Car hire with disability adaption

[Thegoatfeeder]

Morning!

On a previous trip I booked a vehicle through Alamo and arranged for a left foot accelerator adaption for my trip through their disability service.

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, the desk at MCO had a record of my booking but not of the adaption request. I even showed them the email from their disability center confirmimg the request but still no success. Ultimately we got lucky because another provider at MCO did have an adaption kit that they lent to Alamo for my stay.

Basically I’m hesistant to make another booking with the same company and wondered if anyone here had any (good) experience hiring a car in the Orlando area that offer disability adaptions? If so, I’d love any recommendations.

 

[js]

Morning!

On a previous trip I booked a vehicle through Alamo and arranged for a left foot accelerator adaption for my trip through their disability service.

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, the desk at MCO had a record of my booking but not of the adaption request. I even showed them the email from their disability center confirmimg the request but still no success. Ultimately we got lucky because another provider at MCO did have an adaption kit that they lent to Alamo for my stay.

Basically I’m hesistant to make another booking with the same company and wondered if anyone here had any (good) experience hiring a car in the Orlando area that offer disability adaptions? If so, I’d love any recommendations.

Hi. When you mean "hiring a car" do you mean like an Uber?
I used Mears in February for my mom and they were able to send a minivan where she could put her electric scooter right in the back. They had a ramp and would put it in. I requested all the days prior to arrival and reconfirmed (early) every morning and they usually showed up on time.

 

[lanejudy]

When you mean "hiring a car" do you mean like an Uber?

I believe OP is maybe from the UK or Europe. Rental car would be the common term here in the US.

OP - I'm not familiar with requesting mechanical adaptations for driving a rental car. Please let us know what you find out and your experience. As PP mentions, if you have a mobility device to transport an accessible taxi or Uber may be an easier option.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

Sorry! I did mean a hire car, lost in translation .

Accessible uber would work, but we like to explore quite a bit so would be nice to have a car. I'll do some more digging and post some thoughts when i'm back!

 

[DisneyOma]

Morning!

On a previous trip I booked a vehicle through Alamo and arranged for a left foot accelerator adaption for my trip through their disability service.

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, the desk at MCO had a record of my booking but not of the adaption request. I even showed them the email from their disability center confirmimg the request but still no success. Ultimately we got lucky because another provider at MCO did have an adaption kit that they lent to Alamo for my stay.

Basically I’m hesistant to make another booking with the same company and wondered if anyone here had any (good) experience hiring a car in the Orlando area that offer disability adaptions? If so, I’d love any recommendations.

Why not rent a car from the other provider at MCO, the one that had an adapter available? Or would it be possible to purchase an adaptor and bring it with you? I have no idea what the adaptor you're talking about looks like, so perhaps it would be too heavy or bulky to bring with you?

 

[MS_Warrior]

I rented from this company once: https://www.wheelchairvansofflorida-orlando.com/

They were super nice. Unfortunately, my husband wound up in the hospital and we had to cancel our trip the night before. Even though they had a “no refund” policy, they man was kind enough to refund our fees without me even asking.

They will meet you at the airport with the vehicle.

 

[mamabunny]

Why not rent a car from the other provider at MCO, the one that had an adapter available? Or would it be possible to purchase an adaptor and bring it with you? I have no idea what the adaptor you're talking about looks like, so perhaps it would be too heavy or bulky to bring with you?

I think it’s something like this, which appears to require some modification to the vehicle (4 bolt holes drilled into the floor) and while there may be a “portable” version, I would imagine that might be so heavy that it could be cheaper to hire a car service for days outside of Disney than it would be to pay the luggage/shipping fees for something like that.

 

[Willow1213]

Enterprise/National indicates on their website that they can accommodate left foot accelerator at MCO with minimal notice. This is always my go-to rental company for superior service.

https://www.enterprise.com/en/help/customers-with-disabilities.htmlhttps://www.nationalcar.com/en/support/customers-with-disabilities.html

 

[SteveMouse]

Enterprise/National … This is always my go-to rental company for superior service.

Enterprise, National, and Alamo are all owned by Enterprise.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

Thanks so much for all the responses!

That device on Amazon is exactly what was fitted in the rental, I have the equivalent in my car here, but its a permanent fitting as opposed to being removable like that one.

To be honest, having looked at the prices of car rental at the moment, I might use Uber/Lyft/Taxi etc, might be cheaper! I am assuming they will have vehicles that can accommodate a portable ECV.

 

[Evita_W]

Thanks so much for all the responses!

That device on Amazon is exactly what was fitted in the rental, I have the equivalent in my car here, but its a permanent fitting as opposed to being removable like that one.

To be honest, having looked at the prices of car rental at the moment, I might use Uber/Lyft/Taxi etc, might be cheaper! I am assuming they will have vehicles that can accommodate a portable ECV.

Only a Taxi will. UBER AND lyft do not in Florida, unless something changed recently.

 

[SteveMouse]

If your ECV breaks down and fits into the boot of a car and you can lift and put the parts in than larger Lyft or Uber vehicles may work (the driver may help with lifting).

All taxis should have boots large enough to carry any ECV that can be broken into parts.

if you need a vehicle that is capable of taking your EVC without breaking it into pieces, you would need an accessible taxi. Mears operates a number in the Orlando area but there can be a wait, depending on demand and where you are.

