[spider]

I am trying to buy a power wheelchair for my wife and have discovered that this little slice of the retail market is highly resistant to shopping.

A trip through the market on the 'net reveals a wide variety of models and prices, lots of photos and specifications but it seems that you are not allowed to see or touch one until you have selected and paid for it through a salesman. On a recent swing through the premises of the largest local advertisers on the 'net I was stared at as an alien because I actually wanted to see or touch one or more of the products they advertise. I was informed rather haughtily that these devices were too expensive to place on a showroom floor to which I replied that the car dealer down the road had at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of product on his showroom floor and millions more in the back lot.

In case you don't know, power wheelchairs start at about a thousand dollars and escalate quickly into the ten thousand dollar range as you would expect when most if not all of the sales are subsidized at a rate of 75% by the Provincial government.

Any suggestions?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Have you tried Motion Specialties? I think they may have actual ones at the showroom.

AoD

 

[nfitz]

Is there a used market for them?

 

[canmark]

I use a power wheelchair (a Permobil M300) and I think the reason you don’t find demo models around is that chairs need to be customized for the individual. Also, you need to be very careful about getting the right type of chair, cushion, drive mechanism, control device, etc., particularly if your wife’s condition may change over time. You will need the help of an occupational therapist for this. Reputable dealers (for example, Shoppers Home Healthcare, Motion Specialties; I used Shoppers) can arrange for you to receive a demo model from the manufacturer. In my case, the Permobil rep brought a chair to my house and I was able to use it for about a month a trial basis.

I think my chair ended up costing $23,000, although about 75% of that was paid by ADP (assistive devices program) and another portion was paid by my health insurance (I’m on long-term disability from work, but still retain my health insurance).

If your wife is not already registered with CCAC (community care access centre), I would recommend that you do so. The care coordinator can arrange for an occupational therapist to come to your house and make arrangements for a vendor to come over and provide information about power wheelchairs. Working with the occupational therapist and vendor, you will learn about different wheelchair types, discuss your wife’s needs (now and in the future), and they will take all sorts of measurements so that the chair, cushion, armrests, foot rests, etc. are appropriately sized.

It’s very important to test out the chair not just for comfort, but so that your wife is able to drive it around your house, in and out of the house (if you have stairs you will need to get ramps), and any other place you may want to go. Test drive it around your neighborhood. Try going to a mall, a restaurant, a movie theatre. I found that you learn a lot about accessibility on-the-fly, but it’s best to make yourself aware of these things before you actually purchase the chair. Some types of chairs are more maneuverable, some are better at handling bumps and uneven ground, some can go ahead a faster speed, some have more features (tilt, recline, vertical elevation)… These and other things your wife should consider in consultation with the occupational therapist.

The process of getting the power wheelchair may take some time, but it’s well worth it as your wife will be spending a lot of time in the chair and you want to have the best type of chair and configuration for her.

 

[spider]

Have you tried Motion Specialties? I think they may have actual ones at the showroom.

AoD

Tried them thanks, lots of chairs on their web site but no chairs in their showroom. They didn't understand why a customer would want to look at the materials and workmanship in a $10,000 product without paying for it first.

 

[spider]

Is there a used market for them?

Not much because many parts, seats etc, tend to be attached to fit the customer.