Wheelchair accessible vehicle?

[5456partner]

Hi, my husband has MSA and currently uses a lightweight foldable wheelchair, which I am just able to lift into our car. We really need to buy a newer car, but are a bit stumped as to what to do as my husband's needs may change and this could affect what type of car we need. I am already finding it hard to push him uphill in a wheelchair and we may need to look into buying an electric one, but that would then be too heavy for me to lift into the car. I suppose one option then would be to get a car which could have a hoist fitted to enable me to do this. Another option would be to buy a WAV, but this feels like a few steps ahead of what we need at the moment. Unfortunately he is not eligible for a motability vehicle as he'd just retired when he became disabled and is in receipt of his state pension, a real bummer! I suppose another option might be to lease a suitable vehicle then it would hopefully be easier to change it as his needs change. I just wonder what others may have done that's been a good solution in this situation? Any tips gratefully received. Thank you.

[Derkie54]

Hello,

Have you tried speaking to the helpful people at the MSA trust, they helped us determine what support we were entitled to.

We are in a similar position, I can lift my wife's wheelchair into the car but I'm struggling to get my wife in the car. She has no mobility at all and cannot support herself

We can and might have to go down the WAV route but have resisted up to now due to the increased cost and my wife's aversion to being in the back of a van.

What car are you thinking of, we have a Honda Jazz, the doors open wide which improves access. Also they have what they call magic seats in the back. These lift like cinema seats and you may be able to pop the wheelchair in behind the front seats, might be easier than trying to get it in the boot. If this might be suitable you could go to a Honda dealer and try it, that's what we did.

Hope you get sorted.

Take care

Derek

[5456partner in reply to Derkie54]

Thanks for your advice Derek, I don't really know what car we 're thinking of yet, just starting to think about it. I'll look into the Honda Jazz. Could be a good option.

[phamwales in reply to 5456partner]

Hi Derek

it was a 2011 Peugeot Expert Tepee 2.0 HDI

Bought in 2018 for £8900 from a dealer and sold in 2020 for £5800 privately. It wasn't a cheap solution but.... I m glad we did it.

The ramp and loading/ locking system was great and Gill was in my eyeline when driving.

[phamwales in reply to Derkie54]

hi Derek

my wife also didn't want to be in the back but we found a great version where the chair locked into the front passenger seat space. really glad I did it as it became her sole pleasure, getting out and being able to visit her favourite spots

best of luck

Peter

[Derkie54 in reply to phamwales]

Thanks Peter,

That seems to be a better solution.

What vehicle did you go for ?

[Paul_and_Sue_Wood]

Hi,

Good questions.

My Sue was posing me the same question some time ago and we noe have a hoist fitted to our private car.

Sue had her own electric foldable electric wheelchair which broke down into 2 pieces and fitted into the back of a car easily but after time the shakes and dexterity causes sue to crash a lot so we had to revert to a manual wheelchair.

The hoist system is the cheaper option to get sue in and out of the car about £3500. WAVs are costly to buy or lease.

I am sure you can buy an electric wheel chair you can control also.

Hope this helps.

Paul

[5456partner in reply to Paul_and_Sue_Wood]

Thanks for your advice Paul, I think I'll look into cost of hoists. Rosie

[Kaye31 in reply to 5456partner]

Can your OTnot organise a wheelchair and a grant to assist?

[AMBD in reply to 5456partner]

Don't buy new. We bought secondhand hoist from a chap who also fitted it. Saved a lot of money. This was good but shortly after had to change to a WAV. I know it's difficult to envisage but try to think ahead as to what your future needs will be. Courage. x

[Columbia_Rocky]

Hi, as said above, the MSA Trust will be able to give you advice on what to get to future proof your needs so as not to spend loads of money on something that very soon becomes unusable. And I know it’s the vehicle you’re asking about, and I don’t know what would be your best option there, but if you ask for a referral to the Occupational Therapist, they may be able to provide you with a suitable electric wheelchair to save you buying one. We are awaiting delivery of one, and we’ve only had to pay for the addition of a dual control as that isn’t standard, so it’s a sight lot cheaper than having to buy the whole thing. The OT service has also been great at provided equipment to help me get my husband about in the house.

[5456partner in reply to Columbia_Rocky]

Thanks Columbia Rocky, I'll try to talk to someone at the Trust. Our OT has just discharged us! Although of course we can re refer when we need to. They've been helpful in supplying the lightweight wheelchair and a riser recliner chair, but only provide an electric wheelchair if my husband needs it to get around in the house. Currently he uses a Zimmer frame which is usually ok unless he's feeling very unwell.

[Wythalbus]

I had a hoist fitted to the front seat of a Honda Jazz which enabled me to transfer my wife from a wheelchair in to the front passenger seat. Because the hoist was for a disabled person who was terminally ill I was able to purchase a new Honda Jazz VAT free saving 20% on the list price

All the best

Mike Bignell

[esj20 in reply to Wythalbus]

I never thought of the VAT free option, fantastic idea.

[calebsmum]

Hi

My husband also has MSA. Initially we paid to have the front seat of our car removed and replaced with an electric rotating seat which helped a lot. As his mobility has decreased, the NHS wheelchair service has provided him with an electric wheelchair free of charge. We had to pay for a ramp to get it in and out of the house. We have then purchased a WAV, which helps, but it is quite a lot of work to strap it in. We got a Berlingo, the chair is immediately behind the front seats as we didn’t want him in the ‘boot’. However he doesn’t particularly enjoy it, because he finds it hard to look out of the windows.

