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kickysnana

(3,908 posts)
Wed Jan 8, 2014, 02:38 AM Jan 2014

Looking for advice. I am going to need to get new Transportation in the next 24 months.

Currently I own a 92 Ford 150 Wheelchair equipped van. It is rusting away and I had to put about $2200 into last spring hoping to run it another 4 years but late this fall all of the gas dripped out of the rear tank from the top of the tanks. I normally park it Dec-Apr so I have to decide whether to put repairs into it or not. We also put $1200 into my Aunts 2006 powerchair because she was given a new one rather than fix hers. She cannot control the new one (and neither can I) and it puts pressure where she does not need pressure. The 2006 goes through a joystick/arm about once every 2 years. The new chair base is too long for the van lift.

I hate, hate driving that van. It has the spare tire hanging off the back and recent changes in my vision make accurate decoding of what I am seeing in the right side mirror problematic. It takes to long to figure out what I am seeing to be completely safe. If I turn my head so my left eye I can see I lose my sense of straight ahead on the road. Not good at all. It also only gets 11 mpg.

My Aunt has medivan rides through her medical insurance and did at first use the Metro Mobility van service until we got this van. It costs about $100 one cab way for a trip to any relative for holidays if we can get one. I looked into daily rentals of medivans but that was too expensive. I have not looked lately to see if there is any competition.

I have always had used cars but the repair costs for cars is now very high and I cannot even change a light bulb by myself, MS most of the time now.

We are in line to get an unheated garage which would allow me to use a smaller vehicle in the winter at least some. My driving range is about 60 minutes it would be used only one or two times a week usually within 15 miles. If cabs were not so disgustingly crappy here I might even try that for a while.

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