We finished up our trip to Texas and are now back home. It has been a whirlwind of events trying to get the van and wheelchair well enough so they could make the trip home.
There was some obvious damage to the van. We took it to a collision shop, who told us due to it being a wheelchair van that it would take about a week to get an estimate and then one to two months to repair it. Knowing that we needed to drive home before an estimate could be prepared, they inspected it to make sure the body was safe to drive home.
I had noticed that the front wheels did not look right. The passenger-side tires had been rubbed up against a curb (or something) and the front wheels seemed to be pushed back a bit. The folks at the collision shop recommended a shop to look at the suspension issues.
Those folks quoted about $4,000 to fix just the steering/suspension components. Fortunately, only one item needed to be repaired before we could drive the van the thousand miles back to Colorado.
I consulted with my insurance company and they said any repairs I paid for before their estimate was done would NOT be reimbursed. I was surprised, but felt like I had no choice except to authorize the minimal repairs, which amounted to a bit less than $1,000.
They were able to complete the work on the Friday after Thanksgiving, so we had use of the van Saturday and Sunday in San Antonio. That meant we could take a trip to the Riverwalk. It is a touristy place, but it is where my wife and I spent our honeymoon 35 years ago, so is special to us. We had a spectacular evening!
To wrap up things with the van, we will be contacted by an insurance adjuster later this week to schedule a visit to estimate the damage. After that, the insurance company will let us know if they will declare it a total loss or repair it.
When we first recovered the van, the wheelchair was still locked in the EZ Lock. Unfortunately, the thieves had put a lot of effort (but not nearly as much thought) into removing the wheelchair from the van. If only they had known about the button that unlocks the EZ Lock
.
In their efforts to free the wheelchair from the EZ Lock, they did quite a bit of damage. At first, the wheelchair would not power on. After a bit of fiddling, we got it to where it would briefly power on. After a bit more fiddling, we got it to power on, but found that the controller was in the locked mode. Fortunately, I know how to unlock it, so we were easily able to get past that hurdle. Finally, after enough work, we got the wheelchair to where it would basically function.
The wheelchair now kind of limps along. It shuts down with a brake error periodically (over 30 brake errors since we recovered it). The front wheels are canted out way too much, various body parts look twisted and mangled, the joystick is twisted, and the right arm rest is damaged. They wore two holes in the carpet relentlessly trying to drive the wheelchair out of the EZ Lock.
I am a bit concerned that insurance will decide it is cost effective to repair (vs replace) and that afterwards we will spend a couple of years trying to make it reliable. I am kind of hoping the damage is substantial enough that it will be declared a total loss. I feel bad for thinking that, but it is my reality. We will see.
I will drop the wheelchair off at NuMotion on Monday for evaluation.
For now, it is great to be home. It will take me awhile to recover from this latest trip.
I can't believe how many wonderful people popped up who made this whole situation so much better. Just as an example, when we took the van to the collision place in San Antonio, the estimator walked out the door, looked at the van, and then exclaimed, "hey, I saw this van on facebook! So glad you got it back". He took really good care of us!
Steve