RE: Motorbility
Ok
I'm new around here, and I don't want to become embroiled in some bitter war of words regarding disabilities. I'll clear up a couple of misconceptions -
A motability car costs "the taxpayer" the same, no matter which car you get, its costs exactly the same, and that is circa £55 per week. If I went out and bought a Bentley or a Kia, it costs the same. The big difference comes from the Advanced Payment (i.e. the deposit). When motability calculate their prices, its exactly the same as any other leasing company -
purchase cost - depreciation = future value
Next they calculate the income earned during that period by the disabled person contributing their DLA (circa £55 per week) they deduct this from the depreciation which arrives at the shortfall between contribution and GMFV, this then becomes the advanced payment. This works exactly the same as any leasing agreement, except instead of increasing the monthly contribution, the cost is loaded onto the deposit.
The government, you, I, the taxpayer aren't paying any more, not a penny.
I too would like to save on the VAT of my car, and I'm not very familiar with that aspect of it, so can't really comment. This may be a reasonable area for people to feel aggrieved about. All I'm trying to do is put a bit of perspective on this skewed view that disabled people are scroungers and get a free top of the range car every 3 years - quite simply they don't. If they want a nice car, it costs them - in cash, up front.
FYI ysthome, the rules now stipulate that if a named driver is under 21, they must share the same address as the claimant. You are also now unable to use a named driver that doesn't live within 5 miles. AFAIK motability have never had super cars on their list, so I doubt the M3 is a motability car in the traditional sense.
Regarding the means testing, as I've said, DLA exists to assist disabled people with the additional costs involved with having a disability. There are always extremes, and always people who abuse the system - did you know that David Cameron (our millionaire Prime Minister) claimed DLA for the extra burden of caring for his disabled son (who has since unfortunately passed away)? How do you define means?
There seems to be general consensus that "the taxpayer" should not fund a luxury item, it should be basic needs - to take this to an extreme; do we take benefits away from people who claim other benefits like job seekers if they smoke or buy alcohol, what about buying unhealthy food?
As with everything in life, the few spoil it for the many. Its the same mentality of people who avoid tax, thieves, scammers etc etc.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, not everyone that is disabled and wants a nicer life is a scrounger and out to defraud you, me or the rest of the world. Perhaps none of us should be so quick to judge.
(This post was last modified: 17-04-2012 11:56pm by wavey.dave.)
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