Look at the new Volkswagon van---you don't need to lower floor or raise roof
as it is high & easy to convert--They only recently started to bring them
into the country again-- Saw a few at Abilities expo- you can add either a
lift or ramp--1 had the under van ramp added--- We recently got a Grand
Caravan with IMS conversion..so there is a captains seat next to the
wheelchair....They say the transmission problems of the past heve been
solved..but we bought an extended warrenty & got in writting that the
conversion didn't effect it...Actually since we bought the van--or ordered
it & had it drop shipped to IMS (using a local Co that arranged conversion )
7 then shipped back to dealer--they delivered it converted & are
tesponsible...joy
----------
>From: Eliot Kagan <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Wheelchair accessible vans
>Date: Tue, Jul 18, 2000, 11:15 PM
>
>Hi. Anybody want to talk about vans that have been modified with ramps and
>lockdowns for people with wheelchairs? we have had one for the last 8
>months for our son who has CP and other than the fact that it's big and the
>modifications work great, it's a lemon. It is a '96 Plymouth Grand Voyager
>Van with barely 31K miles on it and we only bought it because of our son's
>chair. we had been very happy with our Subaru Legacy's up to this point.
>Consumers Reports gave it a fairly good review but everybody kept warning us
>about the transmissions on Chryslers etc. well, it finally happened...
>luckily we were only driving at 30mph when the bang and the loss of drive
>and steering and the drip of Automatic Transmission Fluid all over the road
>occurred. other than the fact that they sell these vans and cars with known
>safety defects, has anyone thought of having a class action suit against
>them for putting transmissions into cars that have a known history of being
>unable to get more than 30+K miles on them? just curious. anyway, looking
>at the NTSA records of bulletins and recalls, I was amazed to find over 120
>safety bulletins, whereas our Loyale, admittedly the worst Subaru ever made
>had only 24 and this is a 10 year old car! The Legacy's were lucky to have
>more than 10 if that. And recalls??? go to this site if you have a van or
>car that you think has problems: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems.
>anyway, the dealership is trying to stick us for extra labor even though we
>have a service plan that is supposed to cover trannies that blow up and
>expose your family to possible death on the highways ( have a trannie give
>out on the highway and think about how lucky you are that you are on an
>outer lane with no one behind you. i hope that's how lucky you are when
>that happens. ) they say that the extra labor is because we put in a
>special gas tank so that we could have the van lower and kneel and have the
>ramp etc. sounds like an ADA suit to me and believe me, I'm going to be
>screaming that one at them tomorrow if they don't eat the two hours extra
>labor. anyway, are Ford vans any better? i heard the ride stinks compared
>to Chrysler's and they nickel and dime you to death as the old expression
>goes. anyway, for converted vans, there seem to be few options. if some
>smart Japanese car manufacturer put these conversions into their vans, they
>would have an instant market. oh, but wait... they use one piece frame
>construction which can't be modified. so the more structurally sound and
>safe design for a car frame is not one that you can modify for a wheelchair
>accessible van? sounds like we're caught between a rock and a hard place,
>but when Toyota or Honday or Subaru or whoever modifies that van of theirs
>into something accessible, they will have an eager market of disgruntled
>ex-American car customers waiting for them. anyway, i had to get that off
>my chest after having the transmission go a week after bringing it in for a
>change of the fluid. i thought at first they had just been incompetent as
>is so normal nowadays and forgotten to tighten the pan and the gasket /
>seals burst.. no such luck. i could go to Jiffy Lube for that kind of
>incompetence. no, this was a Norwood, MA Chrysler dealership on the Route 1
>Automile who will remain nameless for now. and they're only trying to make
>some extra money off people who already have a service contract. they
>probably wouldn't pull this routine if i was paying for the trannie out of
>pocket, now would they? hey, what's two more hours of dealership labor
>anyway? ($150. in case you're curious.) any wonder why i go to mechanics
>who set up their own businesses and charge half that labor rate? btw, i can
>tell you about a great Subaru mechanic in Eastern MA who loves his job and
>the cars and will not screw you, but this was supposed to be about Chryslers
>and their wonderful transmissions and the plethora of choices available for
>those who need accessible vans. thank you for letting me ventilate.
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