Are Chinese scooters a CHEAP investment??? By scooterchromeparts (Read 3,155 times)

[justbuggin2]

i bought my wildfire second hand and rode the fire out of it (no pund intended) i only put gas in my car once all summer . yes i have had problems with the bike but with the great help i have recieved from the people on forums like this one i have been able to enjoy the thing alot i can go out to it now and fire it up in the middle of winter and ride now i think it is a great investment

[nulldevice]

My experience with my scooters and motorcycles has emphasized the pay now or pay later schema. Now, if you are willing and able to do any inspections and repairs on the scooter the pay later part is mostly in your own labor rather than cash for someone else's labor.

To use a current example, my scooter needed a new back tire, a set of pads for the rear brake, and the left brake light switch. I recently did an oil change and will adjust the valves when I get a few days of decent weather. Doing it myself has saved me a bundle, and since I consider garage time just another aspect of the hobby I enjoyed the doing.

My costs, more or less:
$50 Michelin Bopper tire
$50 Tire changing machine
$10 Brake pads
$10 Brake switch
$10 Header to muffler seal
$130 total, more or less, and I get to keep the tire changer for the next time I change a tire. I was quoted more than that just for the tire, mounting, and balancing.

To emphasize this point, are there any shop owners out there care to give some idea of what it would have cost to have them do the work I described?

My 1700 dollar Chinese 250 scooter has been a good value for me. For the owner who is unable or unwilling to DIY their scooter and only touch the seat, controls, and gas cap it would be a complete waste of money.

[alleyoop]

I agree, if you are mechanically inclined and can do the oil changes, adjust valves, change tires, rollers, clutch, belt and some electricals, change bulbs etc you will do well with a chinese scoot and save a lot of money. Also due to the parts for them are cheap compared to a brand name scoot. Labor most will always charge you for 1 hour miniumn no matter what it is. Some will charge for the diagnose and then most just replace parts because they do not know how to diagnose and or test.

Most charge anywhere from $60.00 on up to what a car delar charges which is $98.00+, outrageious since the mechanic is only getting around $15.00 an hour and if its a young kid which a lot of them have less per hour.
Alleyoop