picture changes for motability.
I have a large family 5 children, the fourth one 16 in may 2013, with autism, adhd, and dsypraxia, and the youngest 21 months (worse but prob looking at same diagnosis) and I guess we ll be getting the mobility component at the highest rate for both , great we all think but i have a prob. I currently have a 7 seater grand scenic on motability, very nice, and next year when we are due to renew we will def need an 8 seater as I need more space, there is just not the room in my seven seater when we holiday in the uk or visit my mother and father 300 miles away. I am concerned Ive had a look and not only are we limited to a 7 seater which must be done through the lease scheme but the intial outlay is high. I am a single parent who doesnt work as im on the sick and low rate dla as I have a disability aswell , the motability scheme is the only way I can afford a big enough car, which is our life line.

Can anyone suggest anything? Im really concerned. is there any contract hires anywhere else? or can i hp? got to say contract hire preferred as I dont have the added worry of breakdown.

I have five too and the youngest two with autism. We have a mobility car but just a standard saloon because we have found that as the older ones learnt to drive they'd travel independently. Your oldest three are going to be getting more and more independent so the chances are you will never need an eight seater tbh. If we go away together what generally happens is the older three come up together in one or more of their own cars particularly as they seem to bring boyfriends, girlfriends and mates along too (your family will get even bigger very soon believe it or not)

As far as I know the Zafira is a 7 seater with an up front payment of £49 but not much boot space. I have a friend who has a nissan NV200 which also has 7 seat and a huge boot (it is a converted van)
From What I know, which isn't much, and what I can see on the motability website, the only ones with 8 seats are ones you can have adaptations made to.

You may be able to get a grant towards a downpayment, however as it's DC4 who is disabled and 16, they may start using independant travel as an option and won't accept the older ones.

If it helps we hire a roofbox, when we take one car, when we are all not together. Plus as there is 2 of us, luckily, we take a car each.

I struggled to find a nissan NV200 to view when we were changing. Peugot (sp) do an 8 seater with a hefty downpayment but struggled to find that too.

The rear seats in a Zafira aren't really useful for regular use, mind. There is no buffer between them and the rear of the car (and the NCAP crash tests don't cover rear ending, so the 5 star score doesn't cover that scenario with all the seats in use)

I never realised that our my youngest has the boot to himself, he is very aggressive and hates anyone in his space. I do move the middle row forward a bit tho so it's not on top of him so to speak. Don't know what to do or think now as we will always need 3 rows and there's only the touran, zafira and an s max where a folded wheelchair fits in the boot with all seats up!!

I had a Peugeot 807 which had 7 seats (You could get a bench seat option with 8 seats) problem is that they're not sold in the UK anymore. So when we got our motability car we got a Ford Galaxy. Noticeably smaller boot space compared to my old 807. The maximum outlay for an MPV was £2k roughly. The trouble we found was that there wasn't anything that worked practically as well for us as our old car, but we like the Galaxy, even with a small boot and no sliding doors!!

My two just fight in the back of a Mazda 6! I have threatened to put one of them in the boot before now. Only problem is, DS1 thinks it would be a great idea to put DS2 in there!

The video I'd seen has been taken down off youtube, but google 5th gear zafira crash test and there's a lot of discussion about it.

omg, what about 6th gear zafira??

lol, I didn't mean he was exactly in the boot but on the seats that would normally be in the boot.

emm, not looking hopeful here !! Anyone been able to do something elsewhere? It is unlucky my eldest son with autism will ever be able to drive as he cannot concentrate for even a small amount of time , I guess the youngest with autism will be going on high rate as soon as he turns 3 next august???? has anyone been able to obtain finance? Just to put you in the pic eldest is 16, then 15, then 13, then 11, and finally 21 months ... (few!!)

[[http://www.gwilliamson.co.uk/motability.html
Fiat]] ulysee?

Bonkers. I really think that you won't find an 8 seater car unless you look at a commercial van. You would have to talk to Motability about that.
Realistically they would probably say that with your family a 7 seater would be adequate. The VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra (same car) was good, and it came with a clever extra boot bit underneath the rear seats (I wanted extra bits and wasn't prepared to pay for them), but you will only get the S model. The garage that you use is not obliged to take your private car as a part ex.
The contract hire independently of Motability option looked too expensive for us.

If the issue isn't seats, but space, then what about 7 seater, using roof box?

lol Lougle, I said that. Looking at the ages of the kids, I picked you up to have the 16 year old as the 4th child. Finance could be available but you would need to speak to motability.

We have 5 DC's (sadly none will drive) 2 in wheelchairs. Motabilty visited and recomended the Renault Traffic . It seats all 5 of us and the 2 LO's in their wheelchairs. We have a lot of room for luggage and all equipment including a large sleep system. I am sure it would seat 9 without wheelchair spaces.
The biggest surprise was we only had to use one motability allowance and £300 deposit. And we had tinted windows, plinths for our vertically challenged DD's as well as all the ramp etc' Only disadvantage too big to park in multistory car park.
PS Don't tell the Daily Fail

Sod the Daily Fail! That sounds like a worthy compromise.

how about a hyundi i800, its a van with 8 seats its huge!!! the boot space is massive and there is amply leg room between the rows of seats,plus it has sliding doors ,seroiusly this a massive!!! i also have a large family of 5 kids ,need to pack a wheel chair and walking fram and there would be heaps of room for shopping and lugage e.t.c you could even get a pram in the back aswell and still have alot of room and the seats are on runners which is brill,and with full sized adult seats!!! the deposit on it is around £3000 but given your situation you could aply for a grant to help you fund it and its all through motability (you have to provide all financial details,bank statements e.t.c or get the same van but through the used wav scheme on motability and get it slightly cheaper, it will take all of one of your childs mobility money but seems as though it would be worth it for you all, we are going to save for one of these. i hope this info helps you ,best of luck

failing that its not avalible on motability but the ssanyong rodius is 7 seat mpv and has a huge boot, its a strange looking car but great value for money ,brand new around£12,000-£14,000 or 2nd hand on ebay £5,000 or cheaper depending on the reg and how far your prepared to travel.