Roketa MC-54-B / Valley Scooters Evaluation

[spazoo]

While I realize that posting negative opinions towards a particular brand of scooter may be frowned upon, being an owner of the brand should allow me some amount of leniency.

After 90 days (2400 miles) of mostly riding (occasionally pushing) an MC-54-B purchased from Valley Scooters I am ready to admit that I did not get the "great deal" that I thought I was getting.

From the day the scooter arrived in it's damaged condition I have had one problem after another. I should have never accepted the scooter from the shipping company. But, following the procedures outlined on the Valley Scooters website, I spoke with John before the scooter was unloaded from the truck and he assured me that he would make everything OK after he returned from his vacation.

I sent several emails and photos of the scooter to John and the only "help" I got was the phone number of the trucking company that delivered the scooter. I placed 2 calls to the company, neither were returned. I relayed this to John and he was going to "follow up" but nothing ever happened.

Within a few weeks I started having other problems with the scooter, ranging from electrical problems to ignition problems to fuel problems and finally mechanical problems.

I have tightened up all the screws and bolts I could find. I have taken the scooter to a local scooter shop and paid them to tighten up everything they could find. Still the scooter rattles and squeeks to the point where I am embarrassed to ride it.

My wife paid more for a "lesser" (150cc) scooter from a Kymco dealer and she ended up getting much more than I did. Her scooter runs great and it sounds great.

I go over a bump with my Roketa and it sounds like the scooter is falling apart. When my wife and I ride together she often rides in front because I don't want her to get hit by anything that may fall off my scooter.

I purchased from Valley Scooters because they were highly recommended by ScootDawg members. Well, I can't see how I could have gotten any less service purchasing a scooter anywhere else.

Before the sale John was helpful answering questions. As the scooter was being delivered he was helpful. Once the scooter was in my hands he would only reply to my requests for help with an email stating that the latest part that broke on my scooter is not covered under the warranty and how did I want to pay for the part.

I know some folks here have had better experiences with Roketa and Valley Scooters. Perhaps it was just bad luck that my scooter arrived in bad shape just as John was going on vacation.

I realize now that I made some bad decisions. I should not have accepted delivery of the scooter in the condition it was in. I should have not believed that John was going to make it all better, later.

I cannot continue to ride this scooter because I don't think it is safe. I'm not going to risk my life and I think it is foolish to put more money into this scooter.

I hope this information will help someone else who is trying to make a decision on a scooter purchase.

[mikeyscootin]

I hope you put your scooter on your credit card.. dispute it.. no one deserves to be treated like that.. your money is hard earned and even if it is chinese it should be what it is portrayed to be.. thats what credit cards are for...

[Showme]

Spazoo, Your experience sounds exactly like mine. I got the MC 54, not the B model, but I had almost the same problems. Damaged scoot and lots of problems that John said he would make good. After fighting with the freight co. and talking to John, nothing ever got resolved. I finally got fed up. Told John I would just fix it myself. Took that sucker apart down to the frame. Fixed, repaired everything I could find and enjoyed the work. I like to tinker. Scoot has been very good ride since then. After putting it back togeather most of the rattlesl and squeeks went away. It has a pretty good foundation, but you must be able to do some work to get it right. Like you, I cannot really recommend Valley Scooters if you want to buy a scoot and just ride. By the way, the first scoot I got from John was even worse and I didn't accept it. The one I speak of was the second one he sent.

[spazoo]

When the truck delivering my scooter arrived the driver lifted the back door of the trailer and the scooter was already tipped over. The "shipping crate" had completely fallen apart. Plastic was broken, the rear wheel rim and tire were damaged. There was a lot of damage as you can imagine since the scooter was bouncing up and down as it was being transported.

I asked the driver of the truck to wait while I called Valley Scooters. I called and John told me that this type of damage was normal and not to worry. He told me to go to the Roketa web site and get part numbers for all of the parts that were broken or damaged, and he would replace them when he got back from vacation.

