|
Post by mollymil on Jul 23, 2008 13:35:11 GMT -5
I see all the trouble so many are having with dealers and drop shippers and I thought I should add a bit of balance.
I decided on the Lance Duke at the end of June but, of course, had some trouble finding anyone who could ship one, especially to California, and could also provide financing. Bandit MotorSports fit the bill.
Wandered around the forums and finally decided to take the plunge. Made my order on June 30th, but it took almost a week for the financing to get sorted...all the red tape required by GE Financing...but I'm patient.
So yesterday I got the email that the bike is on the truck and rolling my way. That's only 22 days from the date I ordered the bike. Take into account the delay w/ my financing and the fact that I had them go ahead and upgrade the air cleaner, rejet/tune the carb, and open up the exhaust, and I would say that is a fantastic turn around time.
Communication has been great. I try not to bother them too much because I know they are very busy, but whenever I did have a question my emails were quickly answered, even on days the shop was supposedly closed.
I am more than happy with the whole experience. I walked into the purchase expecting more than a few headaches and a serious test of my patience, but have found nothing but a smooth ride. I am glad I went w/ Bandit and will recommend them to anyone thinking of getting a scooter. I am already day dreaming about the next scoot...and will go with them again when I decide to get another. I have been waving the Lance Vintage under my sister's nose and I think she may bite soon...she's wanted a pink scoot for awhile now. When she does Bandit will be the place I send her.
A huge thank you to Jim and Ed at Bandit MotorSports for the fantastic service!!!
|
|
|
Post by raymond1024 on Jul 23, 2008 17:56:35 GMT -5
Keep me updated on that as Scooters Factory no longer sells online either or at their place. I want to order another one for my brother but cant find one. Maybe i should check out Bandit. Let me know how it went.
|
|
|
Post by mollymil on Jul 23, 2008 22:54:25 GMT -5
It has gone fantastic. It is all in the hands of the freight co. at this point. If you are looking for another I highly recommend Bandit MotorSport.
|
|
|
Post by raymond1024 on Jul 25, 2008 15:39:47 GMT -5
Great to know. I will consider that.
|
|
|
Post by mollymil on Aug 2, 2008 10:39:15 GMT -5
All went very well. After it hit the freight company it only took three days to get to me. The MCO was with the scooter and there was no damage. I am more than pleased with Bandit MS, to say the least. I had to work all last week, of course, so I haven't gotten to do the PDI...will start today. Getting registered too, that fun started yesterday. A few hoops to be jumped through, as I am in California, but so far so good...
Lots of bones for Bandit MotorSports!!!
|
|
|
Post by malport on Aug 11, 2008 0:59:46 GMT -5
Bandit is one of the few legit dealers around...great people, great response more TLC. Should have bought from them myself...next time I will
|
|
|
Post by extrememotorsales on Aug 15, 2008 8:58:49 GMT -5
Jim at Bandit is very knowledgable and knows this business. He is an asset to the dealer community. Good job Jim!!
|
|
|
Post by thecheermom823 on Aug 15, 2008 13:08:45 GMT -5
Hey Abbe!
I just did a little catching up.......
OMG! I can't beleive you got it! Shawn and I will be able to get our scoots locally by September. Maybe we can get together and ride!
I can just imagine the looks the 3 of us would get!
CONGRATS!!!!
|
|
|
Post by mollymil on Aug 15, 2008 20:18:55 GMT -5
September...Awesome!!! That's soon! We definitely have to get together...I am glad to hear you two are finally getting this crap worked out...what a saga, eh. Local is good. Less chance for crazy surprises, and if there are any you can march in and get business done.
Crap...just looked at the clock...gotta run for the door. Time for work...it's too easy to lose time here.
