What car to buy to cope with future mobility changes?

[Archiebishop]

Our car is getting towards the end of its' useful life and I'm thinking of what to replace it with. We would be looking at a small/medium sized hatchback, automatic, any motor/engine except diesel. My wife has been diagnosed within the last 12 months and at the moment her mobility is fine for our age (70). In your experience would it be advisable to look at something that has a higher seat and so would mean her stepping slightly up into the seat, or something lower which may be easier to drop herself into? I wonder if the latter would make it hard to get out of the car. Thanks for any any advice or comments you have.

 

[Jale]

Hi @Archiebishop , we had a crossover (Mitsubishi Outlander) when we were taking mum out. She found the higher seats easier to manage, she would turn her back to the seat and drop into the sit, we then helped swing her legs in. Getting out we would swing her legs out and then either pull her or she could sometimes get herself out. We did buy a gadget called a car cane which went into the door catch(not very good at explaining this, but if you google it you will see how it works) and used it to help push up, but it doesn't fit a Citroen or Peugeot cars unless that has changed. I know you can buy a swivel pad which would have helped her but she didn't like using it, don't know why - that's dementia for you. Make sure that you take your wife with you when looking for a vehicle and let her try getting in and out. Dad had the same model car as us except a different colour and mum always said she couldn't get in his car but she could ours because it was taller - it wasn't obviously but she always "struggled" to get in and out of dad's car.

Good luck

 

[Archiebishop]

Hi @Archiebishop , we had a crossover (Mitsubishi Outlander) when we were taking mum out. She found the higher seats easier to manage, she would turn her back to the seat and drop into the sit, we then helped swing her legs in. Getting out we would swing her legs out and then either pull her or she could sometimes get herself out. We did buy a gadget called a car cane which went into the door catch(not very good at explaining this, but if you google it you will see how it works) and used it to help push up, but it doesn't fit a Citroen or Peugeot cars unless that has changed. I know you can buy a swivel pad which would have helped her but she didn't like using it, don't know why - that's dementia for you. Make sure that you take your wife with you when looking for a vehicle and let her try getting in and out. Dad had the same model car as us except a different colour and mum always said she couldn't get in his car but she could ours because it was taller - it wasn't obviously but she always "struggled" to get in and out of dad's car.

Good luck

Thanks for the interesting information. I'd not heard of a car cane, but they look useful. To be honest, I've been considering all sorts of cars and I hadn't really thought about getting my wife to become part of the decision making. Makes perfect sense to really, now that you mention it.

 

[tonebear]

Thanks for the interesting information. I'd not heard of a car cane, but they look useful. To be honest, I've been considering all sorts of cars and I hadn't really thought about getting my wife to become part of the decision making. Makes perfect sense to really, now that you mention it.

Reading this. Something i have come across, which has got worse with the dementia, is colour. To my piglet a silver car of the same make/model as ours it to difficult to get into and too high, It's exactly the same but that's not how she sees it. So the colour makes a huge difference. Ours is a Ford B-max which is not made anymore but i would suggest something like a Citroen Belingo or that shape. Ford do one. It would be an idea to go electric because we are all going to have to eventually. Don't be put off by all the rubbish that's out there, the electric one are very good and very smoothand comfortable and if you don' t do much mileage you don't need a home charger just an outside three pin plug. Takes longer but are we in a hurry? Also fuel and maintenance costs are extremely low. P. S. they don't catch fire any more than a petrol car in fact less.

 

[Jessbow]

I had a nissan Note when mum was alive, huge bonus was that the rear seat slide ( like front ones do) moving it forward definately helped when putting her in the back ( she always hated the front) that she wasnt trying to put her bottom down in the footwell. was easy t move back once she was sat on it too

4 doors is esential!

Had a good sized boot too

 

[Archiebishop]

We have a Nissan now and were loaned a Nissan Note on several occasions as a courtesy car. They were ideal, pity they no longer make it. My daughter has a Juke and that's a real contender as it's higher than what we have now. I do like Nissan's reliability and their servicing. My main concern is how Alzheimer's can be expected to affect mobility in the long run, so everyone's opinion/experiences are very useful to hear. Thanks @Jessbow

I had a nissan Note when mum was alive, huge bonus was that the rear seat slide ( like front ones do) moving it forward definately helped when putting her in the back ( she always hated the front) that she wasnt trying to put her bottom down in the footwell. was easy t move back once she was sat on it too

4 doors is esential!

Had a good sized boot too