I sent him an email with photos of the damage and a list of the part numbers. I waited a few weeks and I did not hear anything. I followed up with a phone call to Valley Scooters and left a voicemail. No response. I emailed again John finally sent me a reply. He told me he never got the list of part numbers. So I re-sent the list. Another week went by and no word from John. I called again and left another voicemail. No return call.

John never did anything to "make things right" with my original purchase.

As far as the "warranty" is concerned, none of the problems I have experienced with the scooter were covered by the warranty.

If I had the parts I would pay someone to install them. But I never received any parts. Since the scooter is only 90 days old I don't think I should have to purchase replacement parts, especially since the scooter was damaged when I received it.

Maybe John can chime in and offer some explanation or suggestions. We'll see.

[jdikov]

Guys,
Please let me know what parts it you need. I have been working on clearing out all the folks who were waiting for Roketa parts for the last 4 months. I honestly thought I had everybody taken care of. I have ordered all the parts that have been requested directly from ROketa and I was under the impressoion that everybody got their parts. If you did not get them you need to let me now by shooting me an email with all your inof on it and I will take care of it.
It has been hard to get all the parts and has taken a long time to get some of them to get shipped out since they claimed they did not have them in stock.
In the meantime I have been working on getting samples of new scooters that I will probably brand under my own name and bring in with full 100% parts support. Every containre I get will have enought parts to cover at least all the parts on 4 scooters.
Parts will then no longer take long to get. They will be sent out day after requested.

[spazoo]

John, thanks for your help.

Here is the list of items that were broken/damaged when I recieved my scooter:

MC-54B-250-02-05 METER ASSY (fuel gauge does not work, odometer does not work)
MC-54B-250-02-25 IGNITION LOOP ASSY (cable broken)
MC-54B-250-03-42-02 AIR CLEANER GROUPWARE (housing cracked)
MC-54B-250-04-01-06 R.PROTECTING BAR (damaged)
MC-54B-250-04-01-09 R.RR.BOARDING (damaged)
MC-54B-250-04-01-10 L.RR.BOARDING (damaged)
MC-54B-250-04-01-13 COVER SHEET,REAR TAIL (damaged)
MC-54B-250-04-15 HEADING HANDLE PROTECT COVER (damaged)

Also broken: Windshield and Top Case

I received the scooter 3 months ago. I spoke with you on the phone about these problems (and sent you photos) the day the scooter arrived at my house.

The name on the order is Anthony Harwood. My shipping address is the same address that was on the original order.

How soon will you be shipping the parts?

Thanks.

[rerun2]

WOW! I love this forum!

[spazoo]

I've been BBS'ing since the mid 80's and I've never seen a more helpful group of people than this group, here.

[rerun2]

Amen, Spazoo!! This is the best forum I have ever experienced regardless of the topic! Reckon we all share a common 'love interest' and have a lot of empathy for each other when things go screwy!

[spazoo]

I suppose the mods should get some of the credit.

[jdikov]

Hi ANthony,
Unfortunately I never recieved any emails from you that I can find regarding any parts that were damaged. If I spoke to you on the phone, and I wish I could rememeber if I did, I would have told you to go ahead and file a claim with the shipping company. Has that been done? Anyway the best thing to do is to give me a call and we will handle this problem. The forum is not the place to take up space and discuss specifics of parts orders etc.. But i am glad you let me know there was a problem. With so many customers the only way we can keep track of everybody is if they send us emails with all the info we need to hadle thier requests. Phone calls are just the start of the process.

[spazoo]

John, I am surprised that you cannot find any emails. I have emailed you several times. You have replied back to some of them.

Here is the first email I sent you after our phone conversation. Maybe it will help.



To: [e-mail]
Sent: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:46 pm
Subject: RE: Scooter DELIVERY
John,

As I mentioned to you on the phone, the scooter is very damaged. I have attached some photos to this email.

Honestly, I was expecting some damage. I have read on the forums about people getting scooters with some scratches on them. But the condition my scooter arrived in was much worse than I expected.

