[Inchindown]

I was looking at the Motability site and noticed something odd.
When I last looked at the site, you could get cars with advanced payments of upto £2000 for War Pensioners and £2999 for DLA recipients. (This excludes more expensive vehicles used for wheel chairs).

When I looked today, I noticed that War Pensioners maximum advanced payments are now limited to around £1000 and DLA is limited to around £2000.

All the cars that used to be available with the higher advanced payments are now missing from the list of available cars, so it's not just that they have dropped all the prices.

This would have tobe a worry for me if this is not an error as a result of the recent website update. The AWD selection of cars has been decimated and the trim levels of the cars that are left are pretty basic.

Trying to get an AWD car with auto gearbox for an advanced payment of £1000 will not be easy, especially ifyou need some item of trim that is no longer available due to the lower trim levels of the cars. There are now only 12 AWD auto cars on the list, and 5 of them are AWD Mini Coopers.

I spoke to Motability on the phone on another matter and brought this up. I got a very strange reply. She said the new website could onlydisplay a limited set of the cars available on the scheme. She also said that the missing cars upto £2000 advanced payment were still available, but they are just not mentioned on the site. I pointed out there was nothing on the site to confirm what she was saying, so how would anyone know there were more cars available than were being displayed.

I could get no more from her, so I fired off an email asking for written confirmation of what I had been told.

So for those on here who might be about to order a car through Motability, these apparent changes are certainly something worth looking at.

 

[HoneyMonster]

Always best to speak to dealers, as even when i ordered mine last year there where vehicles available that did not appear on Motability site.

 

[Ianoak]

Yes Iain I was told the same by a friend who has a motability car, every time he needs to look round for another car he goes to the manufactures website as they put all their vehicles that are on the scheme, but motability only show a few.Even I was surprised at this as I had always just gone to motability website to see what is available.

 

[Inchindown]

Just had a reply from Motability as to why several hundred cars have been removed from the Motability online car database recently.
They say it is so that the online site only lists the cars that are also listed in the printed version of their car database.

They have confirmed all the cars that have been removed form the online list are still available, but you will now have to consult with individual dealers to find out which cars they can supply.

To be honest, I see this as a backward step and the reason given seems pretty weak. It is much more convenient for Motability clients to search all the cars online at one site, rather than have to go to several different websites or even have to visit the dealer in person. This decision makes the Motability site of no use to me at all, as I normally get one of the cars that are no longer listed.

 

[Ianoak]

Yes I agree with Inchindown, the motability site has gone downhill with the way they do things now as like you I used to look at the site and browse suitable vehicles to make a shortlist up.Now it seems you need to browse every manufactures website to see what is available on motability.

 

[Isaac Hunt]

The Motability Scheme in general has been a pet niggle of mine for some time now. Some of you may recall that after first speaking to Motability, and getting absolutely nowhere, I complained to the European Complaints Commission, siting a breach of my Human/Civil Rights, when the vehicles available on the Scheme were previously slashed by Lord Sterling, and the rest of the Board of Motability Directors, and all of the "Higher" end Vehicles were removed, leaving vehicles with a "supposed" maximum upfront payment of just £2k. I got nowhere with my complaint to the ECC, (even though it was investigated very quickly and thoroughly), as Motability basically hold the Monopoly on this type of Leasing Scheme, (again illegal in my opinion !!), and are self regulating, operating solely in the UK, so they can do as they please and that`s that. I also took my complaint to the UK Human/Civil Rights Commission, but got short shrift from them, as their highly unsatisfactory opinion, was that as it was every Motability Scheme Member`s Human/Civil Rights which had been affected, and not just my own, I had no basis for complaint as an individual !!. So, in conclusion, Motability can as I said previously, do as they like, when they like, and it`s a case of accepting it, or look elsewhere for your next vehicle. Just do yourself a favour, and save yourself the hassle of complaining to either Motability, or anyone else, as you will get precisely nowhere, except end up being extremely annoyed and frustrated !!.

