Motability vehicles?

[loadsapixiedust]

Any Dibbers have Motability vehicles? I'm particularly interested in hearing about WAV's (wheelchair accessible vehicles). Any recommendations? Pros and cons of the Motability scheme?
Has anyone used the Motability grant scheme for financial help towards the cost of advance payments or adaptations?

[MrsGrumpy]

Have pm'd you.

[FRANTIC_FROG]

I have a motability car, A Vauxhall Zafira.
Can't help with the wheelchair accessible bit though.
I don't have any adaptions to my car, and the most advance payment I have forked out is £350 for a Ford focus.
I haven't found any cons with the motability scheme.I am more than happy with it.
I just put the petrol in and drive the thing.
No insurance, MOT,Tax or even tyres to pay for.
Couldn't do without it now. I spent way too many years with clapped out cars and there is no way I'd ever be able to buy a brand new car every 3 years.

[ali and boyz]

Any Dibbers have Motability vehicles? I'm particularly interested in hearing about WAV's (wheelchair accessible vehicles). Any recommendations? Pros and cons of the Motability scheme?
Has anyone used the Motability grant scheme for financial help towards the cost of advance payments or adaptations?

Hi Sue,

We have a Chrysler Grand Voyager. As you know D is to big now to lift so he stays in his wheelchair and you just push him in the back. the Car lowers. I can pm you with more details etc if you want

Ali x

[Ebony]

I have had a car from the motability scheme, for the past 12 years for my DS.
I think that this is a brilliant scheme and you really cant go wrong in using it. Would defintley reccomend it.
Sorry we have just had a variety of non adapted cars so can not help with that.
:wave:

[lausan]

we have had motorbility scheme vehicles for years...VW Transporter with Tail Lift Fantastic, in the process of updating after our 5yrs runs out in Feb07 getting VW transporter again our Social worker usually deals with letters for Funding .its a great scheme as you never have to worry about Maintaining the Vehicle

[stevered1]

We are looking to get one now at the moment arent looking to get anything that needs adaptions, we have been looking on the motability.co.uk website and on here you can do a search for vehicles and specify wheelchair accessible. Then it tells you all the details and has links to the relevant websites and the nearest dealer near you.. Saved us a load of hassle and enabled us to goto them all in 2 hours with the right questions and the knowledge of what cars we wanted to see.

[stevered1]

We have just test drived a few cars and have settled on a Ford Focus Cmax as it has good space and the seats are all moveable ane removeable which will be handy in the future for us.

I will say this we are getting a voucher from ford to cover the advance payment of £350 so if your going with ford I could Pm you the phone number I called

[squidge]

Any Dibbers have Motability vehicles? I'm particularly interested in hearing about WAV's (wheelchair accessible vehicles). Any recommendations? Pros and cons of the Motability scheme?
Has anyone used the Motability grant scheme for financial help towards the cost of advance payments or adaptations?


I have a motability vehicle, have had quite a few in my time. I currently have a vauxhall zafira. We are looking at maybe getting awheelchair accessible vehicle on motability next time but find the deposit is so high for our requirements on contract hire, there are so many WAV available on motability.

My friend who has dwarfism, has a WAV a renault kangoo, which is on a 5 year lease & was £500 deposit but the adatations cost £10,000. he was able to get help from motability grant scheme but only because he had no savings but was still required to pay £500 deposit himself. He found it really difficult to get help this time around cause of all the red tape. in fact he had a VW lupo & wanted to buy the car at the end of his 3 year lease but motability refused to let him & insisted on he having a car he didnt really want. plus they continued to take his allowance off him for the 2 years he was waiting for his kangoo. he only has 1 passanger seat so he was really disspointed with the way motability had been with him.

If we go for a WAV it will be on hire purchase with motability as the deposit for the one we need is £16,000 but to buy the same vehicle on motability HP over 5 years would be £12,000 & the rest on finance. the on the road price for the vehicle we are looking for is £19,995 & it is a mercedes vito automatic, which has lift etc & has 5 passanger seats, which is what we need.

Motability is a really good scheme & i would be housebound without my vehicle, they are getting better. I have had problems in the past, but they are getting better.

Hope this information is useful.

[BarryandCaron]

We are on our second Motability car for DS2, it took us years to realise what a great deal it is. First we had a Ford Mondeo Estate then now a Nissan X-Trail; neither adapted as DS2's wheelchair folds. We have paid a hefty deposit each time because of the car and spec. we wanted but still loads cheaper than buying every 3 years.

Two friends have a Volkswagon with tail lift and they are very pleased with theirs.

I can't think of any negative things about the Motability scheme and it just gets better.

Caron

[squidge]

ive been getting motability cars for 10 years & i had a lot of problems with them in the early years. I always used the contract hire scheme until 3 years ago when i decieded to purchase a meriva on HP with motability. i ended up having sooo much bother with the vehicle i ended up getting motability to take the car back & going onto the motability contract hire scheme again. The contract hire scheme is brilliant for people who dont need heavily adatped vehicles. I have a zafira & had to pay a £660 deposit for the auto version. which is not bad for a big car. i have a ridget wheelchair & it fits in the boot nicely. but if you have a powered wheelchair you cant take it with you in a standard car without a boot hoist or a WAV. dont get me wrong i agree with you in the fact that you do get a good deal. but if you need a heavily adapted vehicle it can costs you mega money in excess of £10,000.


My vehicle is currently on the motability price list with a heafty deposit, if my car needed to be renewed i would not be able to afford the deposit for the car i need & want. I have been lucky so far as my family have helped me out with deposits.

I do like the new things they have added to the scheme, like the most common adaptions are now supplied FREE or at a much reduced price. Like steering ball's & push pull hand controls, which i have had in the past & can be quite costly the last set of hand controls i got with my motability car cost me £440. This will help a lot of people. Also the final inspection is no longer done, the garage just go through a checklist.

There is a list on motabilitys website to the new costs.

I also like the newish good condition bonus you get for looking after the vehicle, which gives you £200 back to go towards a deposit for a new car or to bank & spend on whatever you wish.
If it was not for motability doing such a good contract hire scheme i would not be able to afford a car & would be housebound. motability have made lots of improvements to the schemeover the last 5 years & have made the scheme more value for money, especially with the increased milage allowance.

Motability is a brilliant scheme tho, on the whole & was really helpful when getting my last car.

[loadsapixiedust]

Just an update, after much test driving and research, I've ordered our first Motability vehicle. Thanks to everyone for helpful replies and info.

It's a wheelchair accessible Renault Kangoo with automatic transmission to make driving easier for DH. Just waiting now for the paperwork to be completed so we can agree a delivery date. Can't be soon enough!

The recent changes to the Motability scheme mean that the advance payment for automatics and heavily adapted vehicles has come down to a level we can afford, the mileage allowance has increased and also now only 12 months DLA is required to take out a 5 year contract hire.

So that's us sorted for the next 5 years! :D

[ali and boyz]

great news Lyn , happy motoring :grin:

[Nordicpollan]

We had a Kangoo just over 5 years ago and it was our first adapted vechicle, we had it in bright yellow and we got our local sign writers to do a Thunderbird 4 transfer for each side!! Stu loves Thunderbirds and was so impressed!!At the moment we have a Toyota Hi-ace with a electric tail lift which I love to pieces we are due to change in May and are now going to have a VW transporter with another electric tail lift. We found as with every thing once you have an adapted vechile you will really wonder how you managed before!
Good luck with your Kangoo

Karen

[squidge]

happy motoring.

I will b e changing my motability car next year & have started looking for my new car. I was thinking about buying the motability car i have on lease now, but i had problems with the gearbox recently so I dont think this will be a good option for this particular car, as automatic transmissions can be expensive to fix.

Im looking for another large people carrier with automatic & now due to the recent changes to the mobililty scheme, simple adaptations like Hand controls are supplied free or at a significantly reduced price, so im thinking of maybe getting handcontrols fitted to the next car as it makes my life driving so much easier.

yout right nordicpollin, When you have a vehicle which is so suitable & adapted to suit your families needs you really do wonder how you managed before.

Happy motoring all!!!

[SammyC]

We're on the motability scheme too, and we've got a Mitsubishi Shogun at the mo. We're changing in March and we'll probably need a WAV as Kate is growing (as they do!) - looking perhaps at a Grand Voyager, although they are discontinuing them at the end of this year and bringing out a Hummer type thing!

