Would you buy or rent a scooter if you were me?

[Bete]

I'm having a hard time deciding here. I thought all of you could help me decide.

The only scooter we want to buy will be $1279 total price. It's portable and it will fit in our trunk (large car) and we like it. We did a test run. We feel it can endure a Disney World trip. It's rated for 13 miles per charge and it has a 300pound capacity level. So, even though it's a portable one (breaks down into 5 pieces) it's pretty heavy duty. We are very good on turning the scooter off when we are not moving like for shows, parades, etc. We will probably average 12 hours a day in a park with eating all our meals in the park.

We are staying for 14 days. Most non-Disney scooter rentals will go for
$30/day; so, a rental would cost us $420 for our stay. Well, this is a third of the cost to buy one; so, I'm leaning towards buying one instead of renting one. The person using the scooter can manage without one on a daily basis at home.

We probably go for one vacation for a week in a year. This year is unusual. We do tend to go to places where a scooter would help this person for vacation. We do a lot of sightseeing places. Anyway, one week of a scooter rental is worth about $210. Based on this figure it will take us 4 more trips across 4 more years to break even after our Disney trip in December.

The scooter we are getting requires a once a week full charge whether you use it or not. To me, this is a little bit of a hassle.

Also, I feel this person will be okay over the next 4 years at home not to require the use of a scooter except for vacation.

I hate throwing $420 away on a scooter rental when it can make a heavy dent on buying one. We don't want a used scooter, either.

So, would you rent or buy?

 

[peemagg]

I'd buy one. You never know what might come up and having your own could be very handy. It might even open your world up to more things.

I know I am using mine more than I thought these days.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Just wondering, what is the make and model?

And also if you go to a large (indoor) shopping mall it will probably be useful there.

 

[SueM in MN]

regarding the weekly charging - there are power strips with timers that can be set to turn the power on once a week. That would take care of the 'charge it once a week question.'
If you truly would not be using it that much, it might also be possible to disconnect the battery when you will be doing longterm storage of it.

 

[Wants2Live@WDW]

Are you eligible to get one through your insurance? (DME clause on your policy). Maybe they could pick up the bill? Also, there are other places that have scooters that you would never think of (for example walgreens.com).

Whatever happens, I hope that you have a great time at WDW!!!

 

[Bete]

diabetic, has mild anemia, and he's overweight. It's not enough conditions to be covered by insurance. We wouldn't be able to take most trips because he doesn't have the endurance to walk or stand too long. He's 73. By the way, he can drive for 10 hours without a problem. Last year he went 14 hours driving with some pit stops for eats. I won't being doing 14 hours again, but it's amazing to me how he can drive and drive. He wasn't a truck driver ever and he doesn't drink any caffiene. He' s great for car vacations.

The scooter we want is a Pride Go Go Elite Traveller Plus 4 wheel scooter. It's the best size for our trunk. The next one up would be a hard fit for us. We are getting an extra year of insurance coverage on it, too included in the price. We get a gift pack as well for the scooter--probably worth $30 or so. I asked about disconnecting the batteries when not in use and I was told by a Pride customer service rep that it's not recommended; she did say that it helps to save the battery, but there's no guarantee.

I love the timer suggestion but I got the same response by Pride that it's not recommended to do this but I couldn't get an answer other than engineering says no. I think it's because they want a direct connection from their scooter charger to the electricity.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

With your response I think you are getting a good deal.

The representative may have misunderstood your question about disconnecting the battery. The battery pack actually has two batteries in it which are linked in the various circuits; you don't want to mess with these. However, when you lift up on the battery pack, such as when you disassemble the ECV, there are contacts on the bottom which mate with contacts on the ECV which then separate. When you leave the battery pack on the ECV there is always a minor current flow, even if turned off; when you remove the pack you do stop all flow.

Since the charger plugs directly into the battery pack, you can charge the battery even when not attached to the ECV. I cannot find anything in the literature which talks about the charging rate. However, there will be a data plate on the charge itself which gives the maximum amperage for the charger. Make sure that any timer, power strip, or extension cord has a higher amperage limit than on the charger itself.

 

[Bete]

With your response I think you are getting a good deal.