For one, the metal frame that the scooter ships in was in about 6 six pieces. The bike was tipped over and it actually busted through the cardboard. It looked like there was some type of metal bracket around the left handgrip that was supposed to secure the bike. That strap was not attached to anything because the metal crossbar that made up that part of the shipping frame was laying on the pallet. Four of the vertical parts of the shipping frame had come loose and fallen apart.

The scooter has damage on all sides and the top. Even the windshield was broken at the bottom. I will describe some of the photos.

#1 Back of the scooter. Damage in about 6 places.
#2 The top of the rack is very damaged. There are 5 or 6 large gouges.
#3 Closeup of the bottom right side of the scooter. Looks terrible.
#4 This photo looks like scratches on the plastic part of the steering column but actually the part is cracked in 2 places.
#5 Left side of handlebars. The end of the handlebar and the grip are damaged.
#6 Left brake is scratched up. The right brake is also scratched in the same place, but not as bad.
#7 Bottom of the windshield is broken.
#8 Another view of the back of the scooter. You can see the damage is everywhere.

John, I am not sure who is to blame for this. I can tell you that I opened the top of the cardboard and what was supposed to be the frame used for shipping was in several pieces. It appears that the metal frame was put together without tools. The pieces of the frame that did not fall apart were dangling.

Also, the fuel gauge does not work. It was on E when I turned the key and turned on the instrument panel. I put in 1.5 gallons of gas and the gauge is still on E. It did not move at all. I anticipated I might have to do some minor work. What I did not expect was a scooter that looks like it was dropped several times.

Where do we go from here?

Anthony Harwood




Your Reply:

It looks like the only part broken is actually the windshield Let me know if that is correct. Also looks like you need a new handgrip. The scratches actually don't look very bad. Except for that one near the tail light. They can probably be touched up at a body shop for less than it would cost to buy and install new ones (takes longer to get them also and hard to put on)
Go to Roketa.com and write down the part numbers of all the parts that need to be replaced. I will get estimate for them also get an estimate for the paint touchup.
Call Chad at Global Trans (they are our shipping company) 866-275-1407 ext 113 He will help with filing the claim. We will be away this week on vacation so I will be back in touch after next Saturday.

John Dikov
Valley Scooters
203-500-0960



Here is another email I sent you:

John,

I spoke with you earlier today on the phone about an MC-54-B that has a broken wire going to the spark plug. The wire broke yesterday as I was riding.

Here is a link to the parts page:
www.terminatorscooter.com/product/parts_detail.jsp?partId=30667&partName=WIRING ASSEMBLY(2)

The part is #25 on the page. It is the coil / wire.

I purchased the scooter less than a month ago. The VIN is LD5TDNPAX71011916.

I hope I am not going to have difficulty obtaining this part. I am already unhappy that nothing has happened regarding the damage that occurred during shipping. I reported this to you a month ago and I sent you photos. You told me that you were going on vacation and I should contact Chad at Global Trans about filing a claim. I left messages for him but he never called me back. I also emailed you part numbers for the pieces that were damaged.

Please contact me by phone or email and let me know what I can expect regarding this broken part.

Thank you.

Anthony Harwood


Would you like me to repost the pictures?



Another email:

To: [e-mail]
Sent: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:58 am
Subject: Anthony Harwood - MC-54B problem
Thanks for the quick reply, John.

I have taken the scooter to my mechanic at Moxie Scooters. ( www.moxiescooters.com/ )

He did a visual inspection of the problem with me present and he showed me that the rear wheel was loose.

He is going to remove the muffler to get to the wheel to determine the problem.

Also, the plastic housing for the air cleaner has a hole in it where the clear plastic tube connects. It needs to be replaced because it is allowing dirt to get into the engine.

Here is a link to the parts page:
www.roketa.com/product/parts_detail.jsp?partId=30732&partName=ENGINE ASSEMBLY(3)

The plastic part that needs replacing is MC-54B-250-03-42-02. It is described as "Air Cleaner Groupware"

Please let me know what I need to do to get the part.

Anthony Harwood


Another reply from you:

From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 3:52 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Anthony Harwood - MC-54B problem

I have that part in stock for $40 plus $10 shipping. Let me know.
John Dikov
Valley Scooters
203-500-0960



Me:

To: [e-mail]
Sent: Wed, Oct 31 11:31 PM
Subject: RE: Anthony Harwood - MC-54B problem

Is this part covered under warranty?

