Regarding the 25 age policy

[PraxxtorCruel]

Hi, my father has been interested in considering Motability, but the one thing that stops him from taking his interest further is the fact that most of the cars he is interested in are out of reach because of the bhp limit. He has a particular fancy for the X1, as he sat in one a while back and found it to be really comfortable, the only issue is the car doesn't come under the 115bhp limit. I'm currently 22 and have been driving for 3-4 years with no convictions of any sorts. Would there be any possible way to get RA to reconsider? What if I contributed towards the insurance policy? I mostly do the driving when I am available as my father finds it hard to move his legs due to AS. To be honest mileage wise I don't think we'd do more than 2-4k per year.

Thanks for any advice.

[Paul]

The statement "drivers aged under 25 will be restricted to cars with an ABI Insurance Group 16 or lower and with a power output of 115 brake horsepower (BHP) or less." I believe refers to Disabled Drivers or the person who has signed the agreement.

I believe that it's ok for a named driver to be under 25 and drive a car with more than 115bhp as long as the "person who signed the agreement (your dad)" is above that age.

Therefore YOU can drive the car as long as your DAD is a named driver - don't worry about who drives the car the most, as it's your dad who'll sign the agreement.

Don't get confused with "fronting" where a parent's car insurance policy has been created for the sole use of the child, this is not the case with Motability car insurance.

For clarification contact Motability on 0845 456 4566 they are very friendly and should be able to answer all your questions.

Best Regards,

Paul

[PraxxtorCruel]

The statement "drivers aged under 25 will be restricted to cars with an ABI Insurance Group 16 or lower and with a power output of 115 brake horsepower (BHP) or less." I believe refers to Disabled Drivers or the person who has signed the agreement.

I believe that it's ok for a named driver to be under 25 and drive a car with more than 115bhp as long as the "person who signed the agreement (your dad)" is above that age.

Therefore YOU can drive the car as long as your DAD is a named driver - don't worry about who drives the car the most, as it's your dad who'll sign the agreement.

Don't get confused with "fronting" where a parent's car insurance policy has been created for the sole use of the child, this is not the case with Motability car insurance.

For clarification contact Motability on 0845 456 4566 they are very friendly and should be able to answer all your questions.

Best Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your reply, hmm interesting you say that. Yes I will confirm with Motability and post back here to let people know. Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

[paul1234]

This is a direct print from Motability's website. I'm pretty sure that this applies to all drivers. However speak to Motability and tell them the circumstances and sae what they are prepared to do.

" Young drivers

As of 1 January 2012:
Only one named driver can be under the age of 21 - this could be you or another driver who lives at the disabled customer's address
Drivers under the age of 25 can only drive cars in the lower ABI insurance groups of one to 16 and with a brake horsepower rating of 115BHP or less. To find out which group your car is in, visit our Car Search and look at the ABI group information on the detailed specifications page or go to thatcham.org/abigrouprating."

If you have an existing driver on your lease who is affected by these changes, they can continue to drive until you reach the end of your current agreement as long as they remain named as a permitted driver on your Certificate of Motor Insurance."

[louise24]

Will you let me no how you get on when you contact them as i am 24 and seen a car that suits my needs but have to be 25 for the inscurance

[Stepheninleeds]

Yes, insurers as ever. So a disabled person is not safe to drive a more powerful car one day but can the next day? I love that. I know there have to be rules, but not every rules should be set in stone.

[stranger]

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your reply, hmm interesting you say that. Yes I will confirm with Motability and post back here to let people know. Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

Hi, any news on what the outcome was as I'm sure there are many others in the same position as you?

Thanks

[warkman]

get your dad to try the X1.
I found it, whilst a comfortable seat (Unless you need to change the settings , then its a sod to do correctly)
I found the ride in SE mode rather harsh on city/town streets and banged over potholes, plus at slow speeds such as reversing, the steering is VERY heavy!

[PraxxtorCruel]

Totally forgot about my topic. To be honest didn't get very far, a lady at Motability stated that I didn't meet requirements as I am under 25. When I offered to contribute payment towards insuring me she wen't on to say that there might be exceptions and furthermore that I should call Royal Alliance, Motability's insurance provider and get a definitive answer from them or see if I could somehow work things out as she said it was mainly down to Royal Alliance and whether they'd be willing to insure me.

By the way, I've just been looking through SUV/4x4s on Motability, am I the only one here that feels nothing else seems to come close to the BMW x1 they're offering, especially the 23d xdrive for £1,999. I'm trying to find the best deal for my father but there really doesn't seem to be anything else that matches. I do remember the Volvo XC60 being there last year but looks like it got removed. How do optional extras in a car work? Do you go to a dealer, request a particular trim of the model you want and then start adding extras? Are extras just paid on top of the advanced payment? Can this be done online as well as at the dealer? Do dealers offer any discounts, is there any point in haggling?

Thanks for the replies everyone. So warkman, did you opt for the x1 or something else and if you opted for something else what persuaded you? Was there anything you liked about the x1?

Thanks for your time,

Chris

[warkman]

Totally forgot about my topic. To be honest didn't get very far, a lady at Motability stated that I didn't meet requirements as I am under 25. When I offered to contribute payment towards insuring me she wen't on to say that there might be exceptions and furthermore that I should call Royal Alliance, Motability's insurance provider and get a definitive answer from them or see if I could somehow work things out as she said it was mainly down to Royal Alliance and whether they'd be willing to insure me.

By the way, I've just been looking through SUV/4x4s on Motability, am I the only one here that feels nothing else seems to come close to the BMW x1 they're offering, especially the 23d xdrive for £1,999. I'm trying to find the best deal for my father but there really doesn't seem to be anything else that matches. I do remember the Volvo XC60 being there last year but looks like it got removed. How do optional extras in a car work? Do you go to a dealer, request a particular trim of the model you want and then start adding extras? Are extras just paid on top of the advanced payment? Can this be done online as well as at the dealer? Do dealers offer any discounts, is there any point in haggling?

Thanks for the replies everyone. So warkman, did you opt for the x1 or something else and if you opted for something else what persuaded you? Was there anything you liked about the x1?

Thanks for your time,

Chris

Still looking at final options. To be perfectly honest the Nissan Qashqai +2 was a better car to drive than the X1, much better specced as well. Did yoiu know that on the X1 you even have to pay extra for cruise control? it also comes with switchable 4WD, which many of the "4WD" cars on the scheme do not, they only switch to 50% maximum to front or rear wheels when the car thinks it needs to. The Qashqai can be locked into 4WD and work like a proper 4WD diff locked if required.

In my personal opinion, the Qashqai, the Hyundai iX35 and even the Kia Sportage are much better cars than the BMW, which you are just paying for the badge and get for it a poor ride, with heavy steering to boot. The engine was OK, but compared to our own 4WD quite a noisy deisel.

The Antara might be worth a look for you, Heated leather seats, sat nav and all the goodies. None of them are a true off roader, more soft roaders which are OK in rain, sleet and snowy conditions.

At the moment I am looking at the vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer SE Nav auto (I have to have an auto), The Ford Grand C-Max titanium and S-Max Titanium, The Qashqai+2 NTec+ 4WD

We already have a Freelander 11 plate, so for bad weather we are sorted anyway. Not sure if we actually need another part time 4WD car, its the boot space I need more than 4WD.