My Motability car is totally unsuitable. I don't know what to do. Can anyone help?

ronspur
ronspur Community member Posts: 3 Listener
edited July 2022 in Housing and independent living
I got my new mobility car in feb 2022, it wasn't my 1st choice of car but because of the delays due to covid i was advised by dealership that the said car would be fine for me, however it is not, it is way to low for me and i cannot fit my wheelchair in,
The dealership advised me to wait until original car comes in but has stated the car hasn't even been made yet, he also says they knew the car wouldn't be suitable for me but was told by head office to push through the sales of said car.
I have looked at cancelling my agreement for this car but have been informed by Motability that it will cost me money and to go to a different dealership but the increase in up front deposits are beyond my finances,
I really don't know what to do, the car is totally unsuitable and i can't seem to get any help  , any help/advise would be gratefully received.

Comments

  • L_Volunteer
    L_Volunteer Community Volunteer Adviser, Scope Member Posts: 7,924 Championing
    Hello @ronspur

    Welcome to Scope's forum. It is great to see you have joined us. How are you today? I hope you are well.

    Sorry to hear you did not get your first choice of mobility car. It is really important that you recognise that it is not right for you and your needs.

    It sounds really frustrating that you were told it would be fine for you even though it is not. Not least because this was the message given by head office to get the sales of said car. 

    Unfortunately, mobility cars are not the area of my expertise. This means I can only hope someone with more knowledge in this area is able to respond to you soon.

    In the meantime, I just wanted to respond to greet you and let you know we hear you and are here for you  :)
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 61,472 Championing
    Hi,
    Did you test drive the car before you made your decision? Motability are correct that they can charge you up to £250 admin charges to cancel your lease. On top of that you could be waiting several months and more for another car.
    With advance payments motability do have grants available to help with that cost but it will depend on what car/spec you choose as to whether any grant will be offered.
  • ronspur
    ronspur Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    Thank you for your reply, No i didn't test drive the car or even saw the car as dealership didn't have one available, I have been using the same dealership for quite a few years and always dealt with the same person, he knows my disability situation and being that he is the professional I went by his advise, 
    more fool me. As for grants I wouldn't know what/how to go about it. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 61,472 Championing
    Not test driving the car before making a decision was in my opinion the wrong thing to do, even for someone that doesn't have a disability.
    The mobility grants won't apply to you unless motability agree that you can end your lease. For this you will need to ring them again and speak to them. I've always found them extremely helpful.
    However, you will very likely be without a car until the car of your choice becomes available.

  • ronspur
    ronspur Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    Thank you for your help
  • Siwheels73
    Siwheels73 Scope Member Posts: 749 Pioneering
    @ronspur, the same happened to me with the last car I got from Motability. If the dealer cannot sort out the problem then you can change it in limited circumstances.
  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,538 Championing
    Hello @ronspur and welcome to the community, I'm glad to see that our members sharing their experiences has been helpful for you. 

    Keep us updated with how things go, and let us know if we can help further in the meantime.
  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,538 Championing
    @lexxus16 we have contacted you by email to action this request, thank you for letting us know.
  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,874 Championing
    I changed two of my cars snd they were realy helpful and didn't have to pay anything and my last car I took back after a year with no charge 
  • hjford
    hjford Community member Posts: 29 Listener
    ronspur said:
    I got my new mobility car in feb 2022, it wasn't my 1st choice of car but because of the delays due to covid i was advised by dealership that the said car would be fine for me, however it is not, it is way to low for me and i cannot fit my wheelchair in.

    hi,
    from my own experience phone motobility. My husbands car was unsuitable for the same reasons as you. We phoned motobility who were really helpful and told us we could change the car. We had to pay a £50 admin fee and as soon as that was paid we could go and choose a new more suitable car. Honestly give them a ring, they are very helpful and accommodating especially if the car is unsuitable like you stated. 
    Good luck 🤞🏻 

  • nicky4444
    nicky4444 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    Hi, I've had my mobility car since September 23, and had nothing but problems with the electrics, it's a highbred, I'm now really anxious if I have to go in the car as I don't feel safe in it now. Would I be able to change it 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 61,472 Championing
    nicky4444 said:
    Hi, I've had my mobility car since September 23, and had nothing but problems with the electrics, it's a highbred, I'm now really anxious if I have to go in the car as I don't feel safe in it now. Would I be able to change it 

    You will need to speak to motability about that because they are the only ones that can answer that question. 