Anthony Harwood



Your reply:

No just the engine and drive train are.

John Dikov
Valley Scooters




At this point the scooter was less than two months old. You did not replace the parts damaged during shipping and now 2 other parts that broke within the first 60 days were not under warranty. The part you were going to charge me $40 was broken during the shipping of the scooter.

jdikov said:

With so many customers the only way we can keep track of everybody is if they send us emails with all the info we need to hadle thier requests. Phone calls are just the start of the process.

As you can see, I have sent emails.

[spazoo]

John,

I am not posting to ScootDawg forums to try and resolve this issue. I have pretty much given up on Valley Scooters.

Since my decision to purchase a scooter from Valley Scooters was based largely on recommendation from other users on this forum I wanted to post my experience so other people making the same decision can have this information.

If you want to "make good" on our deal then that is fine with me. But I am not expecting results.

You have the part numbers. You have my shipping information. If you want to send me parts, great. I'm not interested in phone calls or promises. Just parts. Thank you.

[T W I S T E R]

spazoo said:

John,

I am not posting to ScootDawg forums to try and resolve this issue. I have pretty much given up on Valley Scooters.

Since my decision to purchase a scooter from Valley Scooters was based largely on recommendation from other users on this forum I wanted to post my experience so other people making the same decision can have this information.

If you want to "make good" on our deal then that is fine with me. But I am not expecting results.

You have the part numbers. You have my shipping information. If you want to send me parts, great. I'm not interested in phone calls or promises. Just parts. Thank you.

great job on this whole deal . this is the kind of stuff we all need to know.

[spazoo]

twister said:

great job on this whole deal . this is the kind of stuff we all need to know.

Absolutely. I was going to buy from ScootersFactory.com but I decided to go with Valley Scooters because I read that the support was good.

Maybe my experience (and Showme's experience) with Valley Scooters is an exception. I understand that sometimes things fall through the cracks. Maybe I should not have been so polite when I spoke with him on the phone. Maybe I should have taken this up with my credit card company right away. Instead I was trying to cooperate with John and I gave him the benefit of the doubt and anticipated he would make everything right.

My biggest mistake was not refusing the scooter when it arrived. I don't want other people to make the same mistake.

[Showme]

I am really sorry to hear all your problems. I thought that I was maybe the only one who had this problem. I forgot to mention that the first shipper was Estes and the scoot was so beat up that we did not accept it. The second one John shipped was with UPS and when I contacted them about the damage they sent me the bill of shipping which showed that they had picked up a damaged carton. So it appears that the scoot was damaged before it was ever sent. They did agree to pay me absolutely nothing. What a surprise.

[brycegtx]

Sorry to hear about your problems spazoo.

I would like to relate my experience with receiving scoots and other things by freight.

Whenever you have damage with a shipment, you need to record all damage on the shipper before you sign it. Then you immediately contact the shipper. The shipping company should then give you a claim number. The shipper will then send an inspector out to validate the damage. Prior to the inspector coming out, you should have a complete list of all parts and the cost to replace the damaged parts. Add an amount for a mechanic to replace all parts. At least $50 per hour. Contact a local dealer to determine rates. You should present this list to the inspector. The inspector will examine the scooter, take pictures and then estimate the damage. Make sure he sees all damage.

The shipping company will then then send you a check. It is the shipping companies responsibility to pay for the damage, not the scooter dealer. I talked to the inspector when he came out to access the damage to our scooter. The inspector says this happens all the time. He said that it happens all the time to Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki dealer shipments. The shippers are not careful enough when they are moving these scoots. One of our scooters was shipped with no damage. One had shipping damage that was clearly the result of the shipping. A typical problem is that the shipper takes an oversized item like a scooter and places it on an undersized square pallet. This causes the shipping containers to bend and break messing up the scooters.

