Tell me about Buena Vista scooters

[Simba's Mom]

I just came back from WDW and my second rental from Walker. They were fine, but I'm thinking of using Buena Vista next time for 2 reasons-for one thing, we were at OKW and staying at South Point, and when it came time to get my scooter, I had to get myself to the Hospitality House. Then after I returned my scooter, I had to figure out how to get back to my building. The other big reason I'm thinking of switching is that my scooter had a lever I had to push with my thumb/fingers to go. I saw a couple BV scooters, and their handle appeared to be more integrated into the handle, meaning you grabbed it and pulled toward the handle to go. I hope my description is OK. I asked one person who said she thought Buena Vista was expensive.

 

[powellrj]

I have used them and they were fine. I didn't find them anymore expensive than any other company. I would use them again.

 

[mamabunny]

@Simba's Mom The different kinds of throttle controls are actually decided on by the manufacturer of the ECV, but if Buena Vista rents the kind/brand of ECV that has a more comfortable control for you, then I think that's important.

A couple of years ago, I dislocated my finger right before we were leaving for WDW, and I had to "buddy tape" the fingers on that hand, which of course was the throttle hand! I was so glad I had put the Crampbuster on my personal scooter - I was able to just rest the heel of my hand on the Crampbuster and go. We have a member of our extended family who refuses to buy her own ECV, but takes along a Crampbuster in case she winds up with a rental that has the "twist" throttle style (like on a motorcycle)

As far as Buena Vista goes, my overall impression of them has been pretty positive on this forum. Yes, there are folks here who have had some issues with them, but you have to remember how many THOUSANDS of scooters get rented in Orlando every week! That, plus the very human tendency to gripe to everyone you know if something goes wrong... but just go merrily on the way if everything was great... means we often don't hear the "No problem, everything worked fine, was happy with the company" stories.

Unless it's super over-the-top more expensive, you might calculate that additional cost per day of Buena Vista vs. Walker, and decide that you could give up a wee bit of shopping, or maybe just cut back on your Starbucks while you are at WDW, and be more comfortable (and therefore, more happy!)

 

[GranJan]

I just came back from WDW and my second rental from Walker. They were fine, but I'm thinking of using Buena Vista next time for 2 reasons-for one thing, we were at OKW and staying at South Point, and when it came time to get my scooter, I had to get myself to the Hospitality House. Then after I returned my scooter, I had to figure out how to get back to my building. The other big reason I'm thinking of switching is that my scooter had a lever I had to push with my thumb/fingers to go. I saw a couple BV scooters, and their handle appeared to be more integrated into the handle, meaning you grabbed it and pulled toward the handle to go. I hope my description is OK. I asked one person who said she thought Buena Vista was expensive.

If you're renting often & have difficulty getting around after returning the rental, you might be better off buying one. Flying with them is no problem & there are several that can be disassembled to fit in a car. You'll find it comes in handy at home for outings that require lots of walking.

 

[Starwind]

one of the reasons I like Buena Vista so much is exactly because of their tiller design -- the mechanics of how you make the lever move to make the ECV move is so much easier for my hands than the thumb-driven design that the Walker scooters use. The Walker scooter I had for my first rental made my hands HURT pretty quickly. With Buena Vista, because their have a different design, I did not have that problem.

The cost was comparable between the two.

SW

 

[Gilrond]

I have used them 3 times and am about to do so again. I had a problem once with a scooter that wouldn't hold a charge but they replaced it right away. They are always pleasant to deal with.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks all. I liked Walker, and was reluctant to change. But I feel better now.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Thanks all. I liked Walker, and was reluctant to change. But I feel better now.

Just wondering how your experience with Buena Vista ended up being and how you like the controls. We leave in a week and are renting from BV this time instead of Walker. Nervous.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Just wondering how your experience with Buena Vista ended up being and how you like the controls. We leave in a week and are renting from BV this time instead of Walker. Nervous.

My experience with Buena Vista was fine, and I did prefer the controls. However, I wasn't crazy about picking up my scooter from the resort. OKW lost my key, so I had to wait while they found another key that worked (it makes you wonder). This last time, I rented from Gold Mobility Scooters, just for a change, and I liked their controls even better. (Darn-I can't figure out how to post a picture of them that I took with my IPhone). Their controls were like BV, but kind of squiggly, so I could comfortably use my finger, not my whole hand. Between that, the fact that I had an extra basket, a USB port for charging my phone on the go, and their customer service, I'm a Gold Mobility customer now.

 

[Selket]

Just wondering how your experience with Buena Vista ended up being and how you like the controls. We leave in a week and are renting from BV this time instead of Walker. Nervous.

I thought I'd chime in because I've rented from BV many times also. I'm not sure if you're renting from BV because of the hand controls. I've had no major problems with their scooters but a few issues - I've had one scooter that was very slow and odd and a couple of others that had massively squeaky wheels and BV replaced them in a timely manner although they complained about replacing the one with squeaky wheels - which I had to have done twice. They said that's not an issue that affects the operation of the scooter so not something they'd normally replace a scooter for. However...I don't know if you've gotten a shopping cart with a loud squeaky wheel that makes everyone turn and look at you as you're rolling it down the aisle but that's exactly what it was. It was not just a little loud - it was LOUD. However they did replace it.

I've switched to Gold Mobility on my last trip and I liked them much more (cheaper, nicer scooter, great service). Both BV and Gold Mobility and the type of hand controls. I can't say enough good things about Gold Mobility. Their only downside (for some) is that they have to deliver and pick-up in person - they can't drop off at Bell Services. This means you schedule a time to meet them to drop off and pick up the scooter. I definitely got the feeling they'd do whatever it takes to make you a happy customer - I was very impressed with their service.