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Sorry this is going to be rather long.

As many here know, I'm disabled and we currently have a motability car as well as our 6 berth motorhome.  I can't drive the motorhome as it's manual transmission, and at the time of purchase, that didn't worry me.  However, I feel that the motorhome is sitting on the drive not doing much as the kids no longer want to come out in it with us, and it only gets used when hubby is around to drive it.  I live near the Thames, and if we had a motorhome that I was able to drive, then I could take myself off down by the river just to get out of the house, even if I didn't get out of the van.  Also, all the other things I need would be with me wherever we went, not just when we take the motorhome. 

The contract is up on my motability car at the beginning of December and my own feelings are that if we were going to change the motorhome, and get rid of the motability car and have one smaller motorhome to use as an every day vehicle, then now would be a good time to do it as the motorhome is 3 years old and car contract at an end.  I view it that as my free road tax would go on that one vehicle, then I'd be saving one lot of road tax into the bargain, which we could use to pay for break down cover.

We've been chatting to one motorhome supplier but I don't know if I done the right thing by telling them up front the max of what I had to spend, as it seems like they have taken all of it into account ie the exchange value of our present van, plus the entirety of my higher DLA mobility component (rather than having a motability car) and said yes we can afford to get the type of van we like, and we'd be paying that back for 10 years.  I see it that if we have more motability cars over the next 10 years, we'd be paying that money to hire them and not have anything at the end of it, whereas if we put it towards our own vehicle, then although it will have decreased in value over the 10 years, it will still be ours, and being automatic, will keep a better resale value than a manual.

I'd just like to hear anyone's views on this idea, firstly about just having one vehicle, and secondly about the finance side of it, should I have said up front how much we had to finance the transaction or should I have said we have our van to exchange and want to know what it would cost us on top and if we could do it, and not mention motability etc until needed?

Another alternative is to sell our van and just buy a smaller second hand one, although it has to be automatic and have a toilet, kitchen, sleep 2+ and have somewhere to store my electric scooter. Although that wouldn't hold as much resale value as it would be old to start with.

I know the final decision has to be ours, but could do with other peoples views and ideas please.  Only view I've had so far was from a friend who said that if we bought the new van we saw yesterday, that in 10 years time it would be a pile of poo and we'd still be paying for it .  We aim to look after it naturally, but I guess it worries me as we have never had a loan before.  I'm not too worried about using my DLA mobility component to buy something rather than hire it, but would still greatly value anyone else's views on this, for or against.

Many thanks and sorry it was so long.

Sara

hi there  have you thought of to motability finance http://www.motability.co.uk/main.cfm to see if they will loan you for the new van.a disabled friend bought a bongo this way .

if you buy brand new van then you will get the vat off .shop round and talk to as meany dealers as you can don't tell them about your own van at first find a van that suits you first.then start talking .

Thank you for the responses so far.  The dealer we went to see the other day was trying to sell me a Trigano Tribute.  It was quite a nice van, and we could have coped with it, but it's not the one we feel is our 'ideal' van.  I think I made a botch by being so open and up front about the max we had to spend.  I feel the dealer is now looking at it as that being how much he can get from us.

We would really like to go for a Devon Monte Carlo, which is cheaper for a start.  We could probably do it by just borrowing £5,000.00  Much less than we'd have had to borrow for the Trigano, which would have meant paying back a total of £25,000.00

Does anyone else use a van conversion as an every day vehicle?  If I had that instead of a motability car, I could take myself off to the river just to get out.  Everywhere I went I'd have everything I need in the van.

Not sure that Motability would do me a loan to get a motorhome/van conversion.  I do know about getting the vat off, as I've bought my last two vans like that.

Any further thoughts much appreciated.

Sara

Hi Sara, before you do anything regards using your DLA allowance, it may be worth taking into consideration the governments plans to change the rules and regulations for anyone claiming disability benefits from 2013.

They have not been very open regards what exactly is going to happen, apart from saying everyone will have to be re-assed, but this was anounced as part of the last budget, and its clear that they are out to get as many people off this and incapacity benefit as possible, and back into work with allowances made for disabilities and some sort of shelted work place created for some, probably similar to the old 'Remploy' units which were closed down for being too institutionalized, and a form of cheap labour a few years ago. In the proposed units, a specialised unit will be created with a medically qualified person on duty during the working day, to deal with the disabled persons health requirements if needed. 

Julia 

Yes I have to admit that did worry me a bit, although I've been considered as incapable of work since before I left school.  I was advised against it but wanted to prove them wrong.  I couldn't hold down a job due to my health and constantly being away due to my health problems.  By 21 I was no longer working and the time I had spent since the age of 16 trying to 'prove myself' had done more harm than good.  I still hold my head high that I tried, but I have had to admit defeat.  I'm now much less mobile and with many more health concerns.  Obviously the people who fake it to claim the disabled benefits are the ones who they need to weed out.  I'd like to sit back and say I know I'm safe, but it just doesn't work that way.  Twice before I've had assessments by Doctors who thought I was faking it because I don't look outwardly disabled.  That has entailed 18 months or more of living on reduced income and a long fight to get my benefit reinstated.  Obviously that sort of thing is a major worry, regardless of if I had my benefit paying a loan for a motorhome, or if they were to snatch my motability car back off me.  Truly disabled people live in fear of this all the time.

I will of course be discussing that issue further with my husband before we enter into anything.

Sara