How to buy a used mobility scooter

You can now buy a perfectly good used mobility scooter for £150 to £250 on Ebay or Gumtree.

There is a market now, similar to that for used cars, with thousands of them for sale. This means far more people can now afford to buy one. You can buy a standard model for £150 to £250, or buy a top of the range model with very little usage for £400 to £700. If you buy a new one, beware. The depreciation is immediately 40% or more of the new price. If you buy a used one for £200, you can sell it for the same if you don’t use it.

Mike Salisbury has recently written the Kindle  ‘Guide to Buying and Using a Used Mobility Scooter’ to help you take advantage of this market

Getting someone used to the idea of a mobility scooter

People can be reluctant to use or be seen on a mobility scooter, in the same way that some people won’t use a walking stick, even though it might stop them having a fall. The best way to encourage them is to get them to talk to people who have already got one – they are usually enthusiastic about them and will give advice about buying one. Driving one in a supermarket, or somewhere like Ikea, is a good way to try one, without it becoming a big deal. Advantages to promote are that you are not going to trip and fall when sitting on a scooter and it has a basket to carry the shopping.

Possibly the best use for scooters is to be able to go for an outing with the family in a country park or similar and to be able to keep up with everybody. This can be a great experience. Most public spaces now have plenty of mobility friendly tracks

Having a go with a mobility scooter

Scooters are surprisingly easy to use. As with buying a car, it is sensible to try out a few different types to decide what is going to be suitable for your needs. Try it yourself – even if you are buying one for someone else. You will learn a lot by taking it for a proper drive yourself.

Option 1: The easiest way is to try one in a supermarket. A lot have Shoprider Sovereign type models.

Using a Sovereign

Option 2:  rent one for a few days from your local Shopmobility service or similar local charity, or a scooter shop. Shopmobility charge about £1 per hour going to the shops or £30 for a week. This immediately raises the issue of how to transport it home, and therefore, if it is one of the models that can be easily taken to pieces. If it does, no problem, otherwise you may need a van or estate car and a ramp (which you may also be able to hire) to get it home.

Deciding what type of mobility scooter you need

You need to decide how you are going to use and store it. There are plenty of online guides to understanding the different scooter types, and choosing one that meets your needs. These are very informative, such as Rica or Clearwellmobility

Transportation requirements for a mobility scooter

One of the key questions is whether you will need to transport the scooter by car, e.g. if it is too far to ride it to the shops. So called ‘boot scooters’ are designed to separate easily into several pieces that fit in a car boot. This is the usual case with recent Mini sized, scooters, e.g. Pride GoGo / Kymco Mini. If it doesn’t come to pieces, you’ll need a van / estate car and a ramp to take it home if you can’t ride it there.

Using mobility scooters on Buses, trams and trains

People may not be aware that there is an overall initiative that you will be able to take scooters on buses, either now or in the near future, with a permit scheme. See Rica or your local bus company website for details. If you want to go on buses, the scooter has to be 1m long or less.

The different types of mobility scooter

Scooters come essentially in small, medium and large, or in their parlance mini, mid-sized and full-sized/ road-going.

The most important distinctions between scooters are:

1. Overall size – Mini,  Mid or Full-size
2. Whether it separates into carry-able pieces, which can go in a car boot. The weight of the heaviest part can vary from 15kg on a mini, to 30kg for a large scooter
3. Tyre size, commonly 6-8 inches for Minis, 10-12 inches for Midis and more for road-going. (and whether solid vs. pneumatic tyres) Large pneumatic tyres give a much better ride over bumps and rough tracks.
4. Speed 4mph or 8mph
5. Three or four wheeled – three wheelers are not recommended

Buying a Used Mobility Scooter

The main markets are Ebay and Gumtree. A smart buy on Ebay and the use of sniping software (all explained in the guide) may mean you getting something for £250 rather than £450. Experienced users of Ebay will know that you can often buy things for 20 to 30 percent of new price. (The sold listings will tell you what things actually sell for.) There is far less to go wrong on a scooter than on a car. There is essentially just a battery, a motor and a controller.

The essential mobility scooter buying dilemma

There is an essential dilemma with scooters, that may not become apparent until after you have bought one and then find it is not suitable:
1. The small take-apart ‘booters’, although marvels of design, have small solid wheels which give quite a jolt going over even small level changes. You will probably not find them suitable, long term, for going any distance on normal pavements or to parks etc.

2. A mid-sized scooter with 10inch pneumatic (tubed) tyres will go over the same bumps without you feeling it and generally give a much smoother ride. Unfortunately a lot of standard mid-sized scooters do not dismantle, which can give you a big problem with transportation. .

The most versatile option, therefore, is a scooter with decent wheels, which takes apart easily like a ‘booter’. Finding these versatile models among the large numbers of standard boot scooters and non-dismantling mid-sized ones will give you a much better outcome