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Post by w650 on Mar 30, 2017 19:42:59 GMT -5
Keep in mind that some people are "Bargain Magnets". My own brother has received cars and motorcycles for free that needed nothing more than a few pieces or servicing. He then unloads them at good prices. Recently he got a 2003 Honda VT-1100 that honestly only needed gas to start and run like new.....for free.
I've never been in the right place, right time, like that. I regard my CF Moto 250 as a mild bargain for a used scooter but it wasn't free.
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Post by rockynv on Mar 31, 2017 0:12:28 GMT -5
Spandi - I can pick up tomorrow morning a new Piaggio BV350 for a touch over $3,000 thats a fact. And no I won't abuse the relationship and make purchases for others. You won't see the prices published on-line either as you have to form relationships with people at dealerships in-person and not through the vaporous etherial internet to get good prices. If you go in with the attitude you have displayed here the price would probably end up at $4,000 to $4,500 or possibly even full MSRP.
I today checked the local prices at the Brick and Mortor Chinese dealers in my area and many have given up on selling scooters over 50cc's however their middle of the road 50cc scooters (not even close to a Linhai) are about $1,500 plus State and Local fees and taxes while the Piaggio (not Vespa) 50cc bikes can be had for $1,799 or $299 more again plus the same State and Local fees and taxes. For what you get for the money if you ride more than a few thousand miles in you scootering lifetime the Piaggio if you shop around are a better deal.
Anyways I have enough proof since I have done what I have claimed with the bike being ridden thousands of miles a year and can do so again tomorrow. Yes you do have to be a regular at the dealerships to maintain the connections/relationships with people and occasionally purchase at least some small item such as a bulb or bottle of oil however that pays off greatly over the long run.
Again the Rocketa still has to have Florida excise tax, title fees (about $250) and sales tax so out the door prices both migrate up similarly so that is a moot argument and does not work. As a point of law in many juristictions even on an out of state on-line purchase if they do not charge you state and local taxes you are supposed to make a personal declaration to your state/county and pay them by the end of the calendar year. Yes many skirt that somewhat succesfully but technically you are still suppoesed to self declare and pay up.
Note that I have not followed your lead and ridiculed you with pithy quotes, etc or lowered the bar of decorum so please stop going down that road.
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Post by rockynv on Mar 31, 2017 0:43:27 GMT -5
Keep in mind that some people are "Bargain Magnets". My own brother has received cars and motorcycles for free that needed nothing more than a few pieces or servