She's arrived - finally.

[blueclouduk]

Wow what a series if posts!

Just to answer a few questions:

Yes, I am disabled. A full detail takes me 3-4 days to complete. All the heavy work is carried out by my son (a tyre fitter thankfully so he's used to removing wheels).

The towbar and wiring will be fitted by a local garage owned by a friend. A charge of £1.00 labour keeps it legal. The parts come from the cheapest suppliers. The wiring from S.E.R.E. in NI, the towbar from flea-bay.

All of the bulbs come from Click Parts and are "E" marked.

The grille and rear handle are from a scrap-yard. The front grille is held in by two plastic pins next to the slam panel. The rear handle is the only "difficult" job and will also be done at my local garage.

As for the Motability scheme, without it, I would never get anywhere. With it, I feel part of society. It has let me get to places such as the Nuerburgring, the Stelvio Pass, Lourdes and all over the British Isles. Yes, Motability has it's failings, but overall, it's fantastic. As for anything being free on the scheme, I wish. My weekly allowance for mobility and an advance payment of £1000 certainly didn't make the car free.

 

[andythom]

Wow what a series if posts!

Just to answer a few questions:

Yes, I am disabled. A full detail takes me 3-4 days to complete. All the heavy work is carried out by my son (a tyre fitter thankfully so he's used to removing wheels).

The towbar and wiring will be fitted by a local garage owned by a friend. A charge of £1.00 labour keeps it legal. The parts come from the cheapest suppliers. The wiring from S.E.R.E. in NI, the towbar from flea-bay.

All of the bulbs come from Click Parts and are "E" marked.

The grille and rear handle are from a scrap-yard. The front grille is held in by two plastic pins next to the slam panel. The rear handle is the only "difficult" job and will also be done at my local garage.

As for the Motability scheme, without it, I would never get anywhere. With it, I feel part of society. It has let me get to places such as the Nuerburgring, the Stelvio Pass, Lourdes and all over the British Isles. Yes, Motability has it's failings, but overall, it's fantastic. As for anything being free on the scheme, I wish. My weekly allowance for mobility and an advance payment of £1000 certainly didn't make the car free.

It's good to see there are people that genuinely benefit from the scheme there are a lot of people that take advantage of the scheme (mostly relatives of disabled persons) to get themselves a car....

Seen 335ci bmws rangie sports etc as motabs

 

[blueclouduk]

We actually had a look at a RR Sport but the £20,000 advance payment was just outside our price range.

 

[blueclouduk]

A new addition to the car today.

A brand new windscreen.

The trip up the A1 was obviously a little too stressful for Tic-Tac (that's the name she has now) and a crack appeared on the left side on the screen just near Tranent. This turned in to a 30cm curve with a secondary 25cm curve perpendicular to the first.

A two hour stop at Autoglass and I have nice, clean, bug-free windscreen. SWMBO thinks I could have found an easier way to clean the screen.

 

[ming]

A new addition to the car today.

A brand new windscreen.

The trip up the A1 was obviously a little too stressful for Tic-Tac (that's the name she has now) and a crack appeared on the left side on the screen just near Tranent. This turned in to a 30cm curve with a secondary 25cm curve perpendicular to the first.

A two hour stop at Autoglass and I have nice, clean, bug-free windscreen. SWMBO thinks I could have found an easier way to clean the screen.

Bad luck.
Did you have to pay an excess? Just wondering if the Motability hire cost includes insurance, which is excess-free in the event of a windscreen replacement? Or, is my Q irrelevant, as the replacement is covered by the Seat warranty?
These aren't trick Q's; I'm just interested.

 

[JamesL]

Makes you think, doesn't it?

To be completely honest, all it makes me think, is how rude, obnoxious and presumptious (sp) you are. You have no idea what the OP's circumstances are, you have no idea what their situation involves, and you have no right to be making the sort of posts you were making. Even after a perfectly logical explanation you didn't even bother to apologise for being so rude in the first place.

