No response from Scooter Dynasty

[brettbolt]

My wife ordered a Lance scooter from Scooter Dynasty. Their website says 'All orders will be processed within 24 hours and are shipped immediately upon payment confirmation. In the event an item is back-ordered, you will be notified immediately by our corresponding department.'

A week went by and we did not receive a shipment notification or even an email saying it is back-ordered. We know they have our correct email address because we received the payment receipt immediately after placing the order.

So my wife sent them an email and got no reply. Then she called their phone number and got a recording, and was then transferred to voice mail. She left a message and we have not had the call returned.

Their website says 'All telephone calls and e-mails will be replied within 24 hours during normal business hours. We observe all major holidays.'

They have not lived up to their promise. We paid by credit card and the full charge has gone through.

I realize that Scooters are in very high demand right now, but they could at the very least answer the phone or reply to an email?

Has anyone else had experience with Scooter Dynasty? What should I do?

Thanks.

[jrsharp21]

I have tried to get ahold of Scooter Dynasty also the past couple of days to find out availability of some scoots. No response.

[brettbolt]

We tried the 323-265-0626 number twice and both times we were forwarded to voice mail which said 'memory full'.

We did finally get through to Vince at the 626 number. He said they don't ship to my location - Northern California.

So they took our money even though they can't fill the order -- that is LAME! Vince said "he just became aware of that policy".

I am really not happy with the treatment I got. All we got so far were false promises, an unreachable main phone number, and a lame excuse for taking our money in the first place.

So now all we can do is wait for a refund. I'll report back here if we get it.

[jrsharp21]

brettbolt -

It seems that alot of the internet sites are no longer shipping to California at all. If you are in NorCal, there are a couple of options.

If you are in the Sacramento area there are two dealers: Roseville Fun Toys and Zen Auto Sales

In the Bay Area there is SF Motoretta. I think there is also a dealer in Red Bluff and one in Santa Cruz.

[brettbolt]

jrsharp21 - Which scooter are you looking for? We just got back from Roseville Fun Toys and they have lots of 150cc Lance scooters in stock. No 250's today.

I test drove a Lance Vintage 150 (my wife doesn't have her motorcycle license yet). Its a good thing too, the wheels felt out of alignment and the scooter drifted from side to side. If felt like part of the bike wanted to go one way and then it corrected, and that repeated every few seconds.

So then I tried a Lance Milan 150. What a difference! It tracked perfectly straight. So we got a quote on it which was $200 over MSRP. My wife and I said the most that we would pay was about $50 over MSRP.

They rejected our offer so we left.

[madgolfer]

Have you dealt with the two dealers in Sacramento? Compared their prices? I've been planning on purchasing a Lance scooter for some time now. One of my co-workers just bought a Milan 150 yesterday and she said she was treated well at Zen. I may stop by there myself on Thursday. Just wanted your opinion on them. Thanks.

Jun 19, 2008 17:52:56 GMT -5 jrsharp21 said:

brettbolt -

It seems that alot of the internet sites are no longer shipping to California at all. If you are in NorCal, there are a couple of options.

If you are in the Sacramento area there are two dealers: Roseville Fun Toys and Zen Auto Sales

In the Bay Area there is SF Motoretta. I think there is also a dealer in Red Bluff and one in Santa Cruz.

[theg2]

Just letting people know, places are raising their prices due to demand. I ordered a Lance GSR 150 from SF Motoretta 2 weeks ago at 1500, the price is now 1700.

[brettbolt]

Jun 26, 2008 1:56:02 GMT -5 madgolfer said:

Have you dealt with the two dealers in Sacramento? Compared their prices? I've been planning on purchasing a Lance scooter for some time now. One of my co-workers just bought a Milan 150 yesterday and she said she was treated well at Zen. I may stop by there myself on Thursday. Just wanted your opinion on them. Thanks.

I'll probably lose some more Scooby Snack's from the dealers here in disguise, but having ridden several motorcycles ranging from 70 to 1200 ccs and 2 scooters, I would never drive a scooter under 250cc on public roads. Its purely a safety issue.

Yesterday my wife and I purchased a new Honda rebel 250cc motorcycle. It had just enough power to go on the freeway so I could drive it home.