|
|
|
Post by whenpigsfly on Aug 21, 2008 22:40:59 GMT -5
I too would like to add a "vote" for Bandit MotorSports. I started my scooter search several months ago. Luckily, I found this board about the time my search began, so I credit user opinions for my decision as much as anything else. After reading a multitude of posts, reviews, suggestions, and opinions, I settled on the Linhai 300. After deciding what size/type of scooter I wanted, I emailed a few dealers to ask my remaining newbie questions. Jim at Bandit answered my email immediately and very thoroughly. Through our correspondence, I felt Jim was honest and straightforward about his products (and Chinese scooters in general). Jim always responded to my requests and answered all of my questions. He corresponded with me by email and by phone -- even on his days "off." I found that Jim and Bandit MotorSports fit my dealer needs perfectly. Jim went out of his way to help with the paperwork needed for financing. I purchased two 300's from Bandit during the same transaction, and the whole process was painless thanks Jim. Jim and I finalized the paperwork and order for both scooters on July 17th, and my scooters arrived via Old Dominion yesterday (in mint condition I might add -- points to Old Dominion ;D). I was prepared for the slight delay in receiving the scooters as Jim told me up front that production was running fast and furious and the supplier was two to three weeks out at the time of my order. Needless to say, I feel Jim deserves credit for a job very well done! I was comfortable enough with Jim, after corresponding with him, that all my pre-order jitters were gone. In the end, I had absolutely NO reservations about ordering with Bandit MotorSports, and plan to refer friends to Jim in the future -- as I'm sure people will be asking where I got the great looking scooters
|
|
|
Post by mi17dy on Aug 22, 2008 17:05:29 GMT -5
I bought gloves from them. It came quickly, and were of great quality. I even had a gift certificate and the online transaction went smoothly. Great job bandits, they do add you to a mailing list. I don't mind getting their emails once a week for sales and promotions.
|
|
|
Post by pcody21 on Aug 23, 2008 20:01:02 GMT -5
;D Bandit is very impressive. The scooter I want is not approved for Calif yet so I could not make the purchase. HOWEVER, Jim took the time to give me some free advise and headed me in the right direction. I will go back to him whenever I can for future purchases. This one is a GOOD ONE FOR SURE>
|
|
|
Post by aa7fy on Aug 24, 2008 12:31:27 GMT -5
Bandit rocks. Not a bad thing to say about them and there service and commitment to my satisfaction. Will buy from them again!!
|
|
cre
Junior Dawg
Posts: 5
|
Post by cre on Aug 26, 2008 18:36:03 GMT -5
I haven't ridden on 2 wheels for years and now that I have retired I have decided it's time to start having some fun again. I to decided to make my purchase from Bandit. Going for the GTX-400. I did my purchase from their online site . It would have gone smoothly had it not been for my recent move to my new home. The credit card company did not add my address change into their data base as fast as I had hoped, and the first transactions were refused. I thought all was lost so I sent an email off to Bandit on a Sunday night. Even though Bandit states that they are not open for business until Tuesday I got a speedy reply from Jim of Bandit on Monday and he worked with me to solve the problem after a few phone calls. Now I,m really glad I read the great reviews on scootdawg. I won't receive the scooter until near the end of September. At that point I will be letting you all know how the Qlink 400 performs. Thanks to all of the older members for their input. This is a great site for learning about the joys of scooting.
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 26, 2008 18:46:18 GMT -5
This is a great post to see. I have stuck my neck out for Bandit on a number of occasions. He has had some negative threads on here in the past usually for things out of his control. Most of the time all we get to see are the negative posts. If you do well by someone they'll tell a couple people. If someone thinks you have done them wrong they will tell everyone. Jim and Ed are top notch guys and never deliberately screw people. They try their best and this has been a tough year to satisfy customers. This post makes me very happy! THANK YOU! Needed a boost today.
Aaron
|
|
|
Post by banditms on Aug 26, 2008 19:39:41 GMT -5
You people are all a buncha suck ups!! LMAO Especially that ExtremeMotorSales person - I'm thinkin everyone here is gonna want to trade their 'Dawg bones' in for discounts on a scooter purchase. ( - ; Seriously, I do recognize all of my customers from their descriptions of their purchases and their experiences with us so far... we greatly appreciate their very positive feedback and will work hard not to let them down in the future either.
We've had a hard time this season of keeping on top of everything that was asked of us... and we did try but were easily overwhelmed. And our suppliers didn't make matters any easier either. Nobody anticipated this level of demand - not after a very slow 2007 season. I had to adopt policies of 'no help' for customers who had not bought a bike from us but were seeking parts and tech support from us. Basically, if we had the parts they needed, we would sell those parts to them - but otherwise, we would refer them to other suppliers who would have the parts they needed. Poor Ed was caught in a 'hail storm' of local service requests - and spent alot less time in the showroom with me. Alot of stuff slipped through the cracks...