 

[DisneyOma]

I think it’s something like this, which appears to require some modification to the vehicle (4 bolt holes drilled into the floor) and while there may be a “portable” version, I would imagine that might be so heavy that it could be cheaper to hire a car service for days outside of Disney than it would be to pay the luggage/shipping fees for something like that.

Wouldn't it fly free as a medical device?

Thanks so much for all the responses!

That device on Amazon is exactly what was fitted in the rental, I have the equivalent in my car here, but its a permanent fitting as opposed to being removable like that one.

The one on Amazon has holes for drilling/screwing it into the floor - so it is a drastic thing to do to a rental car if you are not going to make it a dedicated one for this device. It doesn't look like a portable version at all? Is there a portable version? It just seems to me if one is needed, it would make much more sense to bring a portable one, if one exists.

 

[mamabunny]

Wouldn't it fly free as a medical device?



The one on Amazon has holes for drilling/screwing it into the floor - so it is a drastic thing to do to a rental car if you are not going to make it a dedicated one for this device. It doesn't look like a portable version at all? Is there a portable version? It just seems to me if one is needed, it would make much more sense to bring a portable one, if one exists.

I know that for flights that *originate* and *terminate* in the US, yes, all adaptive, mobility and medical devices fly free. But, our new friend is flying in from overseas, so… that’s a question for the OP’s airline.

It would not be something that you could install yourself into a rental car - I merely posted the link because it looked like what I thought the OP was talking about - and it was!

 

[DisneyOma]

I know that for flights that *originate* and *terminate* in the US, yes, all adaptive, mobility and medical devices fly free. But, our new friend is flying in from overseas, so… that’s a question for the OP’s airline.

It would not be something that you could install yourself into a rental car - I merely posted the link because it looked like what I thought the OP was talking about - and it was!

Good point about the overseas issue!

The OP stated that the car rental place put one in that they got from another rental business - so they screwed one into the floor of a random rental car for the OP? That's what's not making sense to me; the one in the link is a really permanent one. Did the rental company drill holes and bolt the thing to the floor? If so, that's an awesome, but really drastic service. It really devalues the car for resale, etc.

 

[lanejudy]

Good point about the overseas issue!

The OP stated that the car rental place put one in that they got from another rental business - so they screwed one into the floor of a random rental car for the OP? That's what's not making sense to me; the one in the link is a really permanent one. Did the rental company drill holes and bolt the thing to the floor? If so, that's an awesome, but really drastic service. It really devalues the car for resale, etc.

I think you're getting hung-up in the details of the device -- that's really the business of the car rental agency as to how/where they install it. As a customer, I don't really care how they accommodate and if that results in a "devalued" vehicle or not, just that the agency lives up to it's promise to provide the accommodation.

Let's keep the thread on-track with regards to experience or recommendations about car rental agencies who provide adaptive equipment.

 

[Dashzap]

Morning!

On a previous trip I booked a vehicle through Alamo and arranged for a left foot accelerator adaption for my trip through their disability service.

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, the desk at MCO had a record of my booking but not of the adaption request. I even showed them the email from their disability center confirmimg the request but still no success. Ultimately we got lucky because another provider at MCO did have an adaption kit that they lent to Alamo for my stay.

Basically I’m hesistant to make another booking with the same company and wondered if anyone here had any (good) experience hiring a car in the Orlando area that offer disability adaptions? If so, I’d love any recommendations.

Please post if you do find a rental car company with that adaption available.

My son uses a left accelerator pedal. We share a car. So we have the removable one that snaps into the plate that is screwed to the floor of the car with four screws. The floor mat lies over the top of the plate when I'm using the regular right accelerator pedal and I never even noticed the plate is there.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

Please post if you do find a rental car company with that adaption available.

My son uses a left accelerator pedal. We share a car. So we have the removable one that snaps into the plate that is screwed to the floor of the car with four screws. The floor mat lies over the top of the plate when I'm using the regular right accelerator pedal and I never even noticed the plate is there.

Alamo definitely do it, its on their website. But as I said initially, there was a real breakdown in communication last time between their disability center and their rental service. Eventually I did get a vehicle with the adaption, but not without a couple of hours of hanging around and uneccessary stress!

 

[DisneyOma]

Please post if you do find a rental car company with that adaption available.

My son uses a left accelerator pedal. We share a car. So we have the removable one that snaps into the plate that is screwed to the floor of the car with four screws. The floor mat lies over the top of the plate when I'm using the regular right accelerator pedal and I never even noticed the plate is there.

Thank you for this info - so even the "removable" one needs to be bolted in place. That makes my suggestion to bring one impossible, oops!

 

[Dashzap]

Thank you for this info - so even the "removable" one needs to be bolted in place. That makes my suggestion to bring one impossible, oops!

Even if it didn't require the plate, a lot of cars and vans won't work with it if they don't have enough foot room. You need enough room to the left of the brake pedal for an accelerator pedal to fit.

We have a Honda Odyssey. We were shopping for a new one, and unfortunately the latest model has a foot rest for the drivers left foot, with no room for a left foot accelerator pedal. So we have to get something else. (I hate car shopping.)