Also, another big shocker came today -- it will cost $1000 per year to insure my wife on her new bike. Currently I only pay $300 per year for my motorcycle, but I've had my license for 33 years.

After 3 years the insurance rate for my wife will drop.

Just something to consider -- we are not really saving money with her driving a 65 MPG motorcycle to work and back. But shes doing it mostly for fun.

And finally, go ahead and take more Scooby Snacks away from me, dealer shills. I don't care!

[bkbroiler]

Jun 27, 2008 21:35:25 GMT -5 brettbolt said:

I'll probably lose some more Scooby Snack's from the dealers here in disguise, but having ridden several motorcycles ranging from 70 to 1200 ccs and 2 scooters, I would never drive a scooter under 250cc on public roads. Its purely a safety issue.

Yesterday my wife and I purchased a new Honda rebel 250cc motorcycle. It had just enough power to go on the freeway so I could drive it home.

Also, another big shocker came today -- it will cost $1000 per year to insure my wife on her new bike. Currently I only pay $300 per year for my motorcycle, but I've had my license for 33 years.

After 3 years the insurance rate for my wife will drop.

Just something to consider -- we are not really saving money with her driving a 65 MPG motorcycle to work and back. But shes doing it mostly for fun.

And finally, go ahead and take more Scooby Snacks away from me, dealer shills. I don't care!

First, I just gave you a scooby snack (you were -1, hehe).

Second, I would never recommend a 150cc scooter for the freeway, and in fact that is illegal (at least in Washington, but I think in most places). I bought a 150cc, but that's only for commuting to work with max speeds of 45 mph (mostly 35). For those speeds, and my weight (190 lbs) a 150 cc is more than sufficient. I put over 10K miles on a Honda 150 and that thing was WAY more powerful than I ever needed. In fact I took it over 80 miles on the freeway once (when I was way younger and dumber, hehe).

And about the insurance, I have NO idea why it would be so bad. It's only going to add about $300/year for my scooter, and many others have posted even lower numbers, so I don't know why you wife's is so expensive. You may want to shop around.

[brettbolt]

bkbroiler,

First of all, thank you for the Scooby snack. I seemed to be losing too much weight. ;D Anyway, I have told the complete truth about my experience with SD. I'm sure they are a fine place to buy scooters when the supply is adequate. And they refunded 100% of our money like they said they would. So all is well now, except that I might be left paying the credit card for the interest while SD had my money.

Anyway, I just felt that it was important to describe my experience objectively and factually so that other customers would know what might happen to them too.

And we will definitely get lots of insurance price quotes for my wife. $1000 a year is way too much, and that is for liability coverage only, no collision or comprehensive! We went ahead and insured it just so she can start riding her Rebel 250. But we can (and will) cancel as soon as we find a more reasonable price. And, by the way, she has a clean driving record and 34 years of safe car driving experience!

[isawhim]

150cc is not freeway legal?

The law says greater than 149cc... 150cc is within that limit. (As long as it has tires larger than 13 inches.)

In California, if it has 2 wheels, and is 150cc or more... it is a motorcycle, not a scooter or a motor-driven cycle.

MOTOR-DRIVEN CYCLES
A motor-driven cycle is:
• A motorcycle with a 149 cc or less engine size.
NOTE: You may not operate a motor-driven cycle on a freeway if signs are posted to prohibit motor-driven cycle operation.

www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl655/dl665mcycle.pdf

I just don't want people thinking that they can't drive a 150cc scooter on a highway. If it can obtain a speed of 45 MPH, and holds a DOT motorcycle class, it is legal in every state's highways. (Highways are federal property, but state ruled. The government dictates the states laws, and those laws can not exclude individuals of any other state. Eg, it can't be illegal in Florida, but legal in Georgia... It would have to be posted at every state border... the change in laws. Has to do with evacuation and lively-hood. That is why some states have had to reduce highway speeds. They were creating unsafe speeds, and attempting to make odd laws like that, to compensate for the unsafe driving conditions they created. Plus, attempting to hold out-of-state residents, accountable for the "Invisible law". Laws created, but only seen/publicised within state-handbooks, which out-of-state drivers, obviously would not be aware of. The supreme court took care of that issue in 2002.)

