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Before I started working at VMI, I had the exact same question. It didn't take me long to figure out why these conversions are so costly. I highly suggest that anyone who is in the market for a wheelchair accessible van, try and visit the manufacturer and see how the vans are built. Since we are in Phoenix, a major vacation destination, many customers like to stop by and take a tour of our manufacturing process when visiting the area.
There are many factors that go into the price of our product, just like any product. There is R&D (research and development) time and expenses. Just as an example, our engineers worked 18 months on the Honda Odyssey with the VMI Northstar conversion. We put a lot of work into every facet of the vehicle and conversion. Within this R&D work is also a lot of testing. For months on end, we have products in our R&D area doing nothing but cycling over and over to test the mechanics and durability of the product. In addition to testing, the vehicle has to go through a myriad of testing to pass all federal government requirements; front crash test, rear crash test, side crash test, and pull testing (for seat belts). These are millions of dollars of costs incurred before we built a single production unit.
The actual production of converting the vehicle for wheelchair accessibility is very invasive. When we receive a vehicle for conversion, the first thing we do is take everything out of the vehicle, everything. Your pretty shiny new van is stripped to pretty shiny shell. We then cut out the original manufacturer's floor. To give wheelchair users the best line of site in the vehicle, we have to add an entirely new floor, which is dropped 11". That floor gets welded back onto the vehicle and then it is a process of putting things back together. We add in all the ramp equipment and ensure it is correctly tied up to the electrical system. We then have to add the ground effect/flares so the new lowered floor is not exposed. The vans go through painting where we have all OEM paint colors to ensure the best match to your van. The next process is for the van to enter our Hurricane Booth to ensure there are no leaks in the van. All in all, each van has more than 100 man hours in order to complete the entire process.
I strongly recommend that when looking for a wheelchair accessible van, do your research. VMI has been converting vehicles for over 20 years. We have thousands of vans on the road with hundreds of repeat customers. When shopping for a van, learn about the manufacturer, call and talk to people that work there, not the sales people, but ask to talk to an engineer or a product manager. I, at times spend the majority of my day by chatting on the phone with customers. We email each other, stay in touch, exchange information. I am always available to talk anytime, for however long. I want the customer to feel educated and confident about what they are buying. Do your homework and remember the old adage, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
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