Are Chinese scooters a CHEAP investment??? By scooterchromeparts (Read 3,154 times)

[scooterchromeparts]

I get this question all the time. I would say yes, and no. The quality is lower.... but then again it all comes down to what you have to spend for a scooter. Most of the time when your out shopping for a scooter. Most scooter dealers will offer you a warranty on the scooter. Basically this warranty covers the engine parts only (for that specific time frame). After that your on your own buddy! And if you haven't already, most of the time your going to get hassled if your scooter was a lemon or problem scooter. And the dealer know he is going to have to spend lots of money repairing it.

Not all dealers are bad, don't get me wrong (just a bad investment). Many of them have bad customer service reps with negative attitudes when answering the phone after you've made your purchase. When you looking to buy a Chinese scooter, try to get the best price. This way you can forget about the warranty and use that extra money to customize or upgrade your scooter engine and get the best performance possible. Also, keep in mind that most of these scooters are assemble by factories that purchase there parts from other factories that produce specific engine parts or body parts for that model. Remember, that the model or brand name is established by the manufacture in China or scooter distributors here in the US. Again, your best bet is to get a good price on a scooter, and use that extra money to invest (or upgrade) on quality engine parts, and or chrome body parts (if your looking to customize it). Good luck, Melazza

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[tvnacman]

What is an investment ? Money or time spent in or with something . I don't see any monatary gain from a chinese scooter .

John

[JR]

Well I think that all depends on the situation and why you bought it in the first place? Lets say you bought it when gas was over $4 a gallon like I did with my first two scooters? The question is how much per mile does it cost you to own and ride a scooter versus drive a car?

You add up the cost of insurance, maintenance, taxes, etc. and a scooter can be called a wise investment IMO. Myself I have already easily paid for my scooters with just the fuel savings alone not counting the wear and tear on my vehicles that I'm not wearing out when I am.

I ride my scooters for a variety of reasons including lastly but not least just fun. What kind of monetary value can be put on that is hard to say? Heck I buy groceries on mine, take grand kids to ball practice, even load it up with food and fishing gear and go fishing and again keep all those miles off of my vehicles and have a blast while doing it.

I think the original question of is it a cheap investment was dealing with if you buy cheap and have to work on it considerably and spend money on it then can it be called a cheap investment?

IMO again that all depends? Buy a 150cc scooter in the range of $650 to $900 and spend say another $250 to equip it or do mild upgrades to make it better for your riding conditions then I would say heck yes. Even then the value of this investment has to be measured by how many miles you ride it with just normal maintenance costs and downtime costs which all make ownership a better or lesser value.

If you are unlucky and not so skilled in repairing one and it sits in your garage not running then it's a cheap and bad investment if you call losing money cheap? Ride it for 20k with just normal maintenance cost then it was/is a good and cost effective investment. This is how it is with just about any form of transportation IMO.

You take my 93 Chevy Silverado it now has 170k on it and has had a starter, fuel pump and water pump put on it and the 12 k that is on my scooter would be on it or my 98 S-10 if I didn't own the scooter. On my 250B I've only spent money for routine maintenance, tires, battery and mild upgrades and if it blows up tomorrow I got my money's worth so I consider it a wise and not cheap investment.

JR

[alleyoop]

As for me I don't give a hoot how much the gas costs, I bought it as a toy and enjoy riding in the open air. The other thing is I was a hot rodder in my younger days so I know motors and stuff and I can fix just about anything IF it can be fixed. If I can see How it goes together I can tear it apart and put it back together. I am mechincially inclined and I like to work on things so that is not a problem if something goes south or needs adjusting.

I am also lucky enough to have the resources to do whatever the hell I want. Worked for it all my life but now I can enjoy the fruits of the hard work and savings. Big ticket items were paid off before I retired, house and cars just have the normal everyday bills. I know about the price of fuel I have two gas guzzlers that take nothing but PREMIUM FUEL. ;D
Alleyoop

[JR]

I bought it as a toy and enjoy riding in the open air.



know about the price of fuel I have two gas guzzlers that take nothing but PREMIUM FUEL.

[jct842]

for a person with no time or talent to massage the chinese scooter they are probably not going to be a very good investment. If every time you think the scooter is not quite right and took it to a dealer it would not take long to exceed its value in mechanics fees. On the other hand if you are able to do the work required they are a very good investment. Like alleyoop gas mileage is not a concern'''I just like to ride. on the 3 or 4 times a year that I need to haul some thing I have a trailer so I don't own a truck. got a cold right now or I would be out riding this afternoon. john

[JR]

All great points guys and I'm moving in with Alley soon! Man with that kind of money needs to take care of me!!

Just kidding buddy! I like the best part of both worlds on a scooter, having fun, saving money. The money I've saved buys more of my favorite thing! Ice cream!!

