First I must say I do not have access to Motability. I always worked from home and did not get into serious difficulties with my mobility until relatively recently, after I was 65 - so no DLA ; no Motability.
I need a machine that will enable me to go for "walks" when I have driven somewhere. I am fed up with not being able to go round gardens or galleries. I do not have the hand/arm strength to use a manual wheel chair.
I have to be completely self-sufficient. I live alone and have nobody to come and help me to get a wheelchair in and out of a vehicle. A dismantle-able scooter is not an option, as I don't have the strength to take it apart - or lift the components. I shall need a hoist to load the chair into the car.
My Occupational Therapist gave me the contact details of a charity (though I shall be self funding) which helps people find the right wheelchair. I waited nine months to be assessed. The Wheelchair Lady decided a power chair would be more suitable for me than a scooter, and after another six weeks we visited the "local" showroom 40 miles away. There was only one chair there (Kymco K-aktiv) that could cope with outdoor conditions where I could also fold down the back rest myself. Another, potentially suitable power chair ( Invacare Fox) wasn't in the showroom at the time.
After yet another six weeks I am awaiting a visit from the Wheelchair Lady with the two power chairs so I can try out how they perform in real life, and whether they'll cope with my gravel. I need accurate measurements of the folded down height (ground to armrests), as that will be critical for fitting into a vehicle. I have been given two different measurements for the Kymco, so must check for myself.
The Wheelchair Lady gave me the details of a car adaptation firm which no longer exists, so after looking up alternatives myself and talking to them, I have provisionally chosen the one which has actually bothered to come out to me and let me try out a real hoist. In advertisements getting your chair in and out is "easy" - it is always done by someone able-bodied.
The control pad for the hoist needed a degree of thumb strength I simply didn't have, and the clips were hard to use. I had to lean on the car for balance. I am now awaiting a second visit so I can try their alternative controls and "easier" clips.
Meanwhile I have been shown a "ride-in" Berlingo with a snazzy ramp which I couldn't climb up or down - even with both crutches - to fold it up and get round to the driver's seat. I think the wheelchair user is really supposed to be a passenger.
I have looked at a Vauxhall Zafira which might do, though the height of the opening at the back is critical. I currently have an Astra hatchback, so the controls would be familiar. The man who showed me the hoist said a Grand Picasso was better. I know nothing about cars, and need something reliable, and preferably not too huge. I do have visitors sometimes so would like to be able to take two passengers.
Will the power chair (from floor to arm-rests) obscure my view from the rear-view mirror? (Logicman - I have not come across anything with a lowered floor)
If I buy a new car and get it adapted before it's registered in my name, it will be VAT free. The Wheelchair Lady did not know this. I don't think she's ever met anyone who wasn't eligible for Motability.
But if I want a new one I will probably have to wait four or five months. I thought car showrooms were absolutely stuffed full of new cars , but apparently not fully-automatic ones with a finger-operated hand brake. I can't take a manual car for a test drive.
The thing that is making me so weary and frustrated is the fact that I am having to find out almost everything for myself. A friend said I should just ask someone who already has a power chair, but I don't know anyone - so I'm asking you !
I am in Scotland, well north of Edinburgh, and am not used to motorway driving, so please don't suggest visiting a wonderful showroom in Birmingham or anywhere else inaccessible to me.
