Mobility scooter ripoff !

[tflnemesis]

Hi All,

My missus has a mobility scooter for getting around as she has back problems.

A few weeks ago she started complaining that it wasn't as fast as it used to be. I checked everything out but couldn't find any problems...

Today she got on it to go to work and it started glitching on the speed, slow then fast then slow etc etc, with the electronic brake clicking in and out when it felt like it.

So... I stripped down the control yoke and tested everything I could to find that the speed control pot is going open circuit after about 1/5 of a turn.

OK says I, it needs a new one... checked the manufacturers website £90 .
Checked ebay, cheapest I could find was £40
After a bit more Google-Fu I found out that its a 100k ohm pot, back to ebay... £0.99

The difference between a generic pot and the branded one???? A 3 wire ribbon cable with a plug on the end soldered to the pot. Probably worth a couple of quid at the most, with about 5 minutes labour...

What a ripoff!!!

 

[ukracer]

Hi All,

My missus has a mobility scooter for getting around as she has back problems.

A few weeks ago she started complaining that it wasn't as fast as it used to be. I checked everything out but couldn't find any problems...

Today she got on it to go to work and it started glitching on the speed, slow then fast then slow etc etc, with the electronic brake clicking in and out when it felt like it.

So... I stripped down the control yoke and tested everything I could to find that the speed control pot is going open circuit after about 1/5 of a turn.

OK says I, it needs a new one... checked the manufacturers website £90 .
Checked ebay, cheapest I could find was £40
After a bit more Google-Fu I found out that its a 100k ohm pot, back to ebay... £0.99

The difference between a generic pot and the branded one???? A 3 wire ribbon cable with a plug on the end soldered to the pot. Probably worth a couple of quid at the most, with about 5 minutes labour...

What a ripoff!!!

Anything with "ility" on the end is a rip off sadly.

 

[bourbon]

Yes, Don't google the 'wig wag' pot. That's just as expensive.

 

[Cobbler]

Bit like my garden shredder, capacitor went, £90 from the manufacturers! This would be about 15 years ago as well, went to the motor rewind place, I think it was a fiver.

 

[Alan Reynolds]

Broomwade wanted £60.00 plus postage and vat for a piston ring for my little compressor. Found a full set of the right size on Ebay from China. Less than a fiver posted. Worked perfectly after carefully gapping and a little rub on the oilstone.

 

[Hog-Rider]

Had similar problem with the chagrining socket on the side of the Tiller,One day I pulled the lead out and the inside fell to bits. Phoned up a couple of scooter shops and they wanted about £75 for the harness and plug.. I googled the socket and found it was an 3 pin Audio socket, £3 on line, I removed old socket fitted the new one and, Solderd on the wires.Works great.

 

[mcostello]

Needed a BlueTooth adapter to download pics from the Wifes phone to computer. Stores around here , cheapest was $28. Ordered from Someting RightNow andThen. $2 free shipping and Someone put an extra one in the box, 2 for $2.

 

[Kayos]

One of my customers owns 3 mobility showrooms. Currently renovating their huge double fronted house in an exclusive village

 

[DAPPH]

Unfortunately most things are cheaper if you are able to do it yourself cheaply .
It's when you can't do them that you have to find someone who can . Having run a couple of businesses I found out the hard way that when you run a business you have to pay the taxman, NIC , the local authority several times over, water rates, energy companies , staff wages, insurance and a host of other things that eat the money . Then you have to have stocks , machinery & transport, none of which come cheap these days.

I was struggling even charging £78 per hr labour 22 years ago, so can see that what some of you feel are rip off charges are in fact quite reasonable ones.