I also browse the machinist forums and I see the same thing with machinery shipments. I constantly read about lathes and mills dropped and pallets broken. The shippers do the same thing with oversized lathes that they do with scooters. They place these long laths on short pallets. It likewise destroys the shipping containers and damages the machines.

What the shippers need to do is to place these oversized items on longer pallets or extend the pallet. The shippers will continue to trash these scooters unless we demand otherwise. My recomendation is to report the smallest scratch on your scooter. Demand payment of the damages from the shipping company. What I have seen, it is rarely the dealer that provides the damaged scooter.

I hope this helps others that find themselves in a similar situation.
Bryce

[scooterollie]

I have to agree fully with Bryce. When buying drop ship, we assume a degree of responsibility. Perhaps we get caught up in the excitement of the moment and just don't want to go through the hassle and wait for another shipment and against our better judgement, accept the damaged goods. Damage can occur with any shipper but apparently some are worse than others. I have heard and seen negative comments about Estes over the past year or so. I believe John at Valley Scooters tried them on the recommendation of someone else and got burned. I won't make excuses for his not getting back to you but you can't really expect any dealer to be responsible for the shipper. If a shipper says the carton was damaged when they picked it up, it probably isn't the dealer's fault because the scoot is usually shipped from the distributor, not the dealer. Any conscientious dealer does not wish to have this type of thing happen. It obviously sours the entire buying experience and can cost them future sales. I do believe a good dealer should assist the buyer, as far as reasonable, to get satisfaction from the shipper or distributor.

The last two scoots I have purchased, from two different dealers, were drop shipped. The first was shipped by Over Night Express (UPS owned) and the second by R&L Carriers. In both cases there was slight damage to the carton but not to the metal crate or scoot. The experience with Over Night Express was satisfactory and the experience with R&L Carriers was great. R&L was much more pleasant to deal with and very accommodating in scheduling delivery to my home. The second scoot was purchased through John at Valley Scooters. Prior to, during and after the purchase, John has been good to deal with. There is a slight gear whine from the rear gear set that John, the distributor and I are working through. So far, no disappointments. Communication has been good but not always perfect. Imagine the number of calls these dealers get from folks like us who are interested, excited and want to talk about scoots for hours. Many of these dealers are "start up" dealers and have other full time jobs. This is not to excuse them from good business practices but only to say that they, like many of us, have a lot on their plate. Unfortunately, even the best dealers will suffer through delivery problems and/or lemons from time to time. Even the best dealers may also let some things fall through the cracks. How they handle things after the problem(s) surface is the telling factor.

[spazoo]

The shipping company was Estes. And from what I have read many people have had problems with them. Why would Valley Scooters keep using them? The scooter arrived severely damaged and I called John before the scooter was unloaded from the truck. I was not caught up in the excitement. Instead I was very disappointed. I told John I did not want the scooter because of the damage and he convinced me to accept the scooter because he would make everything right.

I followed John's directions to the letter. John told me to have the driver put notes on the shipper and describe the damage and have the driver sign the shipper. I did that.

John told me to email him a list of the parts and he would get an estimate. I emailed him the parts list. I also sent photos.

I called the shipping company and left what little information I had. John said he would follow up and provide an estimate of the damage and he never did.

John has obviously had much experience with scooters being damaged during shipping. This is the first time I have ever had anything like this shipped to me. The Valley Scooters website claims "Unsurpassed Customer Service". Where is it? I needed customer service. I didn't get it.

I have a feeling that the people that are happy with Valley Scooters are the people that don't require much support.

What really bothers me is that I did exactly what was asked of me. If John needed me to do more he could have told me.

If you read my email to John I clearly state that I was not putting the blame on him. I was merely counting on him to make good on his promise to me.

Maybe John was caught up in his vacation and was not concerned with my problems. Maybe he just forgot about me. Maybe he thought I would spend another $2000 and buy another scooter from him.

A few days ago John posted here that he thought everything was ok. So I posted some of the email conversations that clearly indicate things are far from ok. The truth is I am insulted that after all of the time I spent making calls, taking pictures and sending email that he thought everything was ok. What else do I need to do to get some help?

