So what exactly is a wheelchair accessible vehicle anyway? As the name suggests, it’s a vehicle – usually a car – which has been adapted to allow a wheelchair and its user to travel inside as a passenger or even as the driver. The wheelchair vehicle usually starts out as a ‘base’ vehicle, no different from the car any able bodied person might buy from a garage or car dealer. It is then converted into a wheelchair-carrying vehicle by the fitting of a ramp at the back to enable the disabled person sitting in their wheelchair to get in and out. The floor of the vehicle is strengthened and lowered – or the roof may be raised instead – with some of the able-bodied passenger seating either removed or rearranged to enable easier wheelchair access.

To be eligible to lease a car through the Motability Car Scheme, the wheelchair user must be in receipt of either the higher rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the war pensioners’ Mobility Supplement. Then you agree to turn part or all of either allowance over to Motability and they take care of all the paperwork. All you do is choose the car you want. There are no waiting lists or credit checks and no tiresome assessments either. It just couldn’t be simpler.

So what do you get in return for handing over your cash every week? The answer is a lot, not least years and years of worry-free motoring. But there’s much more, such as the 4,000 brand new cars to choose from. Also included in the leasing package, at no extra cost, is insurance, servicing and maintenance, full RAC breakdown assistance, annual tax disc, tyre and windscreen replacement, a 60,000 mileage allowance and many free adaptations to your car to make the driving experience more pleasurable.

And if you don’t actually drive yourself, can you still lease a car from Motability? Yes, no problems. Just nominate up to two people to do the driving for you. Pay a little extra to have a third driver. It’s a package that has no equal anywhere. When you reach the end of the three-year lease, simply choose another brand new car and Motability will take care of the transfer paperwork, too.

Of course, if you’re one of the few people who’d rather obtain their wheelchair accessible vehicles through hire purchase, thus owning your own car at the end of the term, Motability also takes care of all that as well. However, be warned, you’ll have to pay for your own insurance, servicing, maintenance and breakdown cover.

But as the old saying goes “if you don’t ask you don’t get” and there is nothing to lose from politely asking.

Keeping in mind that the money that the dealers make through the motability scheme is coming out of your allowance, its not like you’re not already giving up something in exchange for use of the vehicle.

The extra’s that they may throw in might only be something small, not costing too much but its worth trying, you are in a good position for negotiation and you shouldn’t ever feel uncomfortable doing it, in many countries abroad its the norm, they probably think us Brits are soft at times for paying without even attempting to try and get something more out of the deal.

There is also the satisfaction of coming away from a deal with a little bit extra, it brightens your day, its a small but pleasing accomplishment and it might even make you feel more confident and if you succeed in doing it you might find yourself doing it again.

Whether you get money off or an item or two thrown in as a freebie, it shows that the dealers can afford to do it, they still do well out of the deal and  you get that little extra from it, nice when all involved are happy with a deal.

Have you attended a Motability Event at your local dealership before? Please comment below and let others know about your experience if you have previously attended one.

Feel free to comment here on your experience if you do live close enough to Bowker in Preston and tell everyone how you got on there.

Hope you enjoy it if you go.

In time though i have gradually added new ones when necessary.

You may have noticed that I haven’t written about Motability yet so I have decided to add a category for Motability, and gradually I will add posts on this topic and I hope that you will enjoy them as much as the existing content on the site.

Thanks

John