What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[Lord Sterling]

What else might you have been up to unknowningly then Lord S?

 

Who knows what with being the Lord of the manor, being invited to all sorts of dinner parties and having access to booze. I did hear something about visiting a French maid finishing school

 

I also hear that I buy ships and restore them or something along those lines. I really hope they dont find out that I'm merely a warehouse worker that drives an old Rover.

 

" The average car on the Scheme has a Recommended Retail Price of £19,500"

 

We are very generous I like to think.

[autofive]

isnt there a tax incentive if buying a car through the scheme?

 

im sure i remember reading about certain people getting several mercs through the scheme then promptly selling them on for huge profit

[retrogeezer]

You don't buy a car, you just sign over the £40 odd quid a week on a lease type basis.

 

And it does seem daft that you can get stuff like an MX5 on the scheme...most able bodied folk struggle to get into one of them so why a disabled person would want one I've no idea.

[scaryoldcortina]

They are cutting down on the VAT fiddle aspect of the motability scheme, by the look of it - cars supplied to motability customers count as a disabled aid and as such are zero rated for VAT. This meant that rich folk with an elderly relative (often living miles away) were claiming luxury and sports cars as motability vehicles and saving rather a lot in tax compared to lease hiring the same car in the normal way. I think that is also the reasoning behind the max £2000 advance payment as well - If you want a better car than a base model corsa (for example) you can get one by leaving a deposit related to the value of the car you want.

[Mat.T]

Chauffeur/Usher dutys on saturday

[retrogeezer]

^^"Who are you to judge?"

 

no judging in my post!!

 

And the advance payment is not a deposit, you do not get it back after the 3 years are up.

[warren t claim]

I fail to see why the high off the ground Nissan Cashcow is suitable for disabled people.

[retrogeezer]

I fail to see why the high off the ground Nissan Cashcow is suitable for disabled people.

 

Is that a serious question?

[warren t claim]

I fail to see why the high off the ground Nissan Cashcow is suitable for disabled people.

 

Is that a serious question?

Yes it was! MUTHA_CLAIM had a stroke 18 months ago and has trouble getting into anything MPV sized.

 

She's not eligible for a mobility car because she doesn't shop at Wilkinsons or frequent the local Buckingham Bingo even though she can't walk more than a few paces at a time.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Often a tall car is a lot easier for someone who's not very mobile innit, getting out especially.

[andrew e]

Thats what we use our (ex-mobility) Zafira for ferrying my 82 year old Nan and my Aunt about. However thats a £14,000, where as the ex-mobility car I have just purchased was £23,700 new... do you need anything more than a Picanto or a Fusion?

[retrogeezer]

Exactly bollox, my dad* is 14 stone of dead weight that my 12 stone mum has to lift up from a wheelchair and get into a car. It's hard enough turning him 90 degrees to get his ass in the right place for a car seat let alone trying to hold his weight to lower him down into a 'normal' car. A high mpv is pretty much essential in that the seat is the right height and he can sit then pull his legs in/twist around a bit himself.

 

And bear in mind that my mum does this at least 4 times every day, my mum is pretty frickin amazing tbh.

 

* my dad can't walk at all and is blind

 

 

because she doesn't shop at Wilkinsons or frequent the local Buckingham Bingo

 

I'll pretend I didn't read that comment.

[andrew e]

I'm sorry the scrootes are going to bugger things up for you fella, your mum should be an example to the feckless limpets.

[retrogeezer]

do you need anything more than a Picanto or a Fusion?

 

of course you do, what do you expect people to do with their wheel chairs/mobility scooters, tow them along behind their cars or something?? Plus all the other stuff a disabled person might need? They don't just put as coat on and walk out of the door.

[Lankytim]

I bagged a mega cheap Volvo 740 because the disabled owner kept twatting his head off the roof when getting in and out, so I can see the advantages of something like a Zafira.

 

In other news, just put an offer in on a house! Its a bit low but we'll see what happens. I'm very excited about it anyway!

[tonedepear]

In other news, just put an offer in on a house! Its a bit low but we'll see what happens. I'm very excited about it anyway!

 

Good luck!

[eddyramrod]

In defence of the tall car: when my parents developed arthritis they found that most cars were a bit low for them. Getting in and out was painful, sometimes very much so. That all changed in 1989 when I offered to swap their 1975 Dolomite for my 1981 Lada estate. They took it, and subsequently had 4 more Ladas and a Polonez, all of which I drove regularly. These things were a few inches higher than the likes of a Dolomite, just enough to make the difference. Suddenly they could get in and out with relative ease. I'm sure they would have loved a Zafira or Picasso, or even a PT Cruiser.