The representative may have misunderstood your question about disconnecting the battery. The battery pack actually has two batteries in it which are linked in the various circuits; you don't want to mess with these. However, when you lift up on the battery pack, such as when you disassemble the ECV, there are contacts on the bottom which mate with contacts on the ECV which then separate. When you leave the battery pack on the ECV there is always a minor current flow, even if turned off; when you remove the pack you do stop all flow.

Since the charger plugs directly into the battery pack, you can charge the battery even when not attached to the ECV. I cannot find anything in the literature which talks about the charging rate. However, there will be a data plate on the charge itself which gives the maximum amperage for the charger. Make sure that any timer, power strip, or extension cord has a higher amperage limit than on the charger itself.

and thank you for getting so in depth. The distributor feels a timer would be alright, too. I think the manufacturer is just protecting itself too much. I'm not sure if my warranty would be affected, but I think these suggestions are good ones. In a perfect world I understand where Pride is coming from but in the practical world we must do what we must do.

 

[LuckyMistletoe]

Hi Bette. My dad joined us for a WDW trip in February, so I faced the same decision that you are making and did a bit of research that I'll pass along.

First, here are two pages on Allears.net that I found invaluable for anyone renting or bringing a scooter to Disney. The most important points that we took away from this information is to practice "backing up" because you'll have to do it quite a bit (either getting into or out of the elevator for example). Having a basket was very helpful. Plus, we learned to bring a towel to keep on the seat so it doesn't get overheated while you are on a theme park ride or shopping. Here are the links:
Touring WDW in a Scooter, Part 1: http://www.allears.net/pl/wchair.htm
Touring WDW in a Scooter, Part 2: http://www.allears.net/pl/wchair1.htm
WDW Scooter FAQs: http://www.allears.net/pl/ecv_faq.htm

We decided to rent first, then buy later and I am glad we did. Since there were so many types/styles of scooters, renting first gave us the chance to "test drive" a scooter and see what features are most important to us. I am glad we did this, because here are the things we noticed:

1. The size, comfort and arms of the seat is very important if you are using it for several hours at a time. My Dad is 6'3" and the lower-grade models don't provide the same seat size and support of the higher-end models. The arms were too skinny and hard on the model we rented, too.
2. The amount of space at your feet varies per scooter and my dad has really big feet -- so this became an important feature in the ease of getting on and off plus the ability for him to move around a little and take some weight off his knees. So for us, we would have purchased a three wheel scooter if we hadn't rented first, and now we're getting a four wheel.
3. Charging convenience: Some scooters allow you to take off the battery and charge it in the room without taking the whole scooter into the room. This would be a nice benefit since the hotel rooms (and cruise cabins) don't have a lot of space to store your scooter. Also, sometimes we would have preferred to leave the scooter packed in the trunk for the night and have Dad walk into the hotel. If your model doesn't do this, then I recommend bringing a long extension cord that fits a three-prong extension cord with you so you can store the scooter in the hall while you are charging it.

Since we rented first, we decided to go with a little higher-end model to purchase. There are racks to put on the back of your car (like a bike rack) that can hold the bigger models if they don't fit in your car.

Whatever your final decision, I hope this helps you and you have a wonderful vacation!

 

[retired and happy]

We went through the same kind of thought process for our golf cart. It helps us transport our three special needs kids. We rented several times at the Fort, then decided we were giving away a lot of money we could use toward a purchase and have it whenever we needed it. We usually only take it if we are going to be some place for a week or so, but it really comes in handy, especially at the Fort. And it's paid for.

 

[Bete]

where I can get a scooter for two weeks for $239. The good thing about it, it's the exact model we want to buy. For this more affordable rental price, I think we will rent. It fits in our car trunk nicely and we will be going to Busch Gardens and other places where that will be important.

I'll report back on the rental place and the scooter when we get back late December.

 

[pooh2007]

We normally rent a scooter every trip for my husband, however; this last trip they had to deliver him a different scooter three different times due to flat tires and failure to operate twice. After this trip we just decided to order him his own scooter that the airlines will transport for us at no extra charge and we use the magic express and they will also transport it for us as well. We would rather have one we can count on then one that will break down on us every other day. In my opinion I think if you can manage it you would be better to purchase your own. Good luck with your decision.