 

[Inchindown]

The Motability Scheme in general has been a pet niggle of mine for some time now. Some of you may recall that after first speaking to Motability, and getting absolutely nowhere, I complained to the European Complaints Commission, siting a breach of my Human/Civil Rights, when the vehicles available on the Scheme were previously slashed by Lord Sterling, and the rest of the Board of Motability Directors, and all of the "Higher" end Vehicles were removed, leaving vehicles with a "supposed" maximum upfront payment of just £2k. I got nowhere with my complaint to the ECC, (even though it was investigated very quickly and thoroughly), as Motability basically hold the Monopoly on this type of Leasing Scheme, (again illegal in my opinion !!), and are self regulating, operating solely in the UK, so they can do as they please and that`s that. I also took my complaint to the UK Human/Civil Rights Commission, but got short shrift from them, as their highly unsatisfactory opinion, was that as it was every Motability Scheme Member`s Human/Civil Rights which had been affected, and not just my own, I had no basis for complaint as an individual !!. So, in conclusion, Motability can as I said previously, do as they like, when they like, and it`s a case of accepting it, or look elsewhere for your next vehicle. Just do yourself a favour, and save yourself the hassle of complaining to either Motability, or anyone else, as you will get precisely nowhere, except end up being extremely annoyed and frustrated !!.

I'm now on my 7th Motability car and, to be honest, I've had very few issues with them over the years. I was a bit disappointed over the decision to put a cap on advance payments.

I must say I have never considered anything Motability has done to be anywhere near a breach of my human rights.

Looking at the commercial leasing sector, it's beginning to look almost as good as Motability on certain cars. It may be Motability will have some competition in the future.

 

[Isaac Hunt]

The Motability Scheme in general has been a pet niggle of mine for some time now. Some of you may recall that after first speaking to Motability, and getting absolutely nowhere, I complained to the European Complaints Commission, siting a breach of my Human/Civil Rights, when the vehicles available on the Scheme were previously slashed by Lord Sterling, and the rest of the Board of Motability Directors, and all of the "Higher" end Vehicles were removed, leaving vehicles with a "supposed" maximum upfront payment of just £2k. I got nowhere with my complaint to the ECC, (even though it was investigated very quickly and thoroughly), as Motability basically hold the Monopoly on this type of Leasing Scheme, (again illegal in my opinion !!), and are self regulating, operating solely in the UK, so they can do as they please and that`s that. I also took my complaint to the UK Human/Civil Rights Commission, but got short shrift from them, as their highly unsatisfactory opinion, was that as it was every Motability Scheme Member`s Human/Civil Rights which had been affected, and not just my own, I had no basis for complaint as an individual !!. So, in conclusion, Motability can as I said previously, do as they like, when they like, and it`s a case of accepting it, or look elsewhere for your next vehicle. Just do yourself a favour, and save yourself the hassle of complaining to either Motability, or anyone else, as you will get precisely nowhere, except end up being extremely annoyed and frustrated !!.

I'm now on my 7th Motability car and, to be honest, I've had very few issues with them over the years. I was a bit disappointed over the decision to put a cap on advance payments.

I must say I have never considered anything Motability has done to be anywhere near a breach of my human rights.

Looking at the commercial leasing sector, it's beginning to look almost as good as Motability on certain cars. It may be Motability will have some competition in the future.

The reason I made such a fuss at the time Inchy, was that I was hell bent on having a BMW 325 3litre M Sport Diesel, and saving feverishly for it, as the "upfront" payment at the time was over £5k. It was there one minute, then gone the next, along with loads of other cars. To rub salt in the wound, Lord Sterling & co announced the changes to the scheme at a "Grand Gala Evening" in London, in the presence of Royalty, and as I said to Motability at the time, it made me feel like a "second class citizen", not worthy of driving such a "prestige" vehicle, as I was Disabled !!. Rant over. (For now anyway !!). Lol.