[squidge]

Im changing my motability car in June 08, dont know what to get next. The same car as i have would be good but the deposits have shot up & the deposit is over £1k. I was looking at a WAV but i need a vehicle with 5 seats & the only one which i think will be suitable for me & my needs is the merc Vito or renault master, but the deposits are scandalass. I need such a big car for my chair to fit whole in the boot as it is a rigid one & dont fold plus space for at least 2 people in the back plus my little darling woof.

my dad has a new motability car which is a nissan note, loads of room lovely car but my chair dont fit in the boot :(

i need a people carrier for hieght for getting in & out & load capacity etc im hoping the deposits will drop some before i need to get rid of my car.

motability wont let me buy my lease car after the 3 years because I have had gearbox problems with it recently. (dont think i would buy it if the gearbox is playing up lol) so will need to change my car, shame i just spend £500 on roof bars & box for the car to give me more room lol

any ideas or recommendations?????

[ceri]

Sqidge we are looking to change DH's car in the very near future, had the Citroen c4 grand piccasso (7 seat) last weekend for a day long test drive and although it is not suitable for our needs it may be worth you taking a look, If you stump up the deposit for the highest trim level (not sure what it would be for you as we get WPMS) then you get the lowering rear suspension included, this takes the rear loading height down to 7 inches.
hope this helps Ceri x

[TiggerD]

We have a Ford Focus Z-tec mobility car, only had this one since December

[loadsapixiedust]

Just an update, we had our Renault Kangoo WAV delivered on Tuesday and already we are wishing we could have had one years ago. It is just so much easier to get DS in and out and for him to travel in comfort in his wheelchair.

It is a real shame this scheme wasn't an option for us without such a fight, the government should look long and hard at who really needs help with mobility. These adapted vehicles are so expensive, many of those who really need them simply can't afford them.

[ali and boyz]

Just an update, we had our Renault Kangoo WAV delivered on Tuesday and already we are wishing we could have had one years ago. It is just so much easier to get DS in and out and for him to travel in comfort in his wheelchair.

It is a real shame this scheme wasn't an option for us without such a fight, the government should look long and hard at who really needs help with mobility. These adapted vehicles are so expensive, many of those who really need them simply can't afford them.

agree with you Lynn, we had to go down the road of getting one ourselves as DS is way to heavy for me to lift/transfer and we needed one like you just got to wheel him into the back without lifting him out of his wheelchair.

[lilzanna]

We have a Kia Sedona which we have just got a couple of months ago. I have to say the mobility service were great as we did have a Picasso through them which was 1 year into the contract.
We trminated the contract early and because the deposit was so much for the Kia Sedona that we wanted (electric sliding doors) we applied for the funding from them for the deposit.
I am happy to say we got the funding and had no problems at all and the difference is astounding.
The only proviso was that we had to keep the car for 5 years instead of the normal 3 years lease.

[dididave]

Im changing my motability car in June 08, dont know what to get next. The same car as i have would be good but the deposits have shot up & the deposit is over £1k. I was looking at a WAV but i need a vehicle with 5 seats & the only one which i think will be suitable for me & my needs is the merc Vito or renault master, but the deposits are scandalass. I need such a big car for my chair to fit whole in the boot as it is a rigid one & dont fold plus space for at least 2 people in the back plus my little darling woof.

my dad has a new motability car which is a nissan note, loads of room lovely car but my chair dont fit in the boot :(

i need a people carrier for hieght for getting in & out & load capacity etc im hoping the deposits will drop some before i need to get rid of my car.

motability wont let me buy my lease car after the 3 years because I have had gearbox problems with it recently. (dont think i would buy it if the gearbox is playing up lol) so will need to change my car, shame i just spend £500 on roof bars & box for the car to give me more room lol

any ideas or recommendations?????

Have you looked at the Fiat Doblo? Ugly bloody thing but may be suitable and cheap on motability?

[Nordicpollan]

We are due to get our new WAV on Wednesday. We are having a VW Transport in a lovelt metelic blue. It was due about 4 weeks ago but got delayed. Motability had to extend the lease on our old van to make sure we didn't have to go with out a van.

We had the full deposit granted to us ,as now Stu is 19 they based the financial report on his income. :)

So from Wednesday Stu will be a surfer dude kinda boy and I'll be a very aging surfer Babe (not!!!)