People can read this thread and make up there own mind.

[spazoo]

I just purchased a Burgman 650 scooter so I am no longer depending on John to send me the parts.

If John sends me any parts I will update this thread.

If I don't get any parts then I will assume the value of the parts exceeded the value of his integrity.

Nobody should be treated like this. Even people that buy cheap chinese scooters deserve what they order. $2,000 is still a lot of money.

[spazoo]

showme said:

The second one John shipped was with UPS and when I contacted them about the damage they sent me the bill of shipping which showed that they had picked up a damaged carton. So it appears that the scoot was damaged before it was ever sent. They did agree to pay me absolutely nothing. What a surprise.

Interesting... The Valley Scooters website states:
All of our scooters are inspected before they leave the warehouse and are shipped out in perfect condition.

That statement on the website is a complete lie. They knowingly sold you a scooter that was damaged and they should have known there was no way you were going to be able to file a claim against UPS.

Finally I understand why he has not done anything for me. He doesn't care about his customers very much if he is shipping them damaged goods.

Now I am angry. All along I was giving John the benefit of the doubt. What a rotten way to do business.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I hope the moderators leave this thread online and I hope some people read this before they buy from Valley Scooters.

[brycegtx]

Hello spazoo:
I have been in your shoes a few times and I appreciate your frustration. Irrespective of how you feel about Valley Scooters, you should contact your shipper and file the claim. They will pay for the damages. We had two scratches in plastic and a scratched windshield. Parts totaled $200, two hrs of labor was $100. UPS paid $300. It sounds like you have considerably more damage. You need to be compensated for both parts and labor. Don't throw away the oportunity to get some compensation. Then you should deal with Valley Scooters.
Bryce

[spazoo]

Well I am frustrated because I now realize there is a chance that the scooter was damaged before it was shipped to me. There is no excuse for doing business that way.

I don't have a clue how much any of the parts cost. That is where John was going to help. I am not sure how far I will get with the shipping company since I have been riding the scooter for three months.

Knowing that John shipped at least one scooter already damaged absolutely disgusts me. When it was just my money that I was out I could accept it as a bad decision that I made. Now I feel like John has just been taking me and others as fools.

I am furious. I cannot comment any more on this today because my wife is in the hospital because of a scooter accident she had on Friday and she is having surgery tomorrow.

www.dfwscooterist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=820

[scooterollie]

Spazoo;
Sorry to hear about your wife's accident and injury. May God guide the hands of the surgeon and speed her healing.

You do have a right to be upset! Just trying to point out other possibilities. Place your attention on what is really important now - your wife - and come back to this when she is on the mend.

[rerun2]

spazoo,

I don't think you have to be concerned with this thread being deleted. This forum is great and greatly appreciated because it is a place that allows for open and honest discussions and comments. To delete a thread of this type would destroy all the integrity that scootdawg has earned and richly deserves for being true to a 'higher calling' than the typical forum, most of which tend to have an obvious bias of some sort. Here the bias is for honesty and openness.

I can fully appreciate and understand the problems of any dealer when it comes to shipping damage. The item is out of their control while it is in the care of the truckers. A good dealer should be willing to help resolve any problems with shipping that might come up. This is an expected part of the business. That is about as sympathetic as I can be.

The facts you have posted, and appear to be adequately documented as to their validity, demonstrate the worst treatment I can imagine from any dealership, regardless of who they are, how long they have been in business, number of locations, or any thing else. This is an example of biggest complaint there is concerning Chinese scooters and dealers! Horrible experiences with customer service, no parts, etc.

The facts speak for themselves. I don't think anyone with a rational mind can justify or defend the dishonesty you have had to deal with. I am truly sorry for your sad experiences in this. I do want to thank you for your honest posts. Such information is or should be welcomed by all. It is a benefit for everyone, including any dealerships that may be errant and can change the way they conduct business.

Have a Karma!

Come to think of it, the moderators may want to move this to the 'Dealers, Good, Bad and Ugly' section!

