Buying A Scooter

Be very careful when deciding where and how to buy a mobility scooter.

Adverts have been appearing for sales professionals in the national press, offering a £5,000 signing-on bonus and potential earnings of £150,000+ a year! For selling you a mobility scooter!

There are also unscrupulous sales organisations that get hold of machines direct from the manufacturers abroad, then offer them in the newspapers as 'ex-demo' models or 'used once'. They're a lot cheaper than the recommended retail, but who's going to mend them and where do they get the parts from?

So look for a reputable dealer and find the right scooter for you. Make sure that it will do everything you want to do with it, that you can store it comfortably at home and that there are no obstructions like steps to prevent you from taking it beyond the confines of your property.

As for price... the prices quoted are usually far in excess of what you really need to pay. For example, the Shoprider Cadiz (pictured) has a manufacturer's recommended retail price of £2,625, but if you shop around you can get it for less than half that.

If you're looking to pay as little as possible, you're better off paying by cash or cheque and not using the Motability scheme which uses part of your Disability Living Allowance if you're entitled.

Motability

I needed a mobility scooter for years, but couldn't afford one through Motability, the government-accredited charity that was set up to help disabled people get mobile by making the most of their benefit money. I thought: "They must provide the cheapest way to get one, and if I can't afford one from them, there's no point in looking anywhere else."

Boy! Was I wrong! If you went through Motability to buy a scooter like the Shoprider Cadiz, the cost increased from £2,625 to £3,010 plus interest charges over three years totalling £3,831.36.

When eventually I got wise and shopped around, I found companies willing to sell the same model, brand new, delivered and with a guarantee, for less than a third of that! So, in October 2004 I started campaigning to expose the huge difference in prices charged by different companies, especially when you go through the Motability scheme rather than paying cash.

Apart from pressurising Motability and route2mobility (the company that operates their Powered Wheelchair and Scooter Scheme), I initiated an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, and encouraged Private Eye to make enquiries, but nothing changed.

Finally I was interviewed by the BBC and they contacted Motability for their side of the story. Within a matter of days, Motability expressed their intention to announce plans to change their pricing structure!

From 1st July 2005, it was reported that there would be:

Price reductions in the Hire Purchase scheme for powered wheelchairs and scooters of up to 27% (£1,100), with a typical reduction of £500. A zero % APR facility has also been introduced for one year agreement periods.
A new Contract Hire package that offers a powered wheelchair or scooter, plus all the associated services that are typically bought separately, including insurance, breakdown cover, extended warranty and even replacement batteries and tyres – all for one single monthly payment. Customers will receive a comprehensive initial assessment to ensure they get the right product and if their needs change during the life of the agreement, for example as a result of a progressive disability, they can switch to something more suitable.

However, it will still cost you at least £2,100 if you buy a Shoprider Cadiz through Motability using your Disability Living Allowance over one year (even more if it's over two or three years). And you can still buy exactly the same machine from a perfectly reputable company for half that price if you don't use your benefit and pay cash instead.

If you need independent advice, you are welcome to get in touch with me by e-mail.

Footnote: Comparison of prices thanks to Motability and UK mainland dealer LONDON MOBILITY Tel: 0208 873 0286 www.london-mobility.com

Mobility Scooters Info