(Actually, you can obtain a waiver, from a judge, if your lively-hood depends upon that crossing, to travel to work. If that scooter/bike/moped/feet are your only transportation. We have a highway here, with a similar situation. No walkers/bikers/mopeds allowed. However, that is a common transportation, and across the bridge, which can only be reached by highway, is where the jobs are. Homes are on the other side.)

[brettbolt]

Jun 28, 2008 2:12:14 GMT -5 isawhim said:

150cc is not freeway legal?

The law says greater than 149cc... 150cc is within that limit. (As long as it has tires larger than 13 inches.)

In California, if it has 2 wheels, and is 150cc or more... it is a motorcycle, not a scooter or a motor-driven cycle....

Thanks for the correction. I was misinformed by a sales woman at the local dealer (Roseville Fun Toys). I removed the incorrect part of my post above.

However, with many drivers going 70 MPH here on Northern California freeways (when its not rush hour), I would never take a 150cc on the freeway. The two scooters that I tested seemed to max out at 50 MPH. One had mis-aligned or wobbly wheels.

[isawhim]

I completely understand that... (I am sure the sales-woman, or someone above her, had been told that, by the DMV. Possibly a person who has been there a while, unaware of the changes.)

There is one segment of highway, in Connecticut/Massachusetts, on the line, where the highway I-95 has a POSTED speed limit of 80 MPH. (Old sign, the DOT seems to overlook.)

Even when the rest of the highway is 75 MPH, I often drove 85-105 MPH, in my car, to keep-up with traffic. (Talk about dangerous! The fastest I could get my car up to, on that section, in my mercury-tracer-trio, was 125 MPH, on the downgrade. There are guard-rails on all sides, no cops, unless they are flying past you!)

So what scooter are you getting next, and where are you going to get it from?

[brettbolt]

Jun 28, 2008 4:36:32 GMT -5 isawhim said:

...
Even when the rest of the highway is 75 MPH, I often drove 85-105 MPH, in my car, to keep-up with traffic. (Talk about dangerous! The fastest I could get my car up to, on that section, in my mercury-tracer-trio, was 125 MPH, on the downgrade. There are guard-rails on all sides, no cops, unless they are flying past you!)

At those speeds you have to have a lot of faith in your tires and no surprises from bumps or objects on the road.

Jun 28, 2008 4:36:32 GMT -5 isawhim said:

So what scooter are you getting next, and where are you going to get it from?

My wife got a new Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle on Thursday, and I have a Yamaha VMax 1200. So we no longer have plans to buy a scooter. Maybe our next vehicle (for winter use) will be an '09 Toyota Prius with its bigger engine and improved MPG over the current year models.

My wife got her motorcycle license today. Until she gets more confidence in her ability, she is just practicing on residential streets. So if you live in Rocklin and see a woman on a black Honda rebel, take cover -- its my wife! ;D

[tscoot]

;D NICE

[bkbroiler]

Jun 28, 2008 2:12:14 GMT -5 isawhim said:

150cc is not freeway legal?

The law says greater than 149cc... 150cc is within that limit. (As long as it has tires larger than 13 inches.)

In California, if it has 2 wheels, and is 150cc or more... it is a motorcycle, not a scooter or a motor-driven cycle.

Must be different here in Washington. You must have 250cc for the freeway here.

["Big Guy"]

I have never heard that one before. If it is an interstate highway designated with an I before the number, the state would have to get special permission to restrict any vehicle that conforms to federal rules, such as a scooter. Federal law says 150cc and maintain 45mph. Perhaps someone just told you this about WA? If not, I would be interested in the source, because it's not on their website.


-Rich

[ZootScootRiot]

Rebel 250 are a lot of fun to ride, and are built to last freakin' forever! She's going to have a good time on it!

[brettbolt]

Jun 30, 2008 20:38:55 GMT -5 ZootScootRiot said:

Rebel 250 are a lot of fun to ride, and are built to last freakin' forever! She's going to have a good time on it!

I couldn't agree more, we are both extremely happy with it.

I think I even prefer riding the Rebel 250 to my Yamaha Vmax 1200. Its so light and maneuverable. If it wasn't the last new one available in the entire Sacramento region I might sell my VMax and get one for myself!