[M'coli]

Regarding the MX5 thing, there are some mobility people who may have no difficulty getting in and out of a car but may be amputees or MS sufferers, for example. If they fancy a hand-control adapted sporty job, why not?

[scaryoldcortina]

aye, my parents recently got a focus to replace their octavia because they found my sister's focus much easier to get in and out of. They aren't disabled, but are getting on a bit.

 

Mrs S *should* have a high up easy to get into car but she doesn't because she dislikes modern cars so much. I mean, she owns a healey sprite and the only motability car she ever got was a mini so gr2 for both access and carrying the wheelchair.

 

M'coli, that was the point of being able to spec your own vehicle - all disabled people are different. Motability came about to replace the Invacar and provide transport for people who needed it. it's just a shame so many see it as "free new car for the family" instead.

[Alexg]

Ken Block - Autoshite style

 

[lancashireclamper]

I suppose that disability doesn't really come in a one size fits all package, in other words,

"YOU ARE DISABLED YOU NEED A ZAFIRASSO"

My Mum died 3 years ago, (3 years and 5 days to be precise) and benefited from the Motability scheme, first car was a Pug 206 which suited her and my Dad fine, her condition worsened and when the 3 years was up they chose a Citroen Berlingo which was great for getting in and out of but very uncomfortable (for her) once inside, they looked at lots of different cars before deciding on that one but reckoned the Berlingo to be the best, only the passage of time proved it to be unsuitable and led to speculation a Picasso may have been better (I borrowed one to pick them up from a disastrous coach hoilday once and they both thought it was brilliant but didnt consider on mobility as the Berlingo was exactly what they wanted, or so they thought, hindsight is a wonderful thing)

Don't suppose you know what is right for you till you have lived with it long term.

[retrogeezer]

Regarding the MX5 thing, there are some mobility people who may have no difficulty getting in and out of a car but may be amputees or MS sufferers, for example. If they fancy a hand-control adapted sporty job, why not?

 

I think the clue is in the name of the scheme 'motability' If you are mobile enough to walk around unaided and cover some distance you don't 'really' need a motability car. You then get people (poss like mutha-claim) who need one and can't get one.

 

The scheme is wide open for misuse. The new 5 mile thing is ridiculous...if anything, the nominated driver should live MORE than 5 miles away so they can't just nip around and borrow the car when it suits....I mean living 180 miles away I am hardly likely to to be running around in my parents mobility car am I!

[warren t claim]

Sorry for my offensive remarks.

 

I used to live in an area plagued by cripples of convenience who knew how to work the system for all it's worth. I'm talking about people who were on incapacity but could also manage to landscape their gardens and re-roof their houses.

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------Cut out and keep apology-----------------------------------------

[lancashireclamper]

Don't think anyone found your observations offensive Warren, well I certainly didn't surely everyone knows the type of claimant you speak of and feels the same way about them.

The system is abused by the minority to the disadvantage of the deserving majority (sorry, sounding a bit like Norm there) but thats just the way of things, the new 5 mile rule may deter misuse of vehicles but the scrotes who don't think twice about abusing the system will find a way round it, the genuine carers who live 5.1 miles away will suffer, as will their relatives, wish I could suggest a solution but I can't.

(Retires to a safe distance to read Daily Mail )

[autofive]

edl fucktard

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbsM2HXu ... re=related

 

[trigger]

One of the funniest threads I've read over on RR, i think the overused word "FAIL" is relevant here.

 

www.retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi? ... 059&page=1

[mattblack]

O/H is watching 'The Hotel Inspector' in the other room, I've just heard Alex Polizzi say to the woman that owns the hotel "Your batter is amazing"

 

Made me guffaw, it did.

[Cavcraft]

One of the funniest threads I've read over on RR, i think the overused word "FAIL" is relevant here.

 

http://www.retrorides.proboards.com/ind ... 059&page=1

 

 

Full 'arse on plate' handage to the owner

[Pete-M]

[dollywobbler]

Give it a rest Norm. I think given what a POS that Mini was, and that the bloke trying to rave about it was actually trying to sell it, that their response was absolutely spot on. Stuff hypocrisy for once!