If you already have a Scheme vehicle that meets your needs, Motability will discuss with you the possibility of keeping your vehicle by extending the length of your current lease.
With a lease extension you will continue to enjoy the Scheme with insurance, roadside recovery, service, maintenance, repairs, and a Good Condition Bonus (subject to conditions). This also helps them conserve their limited funds as they will only provide Charitable Grants for vehicles that need replacing.
About the Charitable Grants process
Motability considers every enquiry and application for a Charitable Grant individually and takes into account a wide range of factors, including:
Your disability or impairment and how it impacts your mobility.
Your household circumstances.
Any equipment you need to regularly travel with.
Your financial means, for example; whether you are in receipt of a means tested benefit, if you receive income from paid employment and whether you have any savings or investments.
Help with the cost of Advance Payments, WAVs and adaptations
If you are looking for help with the cost of an Advance Payment for a car, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) for a passenger or adaptations to a Scheme vehicle, these are the key things that Motability take into account to help prioritise our limited funding:
Aside from the disabled person’s own mobility needs, Motability will consider their immediate family who live in the same household. This means a spouse/ partner, parents, siblings or children up to the age of 16.
Motability can also take into account other members of the household in receipt of the Higher Rate Disability Living Allowance or Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment and who do not lease their own Motability Scheme vehicles.
Motability will also, in as far as possible, take into account paid carers. This is dependent on the nature of the care provided, the times at which care is given and the extent to which the carer needs to travel in the vehicle.
When considering the type of vehicle for which Motability might provide help, the following will generally be taken into account: Attending school, college or work including taking account of any reasonable equipment that is essential to those activities.
Attending school, college or work including taking account of any reasonable equipment that is essential to those activities.
Carrying out normal, day-to-day activities locally.
Attending hospital and doctor appointments.
Carrying essential and frequently needed mobility equipment, such as a wheelchair, small or medium sized scooter or walking frame. This does not include spare items.
Carrying any essential medical equipment such as an oxygen cylinder or dialysis equipment.
Carrying items for respite care, if undertaken on a frequent basis at a location some distance away from home.
Disability-related equipment to enable participation in sporting activities.
Accommodating an assistance dog.
Generally, the following is not taken into account:
Any vehicle or adaptation that has been ordered or delivered prior to a decision being made.
Additional seating for children over 16.
Additional seating for a carer’s children.
Vehicles with more than seven seats.
Medically unproven representations regarding comfort of ride and/or seating.
The ability to carry a large, all-terrain or road-legal scooter or all-terrain wheelchair.
Towing requirements, for example; caravan, horsebox, boats.
Accommodating friends, relatives or others who do not live in the same household.
Travelling abroad.
The provision of changing or washing facilities ‘in-vehicle’.
Accomodation of hoists or ‘day-beds’.
Accommodation of equipment or luggage for holidays.
Accommodation of equipment for hobbies and leisure pursuits.
Fuel type.
Fuel consumption.
Help with the cost of a Drive-from-Wheelchair vehicle
If you are looking for help with the cost of a Drive-from-Wheelchair vehicle or an Internal Transfer vehicle (that is entering in your wheelchair but transferring to the driver’s seat while inside) or need complex driving controls costing more than £10,000, these are the key things that they take into account:
You are solely responsible for the care of one or more dependants, such as: a disabled partner or child, care of an elderly relative or young children. You must demonstrate that the vehicle is essential to enable the continuation of the care given.
You are in full-time education or training and a vehicle would allow you to access it independently. Full-time education is defined as education undertaken in pursuit of a course, where a substantial period of each week is spent receiving tuition, engaging in practical work, receiving supervised study or taking examinations. Training can include being in an unpaid Apprenticeship.
You are in paid employment where the use of a vehicle is essential for commuting to and from your place of work, or for frequent business use.
You carry out voluntary work where the use of a vehicle is essential to enable you to undertake this work and you spend a substantial amount of time each week volunteering. Voluntary work can include helping out unpaid at a charity, voluntary organisation or community group, a public-sector organisation like your local council or a social enterprise supporting your local community.
We also look at some cases on an exceptional basis, for example, if you live a long way from local amenities or where there are very limited local transport options, such as local authority transport, NHS transport, volunteer transport or wheelchair accessible taxis.
Please note that Motability cannot consider an application for a Drive-from-Wheelchair/Internal Transfer vehicle if you are:
Waiting to hear from the DVLA about your entitlement to drive.
Expecting to change to a different model of powered wheelchair within the next twelve months. This is because they adapt the vehicle to suit the particular model of wheelchair you use so it is important to know what type of wheelchair you will be using in the longer term.
Your entitlement to DLA or PIP expires within the next 18 months.
