September 29, 2024 at 10:26 pm#289573
FlyingScotsman
Participant
We can order our 6th motability car from today, so really interested in this thread. This will be first car for under 25 as son wants to learn to drive his own car. Hoping for more choices, but will have to wait for his driving assessment to see what adaptions he needs first.
September 30, 2024 at 10:01 am#289577
Crake
Participant
My Hyundai dealer told me he thinks vehicle prices and APs will rise again next quarter.
I don’t get why there has to be this secrecy about it – people just want to make good buying decisions…..
Current Car Ioniq 5 MY24 77KWh RWD
Previous Cars: Kona Electric 2021 UK, Seat Ateca 2.0 Diesel Turbo
September 30, 2024 at 10:18 am#289580
ChrisK
Participant
Crake wrote:
My Hyundai dealer told me he thinks vehicle prices and APs will rise again next quarter. I don’t get why there has to be this secrecy about it – people just want to make good buying decisions…..
That’s only if Sun rises tomorrow.
September 30, 2024 at 10:36 am#289582
Ioniq
Participant
Inflation!
Just watch where the prices go this quarter.
The prices we paid 3 or 6 years ago will not return. But then again, the build quality, Tech and trim levels far exceed what was available 6 years ago.
£1500 for a good car 3 years ago, is now £3000.
For sure there will be cars at zero AP, but there will be less of them available.
Its change, it is progress. Higher AP,s will be the new norm for quality vehicles.
Oh…a packet of crisps for 10p….lol. Same with AP,s.
Prices can only go higher, never lower….for everything.
September 30, 2024 at 10:54 am#289585
Injector
Participant
Do APs always go up every quarter, is that a given?
What happens if you order a car and then the APs go up before you collect it, do you pay the AP quoted at the time you ordered? If APs go down, do you still pay the price quoted at the time you ordered?
September 30, 2024 at 11:05 am#289586
Ioniq
Participant
Injector wrote:
Do APs always go up every quarter, is that a given? What happens if you order a car and then the APs go up before you collect it, do you pay the AP quoted at the time you ordered? If APs go down, do you still pay the price quoted at the time you ordered?
Injector, no, if you order a vehicle you pay the AP at time of signing irrespective of higher aAP,s at delivery. If the AP,s go down after you order, you can ask the dealer to re-order to the lower AP. Your physical car order does not change, just the dealers paperwork with Motability.
It used to be that AP,s would fluctuate each quarter, but the prices would be the same. Unfortunately over the past 4 years, interest rates have pushed prices upwards. They do not come down again.
September 30, 2024 at 11:13 am#289588
Injector
Participant
What happens if you change the spec of your car, ie keep the same dealer, same car and same colour but go up a notch ie from a Kia Sportage GT to a Kia Sportage GT S, does that create a whole new order and hassle?
September 30, 2024 at 11:22 am#289594
Markymate
Participant
Yes, it does, as its a different variant with more specifications hence the difference in AP. You would have to get the dealer to change the order and pay the AP for the better specified model.
I did this a few years ago when I ordered the Seat Tarraco Excellence Lux then changed it to the FR Sport model and paid the extra AP.
September 30, 2024 at 11:27 am#289595
Injector
Participant
Yes I realise I’d be paying a higher AP but I wondered whether I will lose my place in the queue and whether I will have to make a whole new order. I was thinking that perhaps the dealer could amend the current order.
September 30, 2024 at 11:35 am#289591
nighithaa
Participant
Actually, I was following a specific model, Skoda kamiq monte carlo 1.0, for the past few months and I noticed in Q2 it was 1799 but now in Q3 it dropped to 1399, so prices can still fluctuate, but it’s just more rarer and random and not enough of a decrease.
September 30, 2024 at 11:39 am#289599
Injector
Participant
The Skoda Kodiaq went up a grand….
September 30, 2024 at 11:59 am#289600
NanasRob71
Participant
Ioniq wrote:
Inflation! Just watch where the prices go this quarter. The prices we paid 3 or 6 years ago will not return. But then again, the build quality, Tech and trim levels far exceed what was available 6 years ago. £1500 for a good car 3 years ago, is now £3000. For sure there will be cars at zero AP, but there will be less of them available. Its change, it is progress. Higher AP,s will be the new norm for quality vehicles. Oh…a packet of crisps for 10p….lol. Same with AP,s. Prices can only go higher, never lower….for everything.
Of course prices come down!
The Ioniq 5 is a prime example of this. 12 months ago they were going for around £7k, which dropped to around £2k (when I ordered mine in June). That’s creeping up again, but absolutely not ‘guaranteed’ to go up.
I joined Motability in the mid 90s, and I paid around £5k for a standard Renault Laguna. Crazy money, but that’s what it was. That would be around £10k now (according to the BofE Inflation calculator).
September 30, 2024 at 12:04 pm#289601
Glos Guy
Participant
Injector wrote:
Yes I realise I’d be paying a higher AP but I wondered whether I will lose my place in the queue and whether I will have to make a whole new order. I was thinking that perhaps the dealer could amend the current order.
