Re: Unused Permobil F5 Powerchair

Bergconsultants

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Joined
Sep 23, 2018
Messages
4
Reason
Loved one DX
Diagnosis
06/2017
Country
US
State
Florida
City
Miami
Re: Unused Permobil F5 Powerchair

Unused Permobil F5 top features available in Miami. Sales price was $45,000. Can bring to Jacksonville. Husband died of ALS last week and never used the chair. Make offer.
 
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Hello,
Firstly, please accept my condolences on the passing of your husband. Wishing you and your family peace during this sad time.
In terms of the chair, do you still have it for sale? If so, do you have any photos/information about it? We have been looking for a chair for my brother.
Thank you,
Mary
 
$45000 its intimidating price, I don't even know what offer to make :)
Pick up from Miami for me not a problem...Can you contact me at [email protected]?
 
Insurance should have paid 80% of the $45,000 so their cost would have been $9,000. I suspect that they paid about $2,000 of that on a lift seat and other out of pocket add-ons. Remember that the chair has to fit properly or it will be miserably uncomfortable. The patient and chair need to be measured by someone knowledgeable about wheelchair seating.
 
I have purchased 3 used wheelchairs, so have some familiarity with the used wheelchair market. I have purchased each on in person from listing I found on craigslist.

On ebay, two used Permobil F5 wheelchairs are currently listed for less than $8,000. Neither of those are the VS model (the model with the standing function). Both of those are offered by the same commercial dealer, rather than private parties. I would expect to pay less if I purchased from a private party.

Using ebay's "Sold Items" filter, I see another F5 that was listed at a bit under $8,000, but "sold" for "best offer". That does not mean it sold. It means that someone tried to buy it, but might have backed out. A "best offer" can be substantially (thousands) less than the price listed.

My point is, take those ebay numbers as the absolute maximum a wheelchair is worth in the used market when purchasing from a dealer. In reality, used wheelchairs tend to sell for about what the insurance deductible and copays would be for a new one.

If I were to buy a used F5, I would be willing to pay $5,000 for one that:
1. Had a good, working set of MK Gel group 24 batteries with a date code of less than 2 years ago
2. Included the Permobil charger
3. Included power recline, tilt, and leg elevate
4. Had less than 100 miles on it (you can check the odometer for this).
5. Had color LCD joystick module
6. was be manufactured after about March, 2017
7. Included a headrest that works for me
8. Included armrests that work for me.
9. Included footrests that work for me

I would be unlikely to buy one without a power seat elevate function, as I view that as being essential. I would reduce the price accordingly for missing items that I could retrofit. I would move onto a different chair if essential (to me) items were missing that I could not practically retrofit.

When purchasing a used F5, be aware of the following:

1. The early F5 wheelchairs had a design flaw that led to catastrophic caster wheel flutter. That flaw was apparently addressed by about late 2016 or early 2017.
2. Each Permobil wheelchair has a sticker on it stating the serial number and date of manufacture. Call Permobil with that serial number to see how the wheelchair was originally configured and confirm it had the options you need or that those options can be added.
3. Even for a never-used wheelchair, be prepared to spend money on a new set of batteries. I recommend MK gel batteries. The F5 takes group 24, flat top batteries. The last pair I purchased online cost about $500, shipped. The last pair insurance purchased for me through NuMotion cost about $1,000.
4. Whatever wheelchair you buy, be prepared to spend an about $1,000 buying parts to make it fit just right. Keeping that bill to just $1,000 requires mostly purchasing used parts (I often use ebay). The only items I typically purchase new are upholstery items.

It is surprising how fast little things add up. I need thigh supports, transfer handles, thoracic supports, and arm supports. List prices on these are astounding and used prices are still quite high. Do some research and be prepared for the costs if you need any of these and the used wheelchair you purchase does not included them.

For comparison, I purchased a used Permobil C500 (the model that the F5 replaced) in late 2015. That wheelchair had 26 miles on it with a fresh set of MK gel batteries. The power legrest actuator had failed and been replaced with a manual one. It had power tilt, recline, and seat elevate. I paid $3,800 for the chair, spent about $1,000 for components to get it to fit me, and about $200 for the correct, used legrest actuator. It took over a year to find a used legrest actuator for that chair.

Steve
 
I have a Permobil F5, the VS model, with a few additional features. I had to come up with about $12K out of pocket, mainly because insurance doesn’t cover the standing feature. Otherwise, I would have ordered an F3.
 
Hello,
Firstly, please accept my condolences on the passing of your husband. Wishing you and your family peace during this sad time.
In terms of the chair, do you still have it for sale? If so, do you have any photos/information about it? We have been looking for a chair for my brother.
Thank you,
Mary
Are you still looking for a chair?
 
Is your chair still available?
 
If they do not respond I have s chair that is available that only has 2 miles in it.
 
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Do you still have available?
Yes I still have the Permobil available in new condition. 555A2627-9A19-4D5A-9CCD-73A56487D4DA.jpeg 225A3BDB-C963-48EC-8260-4F2FC8A7D8C5.jpeg B984B68A-D513-4ADD-9211-67B9027209A7.jpeg
 
I’m looking for standing chair
 
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