Yet another dull car thread - buy an ex-motability?

[mudskipper]

My mum had a motability car for a long time. She did fewer miles in it than I did on my bike.

On the other hand, a friend in a wheelchair has one as does 10k+ miles a year with his job.

Most are automatic though.

[Lockhouse]

This is what you need.

[d000hg]

Cheers, food for thought.

[vwdan]

I bought a Focus that was ex-motability. It had some bumps and scuffs on the sills under the door due to whatever the user need to get around outside the car. Nice low mileage seemed like a bargain. The thing was f**ked. Doing so few miles in a long time it was just a short trip here and short trip there and then stood. It probably went everywhere at top revs in 1st or 2nd gear as well. Sounds a bit daft but too low mileage is not always a bonus and I wouldn't go round assuming they haven't been treated badly.

I certainly wouldn't bother again.

Yup - nothing screams stay away to me than a car that is well below average mileage and/or has only done short distances. Town driving is the WORST on a car - town driving by somebody who may well struggle to drive properly (Bit of a wide brush there, but whatever - you all know where I'm coming from) is even worse.

Not saying don't buy a motabilitiy but the only real plus point is "regular servicing" which, to be frank, is overrated over that kind of time period anyway (except for oil changes).

[northernladuk]

I remember my late mother recommended to me several times that buying an ex-motability car could be a great idea since they are generally used for 3 years and serviced frequently. And the typical disabled or old driver is not someone who will treat it badly, or tend to drive it a very long distance.

Has anyone here looked into this? Is it a sensible idea or are them some downsides I've not thought of?

I bought a Focus that was ex-motability. It had some bumps and scuffs on the sills under the door due to whatever the user need to get around outside the car. Nice low mileage seemed like a bargain. The thing was f**ked. Doing so few miles in a long time it was just a short trip here and short trip there and then stood. It probably went everywhere at top revs in 1st or 2nd gear as well. Sounds a bit daft but too low mileage is not always a bonus and I wouldn't go round assuming they haven't been treated badly.

I certainly wouldn't bother again.

[WTFH]

I had a friend whose mother had motability cars. He drove it most of the time and treated it almost like a rental - it was going to get serviced and changed, so he didn't care.
I'd probably treat it like every other fleet/company car, unless the mileage is very low.
My preference in cars is to go for ex-management (6-12 months on the clock).

[Paddy]

I remember my late mother recommended to me several times that buying an ex-motability car could be a great idea since they are generally used for 3 years and serviced frequently. And the typical disabled or old driver is not someone who will treat it badly, or tend to drive it a very long distance.

Has anyone here looked into this? Is it a sensible idea or are them some downsides I've not thought of?

My friend is on motability, he drives around 3,000 miles a year but had about one acident ever 1,000 miles.

[CoolCat]

A fair while ago I had a Vectra Automatic which was ex motability. It was only a month or two old, as the guy who had it died, so although I was the second owner the first owner had not used it much.

Was a good deal, and lasted till it was 3 years old.

[barrydidit]

My exes brother is shacked up with a lass who has one. She's mid 20's, I don't recall what her problem is but the exes brother is a bit of a wide boy and won't have treated the thing with any sort of respect. They're not all run by biddies to the shops once a week. YMMV.

[vetran]

assuming they aren't converted (ramps etc) it seems to make sense.

[d000hg]

I remember my late mother recommended to me several times that buying an ex-motability car could be a great idea since they are generally used for 3 years and serviced frequently. And the typical disabled or old driver is not someone who will treat it badly, or tend to drive it a very long distance.

Has anyone here looked into this? Is it a sensible idea or are them some downsides I've not thought of?