Using the right mobility scooter can make such a huge difference in your life. It can mean the difference in not having to rely on friends and family for small shopping trips. It can mean independence where you had very little before. However, for this to happen it is very important to buy the right mobility scooter.

Here are some considerations to think about before buying your scooter.

Where will you be going in your scooter?

• Shopping – you may need to make tight corners around aisles in supermarkets. A smaller, compact or travel scooter will make this easy.
• To friends or family – is there space to park your scooter. Can you drive there and back easily using the battery power in your scooter?
• General use around town – will you need to use roads, or go up and down curbs?
• Further afield, maybe to the next village or town?

Will you be going alone, or with someone?

• It is no good getting a scooter that travels at 8mph on the road if someone is coming with you, but walking – they don’t want to be running at your side to keep up!

Where are the places you want to visit?

• Are you going to travel there on your scooter or do you need to put it in the car and drive there first? Can it be dismantled easily for putting in the car?
• If you are going to put it in the car, how heavy is it, can you dismantle it and put it in the car yourself, or will you need help?
• Compact scooters tend to be lighter, and are specially designed to be taken apart and pu in the car.

Do you want to travel longer distances?

• The larger 4 wheel scooters can travel further, and are more stable. How far you can travel will depend on the sort of terrain you are travelling on (are you doing to go up hills?) and how much weight the scooter is carrying (you and any baggage). It is not unreasonable to ask some larger heavy duty scooters to travel up to 30 miles on one charge though.

What is your mobility like?

• If you have any balance concerns, you might want a more stable 4 wheel scooter.
• Will you need any help transferring into and out of the scooter?
• If you use a walking stick, is there a walking stick holder on the scooter?
• Do you need plenty of leg room? The 3 wheel, full size scooters generally have the most leg room.

Where are you going to store your scooter?

• Do you have a garage, or space for your scooter, or  are you going to need to store it inside? Some of the more compact/travel scooters come apart into quite small pieces and can be stored in a cupboard.
  

Is it within your budget to buy 2 mobility scooters?

• If you have a garage or space for storage, you might want to consider a more robust scooter, for travelling out and about, and a more compact scooter that you can put in the car and use in tighter spaces like the shops.