There were suggestions on this forum that we hire extra help, but there was no guarantee of this 'sales spike' holding out. So I did the next best thing a manuf engineer would do - I automated most of the order process, hence the new (siste) website. This helped us greatly. One of the other things that we noticed was that everyone liked to call at the very same time. LOL The phone wouldn't ring for 2-3 hours, and then we would answer a call and be on the phone for 15-20 minutes talking to a customer. We could hear the 'clicks' from the call waiting each time someone would call in while we were on the phone - there would be people on this forum who could testify to that... ( - ;
But we're catching up... we're doin better... things look very bright for the foreseeable future. There are many things that are going to happen for us over the off-season - I can't divulge much yet other than the product offerings on the new website will swell dramatically - accessories and options. But staffing levels will have to go way up to accomplish our goals for next season. We look forward to it... and meeting new customers that enjoy our products and services. Most of the 'enjoyment' that I get out of this business IS having great customers that work with us, and allow us to work with them to get them on the road again. ( - ;
Later Dawgs, Jim J... Bandito MotorSports
|
|
|
Post by geetee on Aug 27, 2008 16:37:04 GMT -5
I bought from Jim because of his knowledge and understanding of scoots. Found out there was another "Jim" named Ed. Between the two of them there is a wealth of information and willingness to help that is very hard to match. I talk from some hard tough experiences with those two renegades. I would not trade the two of them for anything. Last winter I watched Jiim go through some pretty tough knotholes but he kept trudging along and got through them. I'm putting him and Ed through some right now and they are hanging in there with me, where for sure, other dealers would have left me hanging. Understand what I said, THEY ARE HANGING IN THERE WITH ME! That kind of loyalty to a customer causes me to be loyal to them and be very glad I bought from them. geetee
|
|
|
Post by pwostrel on Aug 27, 2008 18:09:18 GMT -5
Yes, I have to give Jim thumbs up too, I have to admit there were a few times where I doubted him, but he came through with flying colors. Most of the time he is very busy, most of the time he replies to a E-mail with in 24hrs I found this is the best way to contact him in my option. I hope to maybe order a 400 from him next year and only look forward to great service.
Phil W
|
|
|
Post by slowscootin07 on Aug 28, 2008 13:22:53 GMT -5
Jim is a good guy and eventhough our SYM transaction never went through, I can pretty much guarantee that it wasn't his fault. Would I buy (try) to buy from him again? I sure would, but not a SYM
|
|
|
Post by pcody21 on Aug 28, 2008 17:59:56 GMT -5
I just want to say again. The ONLY reason I could not purchase from Bandit is the SYM does not allow sales by shipment and requires brick and morter. These guys were SO honest and took time to make suggestions to guide me thru the process. If you can, DEAL WITH THEM> PHIL
|
|
|
Post by nonbandit on Sept 3, 2008 3:10:49 GMT -5
The exact definition of "bandit" is robber, or one who cheats and exploits others.
|
|
|
Post by Cookees on Sept 3, 2008 16:18:16 GMT -5
Yeah...but in the words of a infamous past President...... Define the word "it"... (or in your case "non-it")
|
|
|
Post by pcody21 on Sept 7, 2008 22:23:32 GMT -5
Whoops missed the humor in the negative comments re: the dealer name of Bandit (cheaters and exploiters?). If it was meant to be funny....HA HA.............If it was meant to be negative..again I say, this dealer is a VERY GOOD DEALER.
|
|
|
Post by nonbandit on Sept 8, 2008 6:50:56 GMT -5
Think so?
|
|
|
Post by scootinpicker on Sept 8, 2008 8:40:26 GMT -5
"Think so?"
Do you have a story to share?
|
|
|
Post by pcody21 on Sept 8, 2008 18:21:41 GMT -5
I know this dealer is above board because they took the time to steer me in another direction (they made no money) when I needed advise....NOW, lets hear the story from nonbandit so folks can decide for themselves please. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by mollymil on Sept 8, 2008 22:21:50 GMT -5
I am with pcody21 here...either "put up or shut up."
If you have something constructive to add, go for it. If you are only trying to be a troll, attempting to do harm to a business that so many others are more than pleased with, and have nothing of any voracity to back up your short, near meaningless statements, go away.
|
|
|
Post by pcody21 on Sept 9, 2008 20:01:02 GMT -5
Thx MOLLYMILL...........................so where is that "put up or shut up" from our friend who seems to want to do some "trash"?............Not looking for any arguments here but just want to know what this "person" knows about our friend BANDIT that we do not know?
