New car (and powerchair)

Emmylou_2

I'm coming into a little money soon, and am biting the bullet and buying myself a powerchair (and a new car, if the chair I choose doesn't fit into my Peugeot 206SW, plus hoist or other easy way I can load the chair myself into the car)

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd be looking about 3k for a chair and about 10k if it's a chair/car combo.

I'm not a FT wheelchair user but my mobility is becoming more limited (I *can* walk but it causes pain and random dislocations) and I'd like to use the cash I'm getting in a way that could mean I'm able to do more.

In terms of car, currently have a 54 plate Peugeot 206SW (2l diesel) and I LIKE it (apart from the fact that to change the bulbs on the off-side you have to contort yourself because the washer bottle gets in the way!). She gets 45 ish mpg around town and easily 60 on motorways, pulls away from lights etc nicely and is a reasonable price to tax and insure. I do short runs around town (although if I had a powerchair I may do more by public transport as I also have a bus pass), a couple of 60 mile round trips a month and a longer trip (200 ish miles each way) every couple of months.

Chorlie

Have you considered a scooter rather than a powered chair, they are cheaper and fold down so should fit into your car. If you can walk and don't really need a chair full time then a scooter is smaller & lighter to get in/out of a car.

Emmylou_2

Yes - I've considered it and pretty much decided against it. I find scooters really uncomfortable, having to lean forward all the time to use the controls, rather than just using a joystick. Part of my disability is easily dislocating joints (including my shoulders) and I just can't sit with my arms forward for a long period of time. I also want to be able to use public transport with it, and there's very few scooters that are public transport compliant.

As for getting in/out of the car, I'd either need a powered ramp or a hoist anyway. I struggle to lift more than about 5kg (due to joints popping out of place) so it's not as if I can chuck a scooter in the car but couldn't load a powerchair.

At the moment, money isn't an issue and I'd rather spend a little more to get something that suits me properly and will do me for the foreseeable future rather than save a little and get something that I can't use all the time

sunnyone

Emmylou wrote: »

Yes - I've considered it and pretty much decided against it. I find scooters really uncomfortable, having to lean forward all the time to use the controls, rather than just using a joystick. Part of my disability is easily dislocating joints (including my shoulders) and I just can't sit with my arms forward for a long period of time. I also want to be able to use public transport with it, and there's very few scooters that are public transport compliant.

As for getting in/out of the car, I'd either need a powered ramp or a hoist anyway. I struggle to lift more than about 5kg (due to joints popping out of place) so it's not as if I can chuck a scooter in the car but couldn't load a powerchair.

At the moment, money isn't an issue and I'd rather spend a little more to get something that suits me properly and will do me for the foreseeable future rather than save a little and get something that I can't use all the time

WAV shave never been cheaper or more available, how many seats do you need.

bigjl

I would probably go for something like a Renault Kangoo.

Have seen a few ex Motability ones with an autobox and they are cheap, though auto+petrol not that economical.

But they do a diesel one and an electric one aswell.

Chorlie

There are several WAV on eBay, some with less than 1000 miles.