JR

[jct842]

damn that reminds me I still have the better part of a half gallon of blue bell in the freezer.

[blitztek]

Jan 6, 2012 15:19:31 GMT -6 scooterchromeparts said:

When you looking to buy a Chinese scooter, try to get the best price. This way you can forget about the warranty and use that extra money to customize or upgrade your scooter engine and get the best performance possible.

Melazza

I must disagree. Crappy $599 deals off of craigslist and on the internet, tend to be the bottom feeders with inferior engines and quality control. Not to mention these prices do not include a proper PDI, registration, and sales tax (and shipping if online). I personally see poorly made scooters on a day to day basis with dead engines and broken welds on frames. I would say avoid these sellers like the plague, and go with a reputable dealer who sells quality known china scoots and one that treats their customers right (or tries their best) and avoid the shady dealers. Buying from the "cheapest" dealers, only propagate the selling of sub par scooters.

...

[sprocket]

Cheaper than a bus pass, even including the insurance, and I buy a new one every two years on the money saved...I have never had a problem other than a loose steering bearing and a faulty valve stem.

Buy a decent brand of 2010,11,12 scooter and if you maintain it, and use it within its design limitations, it will serve you well...

Easy riding...

[JR]

Gonna agree with Sprocket on this one, it's all about what fits your situation best? Don't like to walk, bus fare will add up plus they may not go everywhere you want to go and at the time you want to get there?

Personally with some exceptions of getting a lemon I still say PDI PDI PDI!! I also think the 07 and 08 model scooters get a bad rap too? I have one 07 and two 08 and one 09 scooters and I'll run them against any of them. There are still some 07's still out there and myself I wouldn't be scared to buy one even now.

But the problem with most people is resisting the urge to just put gas in it and think they're ready to go. If I bought a 07 right now I'd take my sweet time going through it top to bottom and I'm retired so my time is free and on most scooters one for under $100 can do a through and complete PDI which means getting the junk out of them and even some good LED's and you've got a reliable machine for a long time provided you maintain it and drive it according to it's design and not try to run the wheels off of it thinking it will last forever.

I've said this time and time again and I'll say it again, in most respects a scooter is only a glorified lawn mower in it's system and engine are pratically the same, especially the electrical. Now you don't think or expect a lawn mower to last forever even though some do last a long time, again about conditions and maintenance.

I own 3 mowers two riding and one push mower and one riding mower is a 1988 craftsman and it still runs very good and it's been very well taken care of and mowed many hours. How many people still have a 24 year old mower they can still mow with?

It has made me kind of mad though, this year I'm going to have to break down and spend some money for inner tubes for the tires! The tubless tires are so weather cracked they won't hold air anymore even with fix-a-flat!

Who the heck makes tires that only last 24 years!

JR

[kz1000st]

What I don't get is the cheapest part. From what I've seen GS Motorworks and Green Earth Scooters are about the cheapest after you add in the cost of shipping the "Scooter Depot" types charge. At least for a 50 or 150cc. They also carry parts for what they sell and their machines are solid performers.
After that KillerMotorSports is the best price for a 250cc-shipped. At least after years of reports in most forums they're good people to deal with. They also carry parts and honor their warranty just like the previous two.

The people at Superiorpowersports and Powersportsmax sell at fair prices but have sketchy after sales reviews. The less said about Sunny Sports and Scooter Depot the better.

[JR]

Again all excellent points KZ and there are those who even after buying from one of the not so good dealers still with a good PDI and maintenace program get miles and miles out of a scooter.

What is a shame and a tough thing for some people is ones who haven't been on any forum and researched a scooter to see if they can and want to invest in it and those who buy any scooter of any kind and then realize they may not have any mechanical back up and have to do the work themselves to then realize they can't work on them.

These are lots of times the ones you see go cheap on Craiglist and also the ones who bad mouth the scooter because of them not taking the time to know what they were getting into the first place. You have this happen even with B&M dealers but generally not as much.

The word cheap can be defined in lots of ways but the value of anything is determined by your situatuon in lots of instances and even a higher priced scooter can be called cheap by those who think they are not worth the time to ride.

JR

[kz1000st]

Here's how I view the investment part. Last season I rode about 4,000 miles on my two wheelers, 2500 of that on the Chinese scooter. Few of those miles were joy rides. I saved about $500 in gas, not to mention the wear and tear on the car. If I keep doing that for 10 years I'll have saved-what?-40,000 miles. Think of the gas, tires and brake jobs I won't do in the car saving those miles. It also means I can put off the purchase of another car for a bit. Suddenly a $1000 150cc or $1600 250cc Chinese scooter looks like a bargain. Yes, I'll burn those components on the scooter, but the savings in not buying another car for a couple of years make it seem like a wash.

[blitztek]

A wash and 4k a year on 2-3 wheels are numbers I will take any day!