Ex-motability vehicles

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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone has any advice regarding buying used motability vehicles from auction? Generally, they appear to be 3 years old but am I right in thinking that due to the scheme they will have all been maintained correctly and as long as the vehicle appears to be in good condition, it is likely to be a good buy? They do appear to be really decent value at auction.

Thanks
 
The scheme is indeed 3 years and all the cars should have a full service history with the manufacturer themselves and are for the most part well maintained.
 
We've had two cars for ex-mobility. Can confirm both had full service history and were properly maintained. That however doesn't stop then from having other issues that a dealer may not check for so beware. The 206 we bought had arches clogged with mud and the aux belt pully was working but noisy.

In general though, good buys.
 
Motability cars are generally good buys now. The main things to look at are

1. The boot/rear bumper- check for damage caused by getting wheelchairs/scooters in and out
2. The inner door sills - check for damage for people getting in and out as some tend to wear the paint away to the metal due to reduced mobility (open the door and look at the kickplate area)
3. The upholstery for staining.

Motability will provide a printout of any work done to the car which will include servicing and any other repairs e.g. tyres, windscreens, other work as well as the garage it was carried out in. They will always normally come with a full MOT as this is needed with the 3rd service before the vehicle can be handed back
 
I know this question is vague but.... do you ever see any decent/quick(ish) cars at these motability auctions?
 
Motor dealers get dibs on a lot of Motab returns via MFL Direct (the part of the business that takes to do with Motab remarketing) with the rest going to open auction so a lot of the tasty ones might be grabbed by them first.

TBH, the majority of motab vehicles are your run-of-the-mill cars like Focus, C4 Picasso etc as these have typically zero or low deposits.
 
Imy said:
I know this question is vague but.... do you ever see any decent/quick(ish) cars at these motability auctions?
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I suppose it depends on your definition of decent, but my 2008 2.5T Mondeo was an ex-Motability car.

Adam
 
Our Qashqai is a motability car. We paid the extra to have the nTec version with the toys and glass roof etc. I've been using it more than my Audi lately.

I know a few people who have bought ex motability cars and been very happy with them. I have to admit as its not really "ours" as such it doesn't get quite as much TLC as my car. Its always first choice for tip run and does have one mark from putting the chair in the boot.

Its likely that I will have to give the car back before the 3 years is up ( :( ) but I have considered seeing if there is a deal to be done keeping hold of it.
 
We've had 3 ex-motability cars, they have all been in pristine condition inside and out, properly looked after, and super-low mileage for a 3 year old.
 
Parents have just picked up an ex-motability car, and it's pretty obvious in the boot where the plastic has been scrathed by a wheel chair over and over. Aside from that, the car is top of the range mode, leather and electric everything, and is perfect in every other way.

Not sure about the 3 years and FSH, but why are you looking to get one from an auction?

I would love to get an ex-moto car, as then I wouldn't be worried about the dogs borking up the back lol.
 
My parents bought an Ex-motorbility Fiesta a couple of years back and its been as solid as any other decent second hand buy. Seemed in good nick and the mileage was extremely low (like 8k on the clock after 3 years!)
 
My 2008 207 is an ex Motability car due to the fact that it was owned by a 80 year old, had only 24k miles on the clock and had Motability booklets in nearly every compartment. Perfect condition in almost every way apart from a stone chip on the bonnet :p
 
AshD93 said:
We've had two cars for ex-mobility. Can confirm both had full service history and were properly maintained. That however doesn't stop then from having other issues that a dealer may not check for so beware. The 206 we bought had arches clogged with mud and the aux belt pully was working but noisy.

In general though, good buys.
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The problem there is that you bought a 206 :p.

My neighbour has a lovely 13 reg end-of-the-line MK2 Leon 2.0TDI. As the dealer wanted rid of the old models they were allowed an FR model.
I would have it off them if I could when it gets to 3 years old.
 
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Richie said:
They will always normally come with a full MOT as this is needed with the 3rd service before the vehicle can be handed back
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Check how much MOT there is, with motability you're not allowed to order early, if you want a car with a long lead time you end up keeping your previous car longer. Obviously Mobility will MOT it when it turns 3 years old.
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
The problem there is that you bought a 206 :p.

My neighbour has a lovely 13 reg end-of-the-line MK2 Leon 2.0TDI. As the dealer wanted rid of the old models they were allowed an FR model.
I would have it off them if I could when it gets to 3 years old.
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Not upto the dealer in all fairness. Motability determine the deposits and the buyer pays it or doesn't get the car. The dealer is nothing more than a middleman really.

The only change to this is where some dealers use the commission they get from Motability to discount the deposit internally (the dealer still needs to pay Motab the deposit). Motability don't bother if this happens but its a pretty snidey thing to do TBH as they use this to attract customers away from other dealers.
 
My mams almera was ex mobility good price and spec. Although now about 3 years later the clutch is gone we think after only 42kmiles. Which seems lower than you'd expect
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
The problem there is that you bought a 206 :p.

My neighbour has a lovely 13 reg end-of-the-line MK2 Leon 2.0TDI. As the dealer wanted rid of the old models they were allowed an FR model.
I would have it off them if I could when it gets to 3 years old.
Click to expand...

After I was finished with it, it was a very good car. It's my Mum's car as she only drives Auto (Yes its a 1.4 Auto).

We sound deadened the whole thing and added some decent front components (amped of course). So it sounded good when music was playing, dead quiet when it was driving and the added weight seemed to make it ride better.

The auto peddles meant that the peddle spacing wasn't actually a issue unlike the manual versions. And bar the sometimes jerky shifts when cold, the car was excellent, both in town and on the A roads.

Sounds crazy but compared to a stock 206, this one is excellent. Even the doors and boot shut with a Audi thud :D
 
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