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Post by kz1000st on Nov 27, 2013 8:32:06 GMT -6
no dealer or part support
Yes, and that's why you investigate before you buy. People who buy from Scooterdepot will be sadly disappointed. I bought from GS Motorworks and they sent me any part I needed in a week, free, under my warranty, plus I can get any part I need now from Scrappy, Partsforscooters or Alpha Sports. Where does a Japanese or Italian scooter owner get their parts from? A dealer? The nightmare stories on that is legendary. After all those scooters don't break, why should there be spare parts? $100 an hour shop rate? No Thanks. The number of Chinese scooter dealers is growing for those who can't work on them and the number of parts places rivals the Harley Davidson aftermarket.
I heard all sorts of proclamations from the experts when I bought the Bashan, "They only last 18 months and then where will you be?", "You get a mile out of each dollar you spend when you buy it and then they fall apart." "You can't get parts for a Chinese scooter. Once they break you have to sell them for scrap." Blah, blah, blah.
Look at the signature. It seems I own a pair of $7500 scooters if the "Experts" are right. Not to mention a $3100 Cub clone. And guess what? They're all still running just fine and will be $10,000 scooters in no time. Why would I need a cheap Piaggio?
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Post by LUKE on Nov 27, 2013 11:10:17 GMT -6
AMEN...randy has all the exact words i wanted to say...i mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-a-n-g .....thanks randy you're heaven sent.
I'd like to follow you on twitter if you have one...lol
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Post by kz1000st on Nov 27, 2013 13:03:36 GMT -6
AMEN...randy has all the exact words i wanted to say...i mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-a-n-g .....thanks randy you're heaven sent. I'd like to follow you on twitter if you have one...lol Wait! What about my $7500 scooters don't they count? Afterall they're worth more than your Morphous by the Experts account. Pretty soon they'll be more valuable than Magoo's Silver Wing-LOL. |
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Post by markwb on Nov 27, 2013 13:12:44 GMT -6
no dealer or part supportYes, and that's why you investigate before you buy. People who buy from Scooterdepot will be sadly disappointed. Not entirely true, kz. I must be one of the few that received satisfactory service from scooterdepot. I must admit they are not customer friendly, but they did honor my requests. |
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Post by kz1000st on Nov 27, 2013 13:42:48 GMT -6
How are they for after sale parts? I haven't heard much encouraging news about that. GS Motorworks sent me an entire $70 exhaust system, free, when mine had the heat shield bolts break off under warranty.
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Post by randy on Nov 27, 2013 15:24:37 GMT -6
AMEN...randy has all the exact words i wanted to say...i mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-a-n-g .....thanks randy you're heaven sent. I'd like to follow you on twitter if you have one...lol Thee only point I was trying to make is. That some people think it's cute to bash a scooter that was not priced at entry level and justify it buy saying I could buy two Shang Hi scooters for that amount of money and try to make you look foolish because you bought a scooter that tripped your buttons. Then you go to the tech forums and read they have replaced five head gaskets or the stator won't keep up if you have your bright light on and the turn signal at the same time. My 2005 Stella which only has 7k on it the only things I have done to it is 3 spark plugs and a new battery.It came with a 2 year warranty that I never needed. And to me that is the best kind of warranty. I don't bash the China scoots and don't appreciate the bashing of mine. I took all the bashing I could stand with my Chinese scooter on the BBS and was so thankful when I found the Scoot Dawg and then this board came on line and I was one thee first to sign on. The Best scooter in my opinion is the one that is under butt. |
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Post by FrankenMech on Nov 27, 2013 16:20:00 GMT -6
Scooter depot has been OK for me. I know the two guys that do the tech service and parts by name and voice. Most of my part delays were due to my own slow work rate and zero knowledge about scoots. I am slow but handy so I am able to work on my own scoot. Someone with no mechanical ability or electrical knowledge would have been totally lost on the scoot I received. Scooter depot was the only dealer that had the model I wanted. I did read the complaints and noted that most of the complainers were clueless or trying to claim parts they destroyed due to negligence or crashes as warranty items. I am still waiting for one part damaged in shipment. It works but is just an appearance item. I bought a number of my spares from them and noted they were higher quality as well as higher cost than online replacements. It is a tradeoff... The part of my muffler that came loose seems to be unobtainable by itself. I may end up buying a whole replacement muffler. I just want a quiet muffler and so many replacement parts are listed as 'performance' aka LOUD.  -If I had my lathe hooked up I could experiment with making a replacement. Unfortunately it is three phase which means a $$$ rotary phase converter and a bit of $$$ wiring is involved. Damn China has driven up the cost of copper so much that electrical work is expensive. I make a 'shopping' trip to Horrible Freight about once per month. The quality of their tools has increased dramatically in the last year or two. Some items haven't changed though and are still junk. I bought some strap wrenches that snapped under my feeble muscles the first time I used them. The tailpipe expander tools they sell are completely useless. Some HF tools take some TLC or modification to work well. My China scoot also took TLC and modifications. I am slowly learning to ride it and have even been able to make some right turns successfully. ROSCMA (Rolling On Street Crashing My A**) |
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Post by kz1000st on Nov 27, 2013 17:04:59 GMT -6
OK Randy, I may come on a little strong but you're right, to each his own. It's from years of "Only the stupid buy Chinese scooters" and I get very defensive. I've ridden my share of cheap Japanese bikes and after years of "Rice Burner" it was good to see the heckling about Japanese bikes stop. Now I'm reliving it some days with "Chinese Junk" cracks. Isn't it funny though that I can still get high mileage out of trashy vehicles? Think it might have something to do with the owners and not the bikes? Oh, and the five head gaskets were my fault, not the scoots. It ran like crazy even when hemorrhaging oil.
I too had more than I could take at Steve Elliot's little clubhouse (BBS) and left in a rage. I hope he's watching now that my Little POS is approaching 10,000 miles even though he said it would never happen.
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Post by randy on Nov 27, 2013 19:07:47 GMT -6
KS I am allot like you are. Everybody thinks I have such great luck with all my vehicles. And I am tell them the secret maintenance,that's it plain and simple. My first China scoot was RC Moto Hot Rod 150 I rode it everyday and thoroughly enjoyed it and sold it when it had 8500 miles on it. Since then I have had 25~30 scoots buy them massage them ride them and when I see something else that catches my eye it's like last weeks paycheck gone!!
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-If I had my lathe hooked up I could experiment with making a replacement. Unfortunately it is three phase which means a $$$ rotary phase converter and a bit of $$$ wiring is involved. Damn China has driven up the cost of copper so much that electrical work is expensive.