Great scooter, lousy dealer?

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fish
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Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by fish »

Should I buy a great scooter if :

1) if I have a lousy local dealer?

2) or, if the dealer is at some distance away?

3) or, goodness, if I must buy from a lousy, distant dealer?

Some of us face one of these problems if we want to own and ride a scooter.
For me - a great dealership has the scooter I want, with a trusted service dept. and responsive parts dept. But few of us live near a great dealership.


I can wave off all 3 of the above and the behavior of the salesman, and the price discount, and the service & parts departments IF certain factors line up for the scooter I've decided would be great for me to own.
#1 - is the scooter a good fit for my DIY servicing skills?
#2 - are parts available & simple to find?

I've learned by trial and error not to overlook #1, no matter how great the scooter is! I enjoy working on my scooter and I like to keep it in top condition.
But, I will begin to dislike the scooter if the servicing intimidates me.
I could skip the servicing - as so many do - but that's not how I'm made.

So, if it fits your definition of a great scooter - and you can handle its DIY servicing & get parts for it - I say do not let the quality or location of dealers become a deal breaker.

I understand - not everyone can, or wants to, work on their scooter - so the dealer becomes very important.
I want a scooter - but owning a scooter in the U.S.A. makes little sense - and if everything had to line up just right - darn few of us would own one!
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Mel46
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by Mel46 »

We purchased my wife's PCX from a lousy dealer, and we found out that they had a lousy service department as well. We looked for a good dealer and found him 20 miles up the road. In a major city you can't expect to be lousy and keep attracting customers. I would not go back to that lousy dealer, so I purchased my PCX from the one 20 miles up the road, and any service issues that I can't handle go up to that dealer, even if we have to trailer the scooter to him. In the end, that new dealer is fair, knowledgeable and honest. That is what you need and want from someone who is going to be helping you take care of your precious.
Currently own:
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Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights
Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn
Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires
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NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by gn2 »

fish wrote:1) if I have a lousy local dealer?
Not a simple question to answer, depends on whether buying new or used and also which manufacturer. Is it going to be reliable and not need the dealer or is there a possibility of returning regularly for corrective therapy.
fish wrote: 2) or, if the dealer is at some distance away?
Depends what you mean by "some distance"
Nearest dealer to me is 28 miles and supplying dealer of my current bike is 48 miles away.
fish wrote:3) or, goodness, if I must buy from a lousy, distant dealer?
Only if its used and you'll be doing the bulk of the servicing yourself or have a trusted local independent shop to help out ;)
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by lillypinkjenny »

gn2 wrote:a trusted local independent shop to help out ;)
Nail-on-head! :)

I'd say this was far more important than a decent main dealer.

If you have a good, recommended independent motorcycle/scooter shop within accessible distance, buy the scooter you want from whomever you like, bad or good.
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by oliver »

Mel46 wrote:We purchased my wife's PCX from a lousy dealer, and we found out that they had a lousy service department as well. We looked for a good dealer and found him 20 miles up the road. In a major city you can't expect to be lousy and keep attracting customers. I would not go back to that lousy dealer, so I purchased my PCX from the one 20 miles up the road, and any service issues that I can't handle go up to that dealer, even if we have to trailer the scooter to him. In the end, that new dealer is fair, knowledgeable and honest. That is what you need and want from someone who is going to be helping you take care of your precious.
Would you mind revealing the good and bad dealers? I got my Forza from Mountain Motorsports on Cobb Pkwy and have no real comparisons to make
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by Mel46 »

You bought your bike from the bad dealer. Cycle Nation of Canton is the good dealer.

That being said, you may or may not have a bad experience with them. Just know that we had 3 bad experiences with them.
Example: The clutch bearing that goes bad on the PCX. My wife's bike had that problem and the sound was pretty bad. They said that everything was normal, even though I took it back to them several times. When I gave up on them and took the bike to the other dealer they knew what the problem was right away.
Choose whomever you want as your preferred dealer. It is your bike. As for me, I hope to never do business with them again.
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150

Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights
Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn
Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires
Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs
NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by oliver »

Mel46 wrote:You bought your bike from the bad dealer. Cycle Nation of Canton is the good dealer.

That being said, you may or may not have a bad experience with them. Just know that we had 3 bad experiences with them.
Example: The clutch bearing that goes bad on the PCX. My wife's bike had that problem and the sound was pretty bad. They said that everything was normal, even though I took it back to them several times. When I gave up on them and took the bike to the other dealer they knew what the problem was right away.
Choose whomever you want as your preferred dealer. It is your bike. As for me, I hope to never do business with them again.
I appreciate the insight. The reason I went to MM was because they still had the previous years model discounted quite heavily. They did put the hard sell on me trying to get me to buy an extended warranty, GPS tracking and tons of other things but I went there pretty sure about what I wanted to get. The positive was they didn't let me ride it away that day because they needed to complete the fuel pump recall first (I considered that a positive anyway)

I forgot to mention that I did get the first service done at a Honda dealer in Douglasville (Freewheeln) and they were reasonably priced, polite and happy for my business but I have nothing to compare that to (and the seat doesn't stay up anymore :))
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by fish »

PS: received a comment about the hi viz jacket in photo. True - it is just a lined rain/wind jacket. ....but I'm always wearing a leather ICON armored jacket beneath it. Hence the bulk....and why I always have had to find mirror solutions on each of 4 different scooters.
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by MBMyer »

fish wrote:it is just a lined rain/wind jacket. ....but I'm always wearing a leather ICON armored jacket beneath it. Hence the bulk....and why I always have had to find mirror solutions....

Yep. I have a trusty armored leather jacket that I have loved for nearly two decades, and I keep a rain jacket that fits over it under the seat. Layers can be a time-consuming pain, but they sure are versatile.

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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by Mel46 »

When I purchased my jacket I was trying to take many things into consideration, such a visibility, use during very hot summer or very cold winter weather, and rain protection. I went with the Tourmaster Sonora 3/4 Air Jacket. I have had the "opportunity" of not only using it in various weather conditions, but also in an accident. It held up wonderfully, aside from some minor fabric tears (which I fixed with a little bit of thread and a needle). I am still using it. It was well worth the investment.

No matter which jacket you prefer, just buy your jacket as though you were going out to crash. Everyone knows that you have to look, so most jackets would solve that problem. Not every manufacturer would make sure the function meets the challenge.
Currently own:
Red 2013 Honda PCX150

Givi tall windshield & tailbox - Lots of extra lights
Custom seat from Thailand - Bad Boy Airhorn
Takegawa Lowering Shocks - Michelin City Grip Tires
Headlight assy upgraded to LEDs w/HS5 main bulbs
NCY variator, drive face, and rollers
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by WhiteNoise »

Quoting Mel, "no matter which jacket you prefer, just buy your jacket as though you were going out to crash."
Hmm, Sounds a bit scary? New Riders (or all) onboard have no fear, if you fear than they'll be no riding :(

Okay, maybe this instead? "Seriously consider a jacket that you believe will withstand a crash."
After all, That's the best we can do
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by you you »

WhiteNoise wrote:Quoting Mel, "no matter which jacket you prefer, just buy your jacket as though you were going out to crash."
Hmm, Sounds a bit scary?
Yes.

Don’t wear a jacket and ride your heart out. You won’t “crash”.

Just an alternative view for the sake of balance.
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Re: Great scooter, lousy dealer?

Post by Jge64 »

Go down hard once, at speed, without a good armoured jacket, and you’ll buy a good one as soon as you start riding again, trust me.....I’ve been riding with This one, love it, The joe rocket Honda VFR jacket:

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/joe ... vfr-jacket
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