|
|
|
Post by nonbandit on Nov 8, 2008 19:08:36 GMT -5
OK, it's time to put up. I simply needed more time to gather data on bandit and I did, oh boy I did. Here's the story from the beginning: Around last Christmas I did extensive research on chinese bikes, including this forum, since I had already visited bandit's site and they put this link there(obviously because everybody here loves them, I don't know why). After a couple of months I decided on Qlink. It had the biggest following on so many forums. Since the Qlink dealer in my city is impossible to talk to and wanted far more for it than what it was worth, I decided to let bandit ship one to my door. I wanted the Legend 250cc manual clutch cruiser. I placed the order in July, waited a month and the truck pulled up in August. When I got the foam and paper and plastic off, there was no Qlink logo anywhere on the bike. Just plain black. I called Jim Johnson and said "It arrived ok, but there is no name on it, no owner's manual, what gives?" He gave me some speech about it being a "generic product". I did not order a generic product I ordered the Qlink Legend in the photos on bandit's site. I then had a new hobby finding out if I'd been ripped off, and with other dealers and bike owners came to find out just what it is. The VIN number leads it back to Huanan motors in China where Qlink legends and Baja Phoenix(a cheap no name marketed by pep boys once) were made. However this was a factory B-stock reject that obviously failed Qlink's tests, I'm thinking compression test was one. I gave it time to prove itself, but every 100 miles I would note no improvement in compression or speed. I have to STRUGGLE to even get it to 50mph. So after about a month I sent bandit a letter telling them I would eat the $300 I spent on title/plates/inspection but I wanted my $2700 back and you ship it back on your own dime, otherwise I would dispute it with my credit card co. Johnson refused. Some people convinced me to give the bike time to break in. Meanwhile I was told that what happened to me was a "bait and switch" scam. A form of fraud where one item is listed for sale to get your attention, then one of lesser quality substituted. This is why bandit's substitution clause is so clear on their site. But, it is worded for scooters, not motorcycles, and the wording is imprecise as well. One thing their substitution clause says is bandit must get your permission to send a substitution. I never agreed to any substitute, I wanted a Qlink Legend. This all COULD have been stopped right there and the transaction cancelled. You see, right there? Do you want to buy from someone who you have to watch and scrutinize in this manner?? No. So, I'm told this type of fraud becomes federal when the item(s) in question cross state lines. I also find out bandit was NOT a Qlink dealer at the time of my purchase(July). I called Qlink in August and questioned them on why Johnson is being allowed to post official Qlink photos when he is not listed on Qlink's site as a dealer. They said they would investigate it. Johnson finally admitted why Qlink dumped him as a dealer and also told me some scary/shady things about my "lemon". This Baja/Huanan/Phoenix....no one knows what to call it!! He found it through "someone" in Texas he revealed, although he did not really know who. No one related to Qlink, but in Texas. bandit's site has recently been changed to add in large print: "We are no longer dealers for Qlink products". This I'm sure in part due to his mistake with me. But it's too late. I've got the proof that in July those words were not there. So, at 500 miles.....no improvement in compression or speed, still STRUGGLING to get it to 50mph. The engine has started making tapping sounds, perhaps valve tappet noise, I don't know. No pro's will not work on it. No name, no shop manual.......I didn't even get an owner's manual. Probably because Johnson does not want to admit what it is, or does not know what it is. The Baja Phoenix 250 .pdf manual is the closest thing I could find. But still, the valve clearance, torque specs, etc.....all differ between it, Qlink's Legend manual, Honda Rebel 250, etc......So the bike is parked, locked up, in dispute with my CC co. There are other legal remedies open to me if the dispute fails. Johnson in one E-mail hinted at the quality of his products by saying I could always sell it and get some of my money back if I don't want it "to end up as a paperweight in my back yard". So....Scootdawgs....this is what happens when you bend over with a kick me sign, you get kicked. Jim Johnson kicked. When a bike manufacturer makes a certain lot of bikes to be presented to QC inspectors from someone like Qlink, they work harder. Its cheaper to disqualify a bike(s) before it is shipped to the USA. The others, it's "who cares". I was sold a "who cares" reject, un-named, unbranded, unservicable. After reading this, you decide if you want to buy from bandit motorsports. I put up. Now I just want my money back and I'll shut up. There is no joy in biking for me after this fiasco. It felt good to be in the wind again, but for now, if I get a refund.....I'll just stick to cars.
|
|
|
Post by medman1952 on Nov 12, 2008 19:53:21 GMT -5
It is pretty obvious that "nonbandit" came here just with causing grief to Jim in mind. He only has three posts on the forum and all three are in this thread. His put up or shut up post was delayed a month so he could look up all the facts. I wonder if it had actually happened to him why would he need to look them up (or take a whole month to find), I would think he would have known what happened and be able to just blurt it out. He indeed may have had a less than stellar experience with Bandit, but what business has a totally perfect record.
I also think that he set up a special email account to start the membership with (I checked, looks fishy to me), he also left it closed to the public, wonder why, no location, why. It is very easy to come into a public forum and be anonymous just to attack somebody else and be shielded from a defense.
|
|