From Peter an 80 year old in Somerset
I am the proud owner of a new Luggie Elite scooter and have to say that it really is superb in many ways. To me the most important fact is that it is very light, weighing in at only 23kgs which means it is far easier to transport in the rear of an estate car since it is so easily loaded. Moreover, unlike many scooters that consist of around five parts that have to be dismantled and reassembled if one wishes to take it in a car, the Luggie easily folds down into skate-board mode and can then easily be put into most cars. Additionally, it can be pulled along by hand rather like a suitcase on wheels. If as in most estate cars there is room for the Luggie to be placed there with the tiller in the upright position, all one has to do is lift up the front section onto a protected bumper and then lift the back end of the scooter and push in. (In freewheel mode)
It may be of interest to give a few details of my own experience in finding what I now consider to be the best scooter for my needs. My own disability is that suffering from COPD I find it difficult because of shortness of breath to walk comfortably for any length of time. With the aid of my new Luggie Elite I can enjoy going with my wife Gaynor (twenty years younger than I) when she takes out our two dogs (Charlle a seven year old Springer Spaniel and Billy, a two year old black curly Labradoodle) to enjoy the Somerset countryside. However, it was not any easy task for me to eventually finish with the best scooter for my needs.
In June 2012, I visited our local mobility shop in Street where I was advised to go for an Aerolite Plus scooter – one which dismantled into five parts. However, because of the physical effort involved, I did not find taking it in the car easy since I found it exhausting to take the scooter apart, before loading it and then reassembling at our destination. Also as we had decided to go on a Baltic Cruise with P&O in July, I felt it would be better to have a scooter that was lighter and therefore easier to manage on the cruise. I therefore returned to the store only four weeks after my first purchase and swapped it for the Luggie. I was immediately impressed by the way it could so easily be loaded into the car and have to say that it was great to have on the cruise where coach drivers were happy to deal with it when it was necessary to load in the luggage area.
However, there was in my opinion, one serious failing with the Luggie in that Freerider, the manufacturers, had failed to provide any form of overall speed control which would enable the rider to choose an acceptable maximum speed mode. The result of this from the rider’s point of view was that one had to be careful, especially in the confines of a shop, to avoid squeezing too hard on the lever that controlled the speed and this could at times be rather alarming. On one occasion on the cruise I actually hurt my wife’s legs when I lost some control. The final incident that led me to decide to sell the Luggie was when in M & S my wife leant across me to reach an item and unfortunately, her dangling belt got entangled with the controller (wigwam in scooter language) with the result I shot forward rather too quickly. This not only caused much alarm amongst a few fellow shoppers but also resulted in my wife suffering yet further damage to her legs which took her several weeks to recover from. My wife using some rather colourful language said she no longer wished me to keep it and I did not need any persuasion to sell it on asap.
I had to have a replacement for the scooter, so for my third purchase only five months after my first, I decided to go for one that had received excellent reviews on the Top Gear programme, namely, the Pro-rider Elite. This was good to ride but because it was too heavy for me to lift into the car, I had to dismantle it into its five sections and then, of course reassemble it after reaching our destination.
Late in December 2012 I discovered that Freerider were planning to launch a new model of the Luggie called the Elite and since it had a speed control, I was immediately interested and so made contact with a firm in Leigh, Lancs called Local Mobility UK who are now the sole agents for Luggie scooters. I could not have made a better choice of a dealer since from day one my enquiry was dealt with in a most professional manner. Paul Waterworth to whom I had explained my situation was extremely helpful and one could not wish for better service and advice. He offered me an excellent part-exchange price on my nearly-new Prorider scooter and offered me the chance of being one of the first owners of the new model of the Luggie called the Elite. One small concern of mine was that there was no ignition key on the Luggie so that it could be immobilised if left, for example, outside a shop. Paul said this was not a problem since his company would personally fit one free of charge. Consequently, I now have a scooter that meets all of my needs. The situation with obtaining one was that the first small batch, most already pre-sold by Local Mobility, were due to arrive at their dealership in February 2013. I put my name down for one, paid a small deposit and awaited news. I was delighted to learn that I was told that Local Mobility would in February personally deliver the scooter direct to my door in Somerset rather than simply make use of a courier service. At a pre-arranged day and time, Martin, one of their delivery men appeared with a large box. He was extremely helpful in that he unpacked the scooter, installed the battery and seat and then made sure that I fully understood how everything worked. He even removed all of the packaging from our hallway.
It really is refreshing to find such excellent service from a company who clearly knows the value of taking their customers’ needs seriously and make every effort to meet them . I have read other views of the company’s service on the Internet and virtually all are full of very high praise about the company’s high standard of service.
In May we will embark on a two-week cruise to the Canary Islands when I know I will fully appreciate my new Luggie Elite. It is small enough for it actually be stored in our cabin where it will be placed on charge every night.