[5456partner]

Thanks calebsmum

[AMBD]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing! When we started on this journey our car was a Skoda Octavia which we had for some years. Due to difficulty in getting into the car we exchanged for a Skoda Yeti with much higher seats. This made life initially better. I was then able to put our mobility scooter, which came apart, into the boot. This then became too difficult for me and we purchased a secondhand hoist for it which was brilliant until David was no longer able to transfer from the scooter to the car. So, we part exchanged the Skoda for a Berlingo bought from a family company here in Leicester dealing only with WAVs. Of course we should have gone to a WAV straight from the Octavia.With hindsight we should have bought a WAV where the wheelchair fits in the passenger area as it's better visibility and more importantly less noisy. It was impossible to hold a conversation with David whilst driving. These vehicles are vans and noisy.

Sorry for long diatribe but hopefully you can take advice and save yourself some anxiety and money.

Sending best wishes and courage Alex

[5456partner in reply to AMBD]

Thanks Alex, I don't really like the idea of driving a van, I think I'll try and see if there are any cars that can be converted. May be difficult tho. Rosie

[AMBD]

A Berlingo is really a car but van shaped. I don't know whether you could get a WAV saloon. The reason it was noisy is that the floor had to be adjusted in order to install a ramp.Do lots of research. It's a costly business .

Good luck.

xxx Alex

[Terrier58]

Hi

We are a little bit further on than you and the last couple of years have had a Grand Tourneo 7 seater which gets everything in the back with the advantage of being low loading and sliding side doors. I have just exchanged for a renault master van with a wheelchair lift even though we are not quite at the power wheelchair stage yet. Its big and a bit clunky But the ease of putting stuff in and out is fab - I can stand up in it and lock down the walker / wheelchair without having to collapse them all the time and no lifting. It has made things so much easier. Would suggest talking to a garage like WavMob in Waterlooville who have lots of experience and lots of choice of different vehicles.

[5456partner in reply to Terrier58]

Thanks Terrier58 will look at tgose, may be a bit pricey for us though. Rosie

[Greenwatch]

Hi 5456

We had the same problem with being able to take my wife out ( who is in a wheelchair whenever we go out). We too couldn’t get motability and looked into all options. I didn’t like the idea of Anne being in the back whenever we were out and the fact that you loose boot space and possible rear seating. After much searching my daughter came across a Fiat Doblo with front passenger seat replaced with turning platform incorporating a ramp and wheelchair locking system. Yes it was more expensive but it means Anne is right next to me and we still have 3 rear seats and boot space. Although we wish we weren’t in this position this WAV has proved to be invaluable for being able to get out and take friends or family with us.

[5456partner in reply to Greenwatch]

Thanks Greenwatch

[Hidden]

My mum had MSA and wasn't diagnosed till she was 83 so way past qualifying for Motability etc. When she got to the stage of not being able to self-transfer into the car we looked at s hoist into the front seat but she didn't like the idea. We rented a couple of Renault Teepees from Allied Mobility for a week at a time, not cheap but allowed me to take her out and about. The service from Allied was very good. They are based in Glasgow and the Midlands and do vehicle conversions and sales as well. After some bad experiences with hospital transport (she lived 20 miles from the hospital on country roads and she was often sick by the time we arrived) we decided to buy our own WAV. We bought a Citroen Berlingo but largely because it was the nearest available in a local garage. I would say it is slightly narrower than my ford focus and slightly longer. In all cases we went with a van where mum sat in the centre back, again because that was what was available. Because the vehicles are converted small commercial vans we found they had a sort of parcel shelf just above the windscreen. The Renaults were done in such a way that the floor of the van was all level but mum being tall couldn't see well out of the front because of the shelf. The Citroen was originally converted by a firm called Blaze in Somerset and the floor was dropped and she was able to see much better out of that. As others have said we had trouble talking to each other while driving with her in the back. But we liked the sliding side doors that meant she could feel the air if we stopped anywhere for a view. Mum and I are on the large side, the van didn't have a winch but because of the way the front straps lock as you wheel the chair in it worked ok. We bought a 10 yr old van and back then most of the conversions were diesel, as ours is. Newer ones are petrol. I live in London and registered the car here although we kept it at mum's in Oxfordshire. It is not compliant with the new ULEZ expansion which wouldn't have been a problem for us but if it had been registered in mum's name here in London then we would have qualified for a £5K scrappage allowance because she got attendance allowance. Hope that all helps. Sadly mum died just a few days ago so ours is now for sale, I will put it on the sales forum shortly.

[5456partner in reply to Hidden]

So sorry to hear of your loss. It's a difficult time when you lose a parent, I hope you have peace as she does now. THanks for your advice.

[Tupptill]

Regarding your wheelchair. We have a lightweight manual one as it was the only one I was able to lift into the car. I have now got a power pack I fit on to it and it is much easier now for pushing uphill etc

[5456partner in reply to Tupptill]

Our OT and wheelchair services here don't recommend we have a power pack fitted as I have 2 knee replacements and would find it too difficult getting down to fit and remov e it when I want to put the wheelchair in and out of the car. They say they're phasing them out as a lot of people struggle with them.