It depends. As has been said, the ‘order’ with Motability has to be cancelled and the new model re-ordered, however that’s an admin thing that doesn’t affect the actual order, which is with the manufacturer. In some cases, especially if the new car you want is built in the same factory and on the same production line, if it hasn’t got to the stage in the order where specification is locked down, you might find that they can change it for you with no change to lead times. As an example, with our previous car (BMW X1) the dealer found a cancelled order for an M-Sport and switched it to an XLine for us. However, it depends on many things and only your dealer can advise on what is and isn’t possible as it varies by manufacturer and model. Worst case scenario is that they have to cancel and re-order with the manufacturer and you go to the back of the queue again. If you do this, ask the dealer if they have available build allocation slots for the new model. If not, it may be several months before they can even place the new order, and very few dealers are up front about this (hence the constant reports on this forum of wildly different lead times for the same model).
Just to correct a few responses to your other questions. AP increases are not solely down to inflation. Many APs have doubled, or even trebled, in recent years and inflation (or indeed car price inflation) would only account for a fraction of that. A Dealer Principal I know attended a meeting with Motability a few months back and was told that APs are increasing, and will continue to increase, primarily because Motability Operations are getting concerned about their level of exposure to the widely reported problems with used car prices of EVs. Every 1% in used car values costs them millions and, as we know, they have been pushing EVs hard. This is resulting in a hike in APs across the board, not just EVs
Also, it’s not true that APs only ever go up. Whilst the overall trajectory is upwards, they can, and do, drop and can do by significant sums. Often when a new model comes out and eventually joins the scheme, initial APs can be very high. There have been many examples where the APs drop significantly once initial demand has wained, or if the initial AP was ‘optimistic’. Countless forum members have cancelled orders or got dealers to amend to the lower AP when this has happened (there’s no reason why the dealer shouldn’t do this as it doesn’t affect what they receive for the order).
It’s not always new cars where the APs can drop. Here’s just one example. About the time that the facelifted Hyundai Tucson was launched the APs on all models dropped by £600. Many of us assumed that this might have been to clear pre-facelift models, prior to the APs going back up for the facelift model. However, the APs remained at the lower level for the facelifted model and, in fact, are still at those lower levels now.
So, in summary, whilst the trend in APs is rising by way more than inflation, there are always exceptions and most quarters result in some nasty hikes but also some reductions. If you know the car that you want, it’s always best to order before the new quarter. If the AP goes up you are protected. If it drops the dealer can amend or, if not, you cancel and re-order. However, if you hold off ordering and the AP goes up, there’s no way of avoiding it. Hope that helps.
September 30, 2024 at 12:50 pm#289603
BigDave
Participant
Looks like Fiat have updated their website with Q4 2024 prices:
https://www.fiat.co.uk/motability-offers
Click on ‘Discover More’ then select the model for the model list of Q4 Advance Payments.
They don’t publish it as a pdf.
Clear cookies if Q3 is still dispayed
September 30, 2024 at 1:12 pm#289606
NanasRob71
Participant
BigDave wrote:
Looks like Fiat have updated their website with Q4 2024 prices: https://www.fiat.co.uk/motability-offers Click on ‘Discover More’ then select the model for the model list of Q4 Advance Payments. They don’t publish it as a pdf. Clear cookies if Q3 is still dispayed
Interesting to be able to directly compare some prices.
For example, the
500e 87kW Red 42kWh 3dr Auto Hatchback will be £0 from Q4, but is currently (Q3) £499.
So yes, that’s a decent reduction.
September 30, 2024 at 1:40 pm#289607
Menorca Mike
Participant
Anyone staying up till midnight ?
September 30, 2024 at 1:46 pm#289608
Glos Guy
Participant
Menorca Mike wrote:
Anyone staying up till midnight ?
No point Mike. The days of the midnight price changes have long gone. It’s usually mid morning now. You might as well get your beauty sleep 😉
September 30, 2024 at 1:54 pm#289610
pauld
Participant
Very surprised no early AP prices released yet..Wander which car/price will flood the message board with numerous discussions,always 1 at least.
September 30, 2024 at 2:03 pm#289609
mattym129
Participant
Keen to see the new Mach-E prices.
I know I won’t be able to afford it still, but I can dream.
September 30, 2024 at 2:44 pm#289614
BigDave
Participant
Via a Honda dealership website, is Honda’s meagre 3 vehicle range for Q4 2024:
September 30, 2024 at 2:46 pm#289613
Rn94
Participant
I’ve had my car over 5 years now as they extended for us so excited to see the new prices
September 30, 2024 at 3:06 pm#289616
Shuffler3
Participant
Not looking forward to tomorrows price list from what I’m hearing 😡
September 30, 2024 at 4:54 pm#289630
scottishmw
Participant
Just spoke to my Ford dealer, new Explorer Premium with driver pack going up £1,800 to £6,295……very happy i ordered 2 weeks ago now.
September 30, 2024 at 5:39 pm#289634
Shuffler3
Participant
scottishmw wrote:
Just spoke to my Ford dealer, new Explorer Premium with driver pack going up £1,800 to £6,295……very happy i ordered 2 weeks ago now.
👍
September 30, 2024 at 7:38 pm#289648
Belf1
Participant
New price list from Skoda is available. SEL trim has been removed for the Superb hatch and estate.
https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/4065d377-9eaa-4032-8df7-dabd1e10947b