Buying a Scooter - Common Pitfalls

1. The recommendation from Mrs Smith

Buy Mobility Scooter

Surprisingly often we get a phone call from a customer which begins "I'd like a suchandsuch scooter. Mrs Smith down the road has one and she's been very pleased with it".

Okay, that's great for Mrs Smith. Are you and Mrs Smith identical twins with the same mobility problem? Probably not. It's far more likely that Mrs Smith is much bigger (or smaller) than you and has a completely different disability. She probably has different accommodation, and wants to use her suchandsuch scooter to go to different places from the ones you want to go. Just because her suchandsuch has made her very happy, it does not mean it will be quite as suitable for you. You are an individual and you need to find the vehicle which is a perfect fit for you, which will be suitable for your particular house or flat, and which is right for going to the places you want to go.

2. The boot of my car

Here’s another typical call: "I'd like a scooter which will fit into the boot of a Nissan Micra" (or whatever other make and model of car the customer has).

Okay, so we've established you've got a Nissan Micra. Can you physically lift a scooter into the boot of your car? The chances are you've never tried. The heaviest piece of your scooter is likely to weigh around 15kg. Take into consideration not only the size of the parts, but also your own lifting capabilities.

If you can lift a car boot scooter easily, it is likely that you are quite large yourself. If you are six feet tall or weigh 18 stone, you need a scooter which is big enough to accommodate your size. If you need a scooter which won't fit into your existing car, then you need a different car! If you can't lift heavy objects then you also need a different method of getting your mobility scooter into the car ... that might be ramps or a hoist system. Don't switch off and tell us "I've only just bought this car". What use is that car to you if it won't do all the things you need it to do?

3. I just want the cheapest

Yet another typical call: "I'd like one of your cheapest scooters"

Okay, you'd like the cheapest thing we've got. Can we assume therefore that money is an issue and you haven't got an unlimited supply? You, least of all, can afford to go spending your limited resources on something which is not going to meet your needs. Going for the cheapest scooter might mean you spend several hundreds of pounds on something you just can't use. The idea of us supplying you with a new lease of life pleases us no end! But you wasting your money on a completely useless piece of kit benefits no-one. After all, once you are riding round on your new scooter or powerchair, and are completely satisfied with our advice, products, price and service, you’ll be happy to recommend our company to your family and friends.