I have recently bought a Xantia 1.9td, 1999 T plate, 1 lady owner, ex motobility car, 31k miles, FSH etc.
I have just had to have a new clutch fitted (£600 !!!!!), luckily covered by my warranty, I have also just been told it needs a new steering rack (excessive play) which again should be covered under the warranty.
Have I just been unlucky, do motobility cars have a harder life than most or are all the failures pointing to the car having actually done 131k miles!!!!!
Thanks
Andy
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I bought an ex-motobility Fiesta in 1992 with 8000 miles on the clock, I still have it and its never had anything unexpected or major happen to it. Just regular servicing, new clutch about 5 years ago, a new exhaust, brake pads of course and lower wishbones replaced.
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AWS
Got to be careful here....
I was told by a fleet sales manager that worked for one of the biggest dealer groups in the country never to buy a medium sized 5 door ex Motability car.
'Nuff said
(Hope you get the problems sorted out under warranty.)
Charles
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Why not ?
Other than the usual caveats about cars with extremely low mileage.
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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Arriva sell ex-motability Escorts for a very good price. To look at they seem perfect, certainly fine for a modern average mileage car...
Whats wrong with them been motability? I always thought that they were generally well looked after...
Blue
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They are normally but unfortunately there are those people who take advantage of a very good scheme and use a motability vehicle for other purposes than private disability motoring. To avoid having problems with the scheme owners the odometer usually gets disconnected and you can wind up with some very worn out motors with some very low mileage showing. The smaller cars are reasonably immune to this nefarious practice. Was a program IIRC on BBC2 some time ago which exposed this racket.
Happy Motoring Phil I
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Matt K
Why not ? Other than the usual caveats about cars with extremely low mileage.
As someone else has hinted (Re the BBC programme) any Motability cars that are suitable taxi material ie medium sized 5 door you have to be wary of.
The small stuff is normally OK.
Charles
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Here in Halton it is not uncommon for a motability car to be obtained for a more able bodied relative by a motability qualifiying relative if the AB reletive has the need for a car.
It is seen as "ones basic entitlement" and if the qualifying person does,nt really need it why deprive a family member of a subsidised car.
As a result they are usually used for all sorts of purposes and are handed back with many more miles than the speedo shows.
as ever
Mark
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Good use of motability scheme:
The delightful elderly lady with MS whose car I wash once a fortnight, and have done since before I learnt to drive, who covers 5-6,000 miles a year. She's always had automatic cars with no other modifications, and they always go back with under 20,000 miles on the clock. She uses the car to visit friends and to do voluntary work for the church, as well as one or two trips a year to Bournemouth. It's a real lifeline for her, and she is so grateful the scheme exists.
Bad use of motability scheme:
The '02 plate Golf with blue badge and Motability VED disc holder that pulled up alongside the supermarket pick-up point the other day, blocking me and a couple of others in, piloted by an impressively overweight lady in her thirties, accompanied by a similarly-dimensioned friend in the front and 4 or 5 squawking kids in the back. The car looked as though it had never been washed, had covered substantial motorway mileage, and from the amount of grime up the front, it must have spent its whole short life 3ft from the vehicle in front. The two ladies (!) in question got out of the car, with the driver bellowing to anyone that would listen about how disgusted she was that there were no f%&$^£g disabled spaces next to the f£^$(*%g door (although there were, and they were empty), then they wandered off into the store leaving a stream of further expletives behind them.
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That '02 Golf sounds like the type of car you give a very wide berth to when trying to park. No doubt from the description you gave of it, the owners wouldn't care about swinging open their doors and denting yours in the process.
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Dave is dead right!It seems some people do take advantage of this scheme & perhaps should not be entitled to it.
What anoys me is the chosen vehicle, which most people may consider not quite right for somebody infirm, or disabled.
How could anybody cover 25000miles (or even want to)in 9months, or 15000miles in 11months,in the pair of Tigra offered at Motability auction.
Better still,the Cougar sold at Measham 2 weeks ago, somehow had been COMPLETELY covered in paint stripper.Wonder who he upset?
Saying that,there are some very nice low,low mileage cars to be had, if you look carefully.I've bought 13000 miles on a 3 year old Hyundai Accent auto,1900 miles, yes 1900! on a Ka silver at 8months old & £4500 less than new retail price.
Beware the minor bumps & grazes, that may only have Dupli Colour repairs, plenty of these around!
Mark
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Here (also in Halton) wife's second-hand 91H Dturbo was originally a Motability car, bought from a reputable dealer. I had no reason to suspect any skulduggery - the only signs were a few small holes drilled in bodywork for some attachments, which had been removed.
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I can understand sports cars etc sometimes being used, just remembered I used to work with a guy 6 or 7 years ago whose wife (aged under 30 IIRC) had a heart condition that meant she was unable to walk more than a few hundred yards (or take part in any other physical exertion) without suffering serious circulation problems, however she was assessed as medically fit to drive a car. They didn't have any kids, and they lived in a village, so she used her full Mobility allowance, along with some of their own money, to fund a Celica so she could get to work in an office in town. It meant freedom for her with no worries about reliablity or breakdowns.
What a lot of people don't realise is that the full mobility allowance on its own just about stretches to a basic Citroen Saxo (unless the person receives any enhancements for hand-control adaptations or wheelchair accessibility), so most people with a higher-spec car (including my little old lady mentioned in my previous post here) add some of their own money to it. It makes the difference between running a 4-year old car on your own budget and running a brand new one with full warranty and breakdown cover.
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