BAD report of Buena Vista Scooters

[KPeveler]

I am sorry to say that I had a very poor experience with Buena Vista Scooters. I rented a powerchair from them (did not want to fly with my own) and it was terrible. They sent me a Jet 3 ultra which seemed to be in good condition.

It was IMPOSSIBLE to adjust! I travel with a tool kit and a pipe wrench to fix my manual if need be, and I needed it! I needed a pipe wrench, a second wrench, an allen wrench set, two people, and my flashlight to adjust it so i could use it. (i.e. headrest, armrest at the right height, etc)

And then when I take it out, the battery died after 5-6 hours! i got stuck at pop century, which is not even my resort! I called them, and they said it is new, so there would be no problem...

To make a long story short, it was new out of the box, and they never broke in the battery!!! So i killed the battery, probly forever! Eventually, after several days of trouble, it died on me at Epcot.

The replacement took 2-3 hours to get, and the chair they gave me was dangerous. The motors slipped, so i could barely steer, the headrest was broken, and there was no seatbelt! It was just dangerous.

I was supposed to have three days refunded, and they only refunded less than two days. I have been calling at least once a week, and I have no response....

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know... I suggest avoiding the company. Everyone but the guy in charge of refunds have been very nice, but it still did not work!

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry you had such s bad time, but glad for the report. It is surprising to me that they would rent out a power wheelchair and not plan to adjust it. Headrest is kind of important and the armrest height can make a jig difference in someone's ability to drive it safely.

 

[KPeveler]

It also took two of us an hour to get the footrest adjusted!

No one i have talked to has known what i was talking about when i said you have to break in the battery...

Its been 6 weeks, and i have yet to get a response.... not happy...

 

[KPeveler]

I put in a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Greater Orlando, since after 6 weeks of unreturned phone calls, I was sick of it. Turns out I am not the first to put in a complaint with them. And Buena Vista Scooter's "grade" with the BBB since October 2008 is a C-!!!

I recommend that people avoid this company if at all possible. So many people rent scooters, and their prices are not great, and they do not price match. They were the person I chose out of the few companies that rent powerchairs, but in the future, I am just going to fly with my own. I am to the point I cant be in a chair not made for me anyway.

I just wanted to post an update, and let people know what I found out through the BBB.

 

[JudithM]

Thank you for posting your experience with this company. I have always used Walker Mobility, but I have sometimes wondered about other companies.

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks, I put a link to this thread in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. Please post when and if you get any reply from them.

 

[KPeveler]

They finally refunded me the last of the three days worth of money yesterday (they may have done it a day before, but yesterday is when it hit my CC), but with NO phone call, NO apology, NO explanation... in short, NOT a good experience at all!

If you can avoid the company, I recommend that you do.

 

[mgaringer]

My experiance was just the oppisite. 3 trips ago I rented from Walkers and got a scooter that seemed to be a centuty old. I charged it all night and it died every day by 6PM. I had to carry the charger with me and it was huge (the size of a car battery charger) and plug it in during every evening meal. My wife and friends pushed me back to the resort several times. The last 2 trips I rented from Buena Vista and had a wonderful experience. I use a PRIDE scooter at home and it is by far the best brand with th best reputation and Buena Vista is the only rental company that rents PRIDE products. I charged it every night and when we returned to our room at midnight I still had half a charge. The PRIDE chargers are very small and compact but I didn't need to carry it with me. I very highly recemend Buena Vista Scooter Rental for both the excilent service and the excilent product.
Mike

 

[KPeveler]

My experiance was just the oppisite. 3 trips ago I rented from Walkers and got a scooter that seemed to be a centuty old. I charged it all night and it died every day by 6PM. I had to carry the charger with me and it was huge (the size of a car battery charger) and plug it in during every evening meal. My wife and friends pushed me back to the resort several times. The last 2 trips I rented from Buena Vista and had a wonderful experience. I use a PRIDE scooter at home and it is by far the best brand with th best reputation and Buena Vista is the only rental company that rents PRIDE products. I charged it every night and when we returned to our room at midnight I still had half a charge. The PRIDE chargers are very small and compact but I didn't need to carry it with me. I very highly recemend Buena Vista Scooter Rental for both the excilent service and the excilent product.
Mike

Perhaps they have improved since I rented there.

I am going to close this thread since it is an older thread (oh my goodness, have I really been married for almost 2 years!!!)