Karen

[mainecoon lover]

We have a renault trafic and it is great. We took out a loan on our morgage as this was the cheapest way of doing it. Ther was not way we could afford the deposit from motability. We just add £15 a month to DD mobility component.

[squidge]

My motability car is due for changing next june & i need a big car, one with a really large boot. I have a zafira just now & am pleased with it but a new zafira to the sam spec/model has a deposit of nearly £2000, which we cannot afford. I was looking at the grand senic, which has a £995 deposit, it looks like it will suit us, but this is still a high deposit for us. I had to give my work up & my hubby is working, but even although it will be a struggle to get the deposit. Motability charity will not pay it for us as my husband works & we have no children YET!! they will make us get a less suitable car. This happened to my friend who was in a similar situation.

I was asking the dealer if i could get a car boot adapted to have it close automatically as i cant reach the boot & was told no & if i could it would cost too much. The only way i could have this adaption was if i purchased a WAV, which i dont need.

This is my 4th motability car & they are good as I have had 2 early terminations, one on contract hire & another one on hire purchase, but i think the deposits are still high for people who need a big car in Automatic.

Although many adaptions are now NIL cost or very reduced, like push pull hand controls, which cost me in excess of £500 last time, will not cost me NIL. This is a big help. But i think they could go further & reduce the deposits on big auto cars.

In saying that I would be housebound without my motability car, I wouldnt be able to afford to have a car if it wasnt for the motability scheme.

[squidge]

Have you looked at the Fiat Doblo? Ugly bloody thing but may be suitable and cheap on motability?

Yeah but i couldnt bear to drive one of them lol, its so ugly.

I need to have some street cred LMAO

Its abit small for what i need, I live on an island & do shopping in bulk too so need space in back for all the goods & a dog, plus the wheelchair in the boot!!

Plus as we are trying to start a family, we may need the room for a baby, buggy & everything else!! ;)

[dididave]

My motability car is due for changing next june & i need a big car, one with a really large boot. I have a zafira just now & am pleased with it but a new zafira to the sam spec/model has a deposit of nearly £2000, which we cannot afford. I was looking at the grand senic, which has a £995 deposit, it looks like it will suit us, but this is still a high deposit for us. I had to give my work up & my hubby is working, but even although it will be a struggle to get the deposit. Motability charity will not pay it for us as my husband works & we have no children YET!! they will make us get a less suitable car. This happened to my friend who was in a similar situation.

I was asking the dealer if i could get a car boot adapted to have it close automatically as i cant reach the boot & was told no & if i could it would cost too much. The only way i could have this adaption was if i purchased a WAV, which i dont need.

This is my 4th motability car & they are good as I have had 2 early terminations, one on contract hire & another one on hire purchase, but i think the deposits are still high for people who need a big car in Automatic.

Although many adaptions are now NIL cost or very reduced, like push pull hand controls, which cost me in excess of £500 last time, will not cost me NIL. This is a big help. But i think they could go further & reduce the deposits on big auto cars.

In saying that I would be housebound without my motability car, I wouldnt be able to afford to have a car if it wasnt for the motability scheme.

We have the Grand Scenic on Motability, its a nice drive with a high driving position so it is easy to get in and out off but the boot is annoying as its position means you often crack your head on it bringing the shopping in! It also soaks you whenever you open it!

[squidge]

i need a high driving position like the senic or zafira. I wont have that problem of banging my head as im a wheelchair user & cant reach the boot when its open. I notice that the grand senic has a 2 hieght boot door, it goes to the low position but you can push it & it goes higher! i saw it in the brouchure i got from the dealer the other day.

I do like that senic, but havent taken a test drive yet.

I feel an Large MPV is my only option as I have problems getting in & out of estates. i end up banging my knees & head getting in & out & my chair is higher than most estate/hatchback cars. I had a vectra as a courtesy car a few months ago & was forever banging my head & knees getting in & out & had probs getting back in my chair as my chair is higher than the seat of the driving seat!

[dididave]

The Scenic certainly seems to fit your needs although it is more a car with a fat **** than an MPV. It is kinda just a Megane with a bit stuck on although don't let that put you off as the high gearstick and generous legroom make up for it. It don't half drink petrol though!