    Having said that, have you spoken to the dealer about the problems you're having? I'm on my 3rd motability vehicle since 2016 and now also have a self charging hybrid, never had any problems with it.
  • honestjon
    honestjon Community member Posts: 173 Empowering
    ronspur said:
    I got my new mobility car in feb 2022, it wasn't my 1st choice of car but because of the delays due to covid i was advised by dealership that the said car would be fine for me, however it is not, it is way to low for me and i cannot fit my wheelchair in,
    The dealership advised me to wait until original car comes in but has stated the car hasn't even been made yet, he also says they knew the car wouldn't be suitable for me but was told by head office to push through the sales of said car.
    I have looked at cancelling my agreement for this car but have been informed by Motability that it will cost me money and to go to a different dealership but the increase in up front deposits are beyond my finances,
    I really don't know what to do, the car is totally unsuitable and i can't seem to get any help  , any help/advise would be gratefully received.
    I'm not sure how the dealer could tell you the car would be suitable for you without you having a test drive in it first?
    It sounds like the dealer has been more interested in making a sale than looking after your needs.
    I would return the car and order a new car from a different dealer and would ask if any costs can be cancelled due to the dealers mistakes. Big mistake to assume the car would be suitable for a wheelchair user without testing and dealer should have known better 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 61,472 Championing
    honestjon said:
    ronspur said:
    I got my new mobility car in feb 2022, it wasn't my 1st choice of car but because of the delays due to covid i was advised by dealership that the said car would be fine for me, however it is not, it is way to low for me and i cannot fit my wheelchair in,
    The dealership advised me to wait until original car comes in but has stated the car hasn't even been made yet, he also says they knew the car wouldn't be suitable for me but was told by head office to push through the sales of said car.
    I have looked at cancelling my agreement for this car but have been informed by Motability that it will cost me money and to go to a different dealership but the increase in up front deposits are beyond my finances,
    I really don't know what to do, the car is totally unsuitable and i can't seem to get any help  , any help/advise would be gratefully received.
    I'm not sure how the dealer could tell you the car would be suitable for you without you having a test drive in it first?
    It sounds like the dealer has been more interested in making a sale than looking after your needs.
    I would return the car and order a new car from a different dealer and would ask if any costs can be cancelled due to the dealers mistakes. Big mistake to assume the car would be suitable for a wheelchair user without testing and dealer should have known better 

    This thread is from April 2022 so hopefully the member in question has sorted their problems out now.
  • honestjon
    honestjon Community member Posts: 173 Empowering
    poppy123456 said:
    honestjon said:
    ronspur said:
    I got my new mobility car in feb 2022, it wasn't my 1st choice of car but because of the delays due to covid i was advised by dealership that the said car would be fine for me, however it is not, it is way to low for me and i cannot fit my wheelchair in,
    The dealership advised me to wait until original car comes in but has stated the car hasn't even been made yet, he also says they knew the car wouldn't be suitable for me but was told by head office to push through the sales of said car.
    I have looked at cancelling my agreement for this car but have been informed by Motability that it will cost me money and to go to a different dealership but the increase in up front deposits are beyond my finances,
    I really don't know what to do, the car is totally unsuitable and i can't seem to get any help  , any help/advise would be gratefully received.
    I'm not sure how the dealer could tell you the car would be suitable for you without you having a test drive in it first?
    It sounds like the dealer has been more interested in making a sale than looking after your needs.
    I would return the car and order a new car from a different dealer and would ask if any costs can be cancelled due to the dealers mistakes. Big mistake to assume the car would be suitable for a wheelchair user without testing and dealer should have known better 

    This thread is from April 2022 so hopefully the member in question has sorted their problems out now.
    Hopefully they have sorted it out by now if I knew it was an old thread I would not have commented but anyway no harm done 

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