For all you knew, it could have been SWMBO who had the disability, it would have been perfectly logical that the OP had a car to transport her in.

Get rid of that chip on your shoulder will you?

SWMBO thinks I could have found an easier way to clean the screen.

 

[blueclouduk]

Bad luck.
Did you have to pay an excess? Just wondering if the Motability hire cost includes insurance, which is excess-free in the event of a windscreen replacement? Or, is my Q irrelevant, as the replacement is covered by the Seat warranty?
These aren't trick Q's; I'm just interested.

According to the guys at Autoglass, it should have been a warranty claim. However, I'm currently 200 miles from home an the crack was growing so I just let the insurance company deal with it. If the insurance company checks the claim properly then I'm fairly sure that they will reclaim the money from Seat.

As for an excess, there isn't one on any of the glass. Last November I was unfortunate to have the rear window on my last car smash. That repair was excess free too. Funnily enough I was away from home. Maybe I should stay at home instead of gallivanting around Britain. Nah, bugger it. Let's drive!

If anyone else has a question about the Motability scheme, just ask. Between us, SWMBO and I have 25 years experience dealing with scheme. There's not a lot we dint know about it. (Often way more than the dealership "specialists".)

 

[blueclouduk]

To be completely honest, all it makes me think, is how rude, obnoxious and presumptious (sp) you are. You have no idea what the OP's circumstances are, you have no idea what their situation involves, and you have no right to be making the sort of posts you were making. Even after a perfectly logical explanation you didn't even bother to apologise for being so rude in the first place.

For all you knew, it could have been SWMBO who had the disability, it would have been perfectly logical that the OP had a car to transport her in.

Get rid of that chip on your shoulder will you?

No worries. I rarely take offence. I often get vocal when "the uneducated" take the pish. In my experience though, there are as many disabled people that need a slap when dealing with both disabled and able-bodied, for a complete lack of patience and unacceptable attitude. If anyone fancies a pint one day, I could easily regale you with stories of disabled people with a huge chip on their shoulder.

 

[ming]

According to the guys at Autoglass, it should have been a warranty claim. However, I'm currently 200 miles from home an the crack was growing so I just let the insurance company deal with it. If the insurance company checks the claim properly then I'm fairly sure that they will reclaim the money from Seat.

As for an excess, there isn't one on any of the glass. Last November I was unfortunate to have the rear window on my last car smash. That repair was excess free too. Funnily enough I was away from home. Maybe I should stay at home instead of gallivanting around Britain. Nah, bugger it. Let's drive!

If anyone else has a question about the Motability scheme, just ask. Between us, SWMBO and I have 25 years experience dealing with scheme. There's not a lot we dint know about it. (Often way more than the dealership "specialists".)

Thanks for the response.

Also, thanks for your previous post wherein you answered the questions I posed regarding your "ability" to undertake the DIY. I'm learning. Hope you'll excuse my ignorance.

Last week I knew nothing of Motability but this thread has more than convinced me that there are hugely opposing views depending on what your individual experience happens to be. It's a pity that the actions of the fraudsters are spilling over into the genuine arena.
This isn't a first and it won't be a last. Sad, really, but a fact of life.

I can understand why some members have responded in the negative to my earlier posts and I accept that there was an element of "chip on the shoulder" but, surely, you must agree that not all of what I've posted is unfair or inaccurate. No scheme, however deserving, is free of from manipulation, legitimately or otherwise. However, as I said in an earlier post I've given up reading about the abuses. Too contentious.

 

[bobbycfc]

No worries. I rarely take offence. I often get vocal when "the uneducated" take the pish. In my experience though, there are as many disabled people that need a slap when dealing with both disabled and able-bodied, for a complete lack of patience and unacceptable attitude. If anyone fancies a pint one day, I could easily regale you with stories of disabled people with a huge chip on their shoulder.

bluecloud, what a breath of fresh air the above statement is.

