Very Low Mileage 'ex Mobility' Cars.

[sandyRoe]

I noticed advertisements the other day for cars, they'll be 3 years old, with mileages as low as 17,000 miles. Could there be too few miles on a second hand car?

[frugalfred]

I bought a Chevrolet Tacuma, ex-motability, 3 years old, 18000 miles on the clock. That was three years ago, and it's been OK.

[EDDIE51]

How can there be too few miles?
These cars will have a full service history and be virtually as new.

[bhg481]

Too low a mileage can imply lots of short trips on a cold engine - not good for the engine. I would think that Mobility cars would fall into that category (lots of short trips).

[Baldric]

///be virtually as new./// and have been driven by people with absolutely no incentive to look after them.

[SlackAlice]

So far I have bought two ex-mobility cars. First one had 12,000 miles over 3yrs. Second one was 3mths old and had 1,000 miles.

[TWR]

I used to drive Mobility cars Sir, they were serviced well, on the day / date, as within the NHS & their rules, this had to be done as we were carrying persons in wheelchairs & person's with L.D. but I would advise checking the amount of meat left on the clutch cable.

[Buenchico]

In my days as a trade plater I frequently had to collect ex-Motability cars to take to auction (either at the end of their lease periods or because the driver was no longer able to use the vehicle, through illness, infirmity or death).

The vast majority had very low mileages on them. (In one case a car had just 38 miles on the clock as its driver had found, just after accepting the vehicle, that he'd only got a short time left to live and he wanted to sort out his affairs quickly. He even let me keep everything that was in the car, such a very expensive waxed jacket, as he said that he'd got no further use for any of it).

Most vehicles had usually done no more than about 3000 miles per year (with some having done considerably less) and had been cared for extremely well. The only vehicles with much higher mileage seemed to be those where the person obtaining the car through the Motability scheme almost certainly hadn't been the person actually driving it.

For example, I went to collect a Motability car from an elderly gentleman's home in Southend but, when I got there, he had to phone his grandson to bring it round. The grandson's driving style, upon his arrival, appeared to suggest that he was one of the 'boy racers' who congregate on Southend sea front. The whole of the back seat area was covered in hundreds (NO exaggeration, I assure you!) of empty fast food containers and turning on the radio nearly deafened me, as it was set at the highest volume level possible, with the bass turned full up and all of the presets set to heavy rock stations. Somehow or other, I very much doubt that it was the elderly Motability customer that had actually been driving it!

So (as long as you avoid the vehicles that are rare exceptions to the norm, such as that one from Southend) any ex-Motability vehicle is likely to have a genuine low mileage and to have been well maintained. However the motoring trade are fully aware of that, so ex-Motability vehicles generally achieve high prices at auction (meaning that the dealers whop buy them will then charge quite high prices to their own customers).

[douglas9401]

"///be virtually as new./// and have been driven by people with absolutely no incentive to look after them."

Is this a reference to the hoary old chestnut that those pretendy disabled folk get free cars?
Get a grip.

[Baldric]

Douglas, no, it's a reference to the fact that the two of us have worked for our 3 cars, pay to maintain them and look after them, they were not a freebie and the public purse does not maintain them.

[paddywak]

I've been with mobility for 12years now and I've never returned a car with a milage greater then 20k,the last one had just over 12k on it but I'd a broken arm and Trish doesn't like to drive at all if she can help it so it didn't get used a deal.

[douglas9401]

They
Are
Not
Free.

[cactusdriver]

No, they are not free, they are paid for by 'hard-working families'. The cars are often not basic motors but posh models (available with a modest extra fee) beyond the reach of those taxpayers who are funding them.

[hc4361]

The car is not free. It is leased and costs around £50 a week for a basic model

[Copacetic]

Im sure most people who have to use these cars would happily swap their disability/illness with any disgruntled "taxpayer"

[ToraToraTora]

that's a very debatable point sandy, I suppose it depends on how those miles where done. Eg if it did them in the first year and sat there for 2 years then that is bad. If they are evenly spread out then ok. The trouble is the Odometer does not give any more information so you have to look at other things. I had a weekend car until recently and it would often not go out for weeks but I always started it and let it run for about 20 mins art least weekly. That can alleviate decay but the enemy is inactivity almost as much as over activity.

[EDDIE51]

Anyone who has a motability car has given up £320 a month of their Disability allowance in exchange for the car.
Those who do a very low milage would be better off claiming the cash and using it for taxis ,day trips, holidays etc.
My wifes motability car is just about to be exchanged at 3 years old with 40,000 miles on the clock. You are allowed 60,000 miles in 3 years.

[TWR]

Regards using a Taxi Eddie, I had an issue with someone from the Care home ordering a taxi & our lads in wheel Chairs, on looking inside the "London Cab" to the floor area, I asked where the strapping point where ( To hold / Tie / the wheelchair down) he said they don't have any, I said we can not use you on safety grounds.

[malana3]

I believe that the original reason for Mobility Allowance was to enable a disabled person to get to work, a very good reason. However, if a person is aged over 65 when they become disabled they cannot then apply for Mobility Allowance as they are no longer working, I can see the logic for that decision. What I cannot understand is why M.A. is not discontinued once the recipient reaches 65 but continues until death or is unable to drive. Can any ABer explain it to me?


what

[Mamyalynne]

That's a very good question and I doubt anyone will be able to explain it so that it pleases you especially me.

Of course new claims for DLA for adults are finished now but originally it was decided that if you became less mobile after the age of 65 that was part of the process of ageing.

An arbitrary figure I agree but otherwise it could have meant 80 year olds etc suddenly starting a new claim for example, so I am sure cost was the driving factor.

[hc4361]

Because it is vitally important that disabled people keep the ability to get out and about, not just for boring things like medical appointments and work.
A disabled person may not be able to use public transport and a person in a wheelchair may not like being manhandled by a taxi driver.

A disabled person may be actively involved with grandchildren, taking them to and from school and other activities; visit a close relative in a nursing home; they may be volunteers in any manner of charities and clubs.
It is wrong to make a disabled person a prisoner in his or her own home or dependent on others.

You are wrong in thinking that a person cannot get a motability car if he or she is over 65 when they become disabled.