[Aaron]

Spazoo no this post will not be deleted. Thus far I have only deleted one such post as the poster did not have the balls to post their gripes inteligently and document them the way you have. That post was against Bandit Scooters and simply had a link to contact the guy off the record. The other staff members and I did not think that was fair. While I do not like such disputes being handled on the forum in this way such complaints are a part of life. The Qlink complaints stand, the Bandit complaints, (other than the one) stand as will this one. I can't defend what has happened to you or speak for John. I have spoken with John in the past, and speak with Jim from Bandit often. I still think they are two of the better internet sellers. Like any business including my own you screw up from time to time sometimes badly. I am of the hope that this can still be resolved. Keep us posted.

Aaron

[johnnyscoots]

Bryce has the drop ship process down pat!

I usually take delivery of commercial laundry equipment (large capacity, high extraction spin) that typically weighs anywhere from 250-1900lbs and costs as much as a good car. The freight companies vary, recently Old Dominion, and you have to check everything, make sure the driver of the truck is aware of the damage (have him sign off on it if possible), and document EVERYTHING, and take pictures till your camera's memory card is filled. They will reimburse you, but you gotta get the damage claim out immediately...

I was very tempted to buy a Chinese scoot, as a lot of the motorcycle dealerships in Lancaster County, PA were selling AND servicing them...but the "warranty" on many (if not all) of the scoots was vague at best (probably a mix up in the Google translation from Chinese to English), so I went with a more established brand when I moved back to NJ. Lee has said several times to use the brick and mortar dealer if you're not comfortable with doing your own wrenching, you spend a little more, but save a lot down the road in terms of stress, anxiety, and cash.

Spazoo, I'm sorry to hear that about your MC...it's a sad state of affairs, but as someone who takes drop shipments on a regular basis, I can tell you that I'm kinda expecting every shipment to have damaged goods...5 for 5 this month alone!!! I know, it sucks, but as a consumer, you have a ton of rights...use them, or better yet, it seems you got a better scoot in the Burgie!!!

Scoot Safe, and prayers and blessings for your wife!!!
Karma Time!!!

John

[Showme]

We here are sending you our best wishes for you and your wife. Hopine she has a quick recovery. That's the really important things.

[brycegtx]

spazoo said:

Well I am frustrated because I now realize there is a chance that the scooter was damaged before it was shipped to me. There is no excuse for doing business that way.

I don't have a clue how much any of the parts cost. That is where John was going to help. I am not sure how far I will get with the shipping company since I have been riding the scooter for three months.

Knowing that John shipped at least one scooter already damaged absolutely disgusts me. When it was just my money that I was out I could accept it as a bad decision that I made. Now I feel like John has just been taking me and others as fools.

I am furious. I cannot comment any more on this today because my wife is in the hospital because of a scooter accident she had on Friday and she is having surgery tomorrow.

www.dfwscooterist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=820

Hello spazoo:
I would call the freight company and tell them that you had been expecting their call because the damage was listed on the shipper. Since they did not call you, you are now calling them. Have the shipper number handy. The claims department works slowly, so you may not have a problem. I would not offer them the information that you have been riding it. Be sure to get a claim number. Resend an email to John asking for an estimate for parts and labor. Any plastic panel removal is worth at least an hour of time. So don't scrimp on the labor estimate. Also, note any scratches on any plastic panel. Just because it wasn't listed on the shipper does not mean you can't claim it.

The freight company should then fax something to you to fill out. Fill it out and fax it back.

The estimate is not probably not required from John, but it will give you an idea what the total damages are. You can also go to someplace like Scooters Georgia to get an idea of prices. Just so you have a ball park.

As far as the shipping company is concerned, you should not suggest that it was sent damaged. I suspect it was not, the shipping companies are not very careful with these large packages and are always messing them up.
I hope this helps you,

BTW, my wife was also in a scooter accident (I posted a while back in main forum), so I sympathize with you in that respect also.
Bryce

[the1weasel]

Man, it is posts like this one that just scare the crap out of me. I am not referring to anything but the situation when I say that you really got bent over on this deal. I'm checking locally HARD before I order online. Beyond that, it might just be a crap-shoot.