I have every sympathy with those who have a disability and fully support them with any help they can get. However what bugs me, and by the sounds of it yourself, is the ones who use the disabled "card" to gain advantage.

I used to manage a supermarket and the amount of grief I would get regarding the disabled spaces was unbelieveable.

Why is someone in the space without a badge? - sometimes a valid question, other times I have seen people come out into wheelchairs and didn't have their badge.
Why has he got a disabled badge, he can walk fine! - yes but you and I have no idea what his disability is. He might be fraudulent, or there could be a million reasons why he has the badge.
Your disabled spaces are all taken so I will just park on the kerb - well no, actually you can't. We install a certain number as a help but there is no god given right to a disabled space.

And then the cream of the crop, the guy who was raging as he could not get a disabled space at Braehead centre in Glasgow. When he did eventually get a space he got out his car as normal (no extra door width required), went round to his boot, physically lifted an electic mobility scooter out the car by himself (and it wasn't one of the collapsible ones), jumped in it and proceeded to drive all round the centre - 4 hours later I saw him and he was still there!

Anyway, got that off my chest, its good to hear that Bluecloud is out there making the most of life rather than being a "poor me"!

 

[iain1970]

Regarding the OP modifications, I'd expect that if the car can be returned to standard, then there should be no problem when the contract term is up. However, given that the scheme includes insurance, I'd expect they would need to know about such changes 'just in case'.

As for the blue badges, in Oldham there certainly are some Militant users that park wholly on the pavement, in turning bays and in a way to prevent buses turning into a road because they have blocked the junction. The wardens say they cannot do anything about it because they are displaying a badge, but I was sure a traffic warden could issue penalties as per the Police in such instances. My father has one and the terms of use are quite clear; the badge holder must exit the parked vehicle and the badge does not allow parking that might be otherwise obstructive or illegal.

I should add that this type of thing happens rarely, but it is annoying.

 

[pdh 14a]

My mate gets a lot of abuse when he legally parks his car in a disabled bay! He's 35 and looks fine,but has got metal heart valves and his viens in his legs run at reduced rate,so he can only walk around 100 yards (he used to be a comenwealth games silver medal weight lifter too!) But people come up and call him everything,so don't really know why i'm writing this,its not aimed at anyone,just i suppose that its too easy to judge,without knowing curcumstance!

 

[blueclouduk]

Throughout my time dealing with Motability I've never had any problem making subtle modifications so long as they either don't change the performance of the car - includes remaps and changes to suspension etc - or can be reversed. RSAM, the insurance company, always welcome my calls as it displays my commitment to keeping the car in good condition.

One poster mentioned my efforts to debadge the car. As many manufacturers offer the service free of charge, RSAM aren't interested. Painting the callipers was a no-no but I convinced RSAM that modern paints are good enough not to cause problems and make it easier to maintain the vehicle. I also assure them that as the wheels are removed to paint the callipers, and then clean them, the wheels get more attention from me than would ever happen from a dealer. I still struggle to understand how a "technician" can assess my braking system without removing any wheels.

Any other bit and pieces I modify are always reversible. Indicator repeaters are simple to do, as are bulbs. As long as replacement parts are "E" marked, the overall Type Approval isn't compromised. Wherever possible, I keep hold of the original, just in case someone makes a fuss when the car goes back. For me, it's the smallest changes that make the biggest difference.

My next campaign is to get Motability to allow me to take my car to any garage for a service. At the moment, Motatbility insist that ay car goes back to a franchised dealership for any work. My argument is, if the EU says an independent trader is good enough to service a car without spoiling a warranty then Motability should follow suit. This could be a long campaign.

 

[GregM]

Im guessing it means yoru wife, but what the hell is SWMBO?

 

[GregM]

Ohhh.. Just got it as I hit post quick reply...

 

[blueclouduk]

For those that didn't:

S he
W Ho
M ust
B e
O beyed

 

[blueclouduk]

I've put some photos in the reader's rides section.

Beginning to think that a silver "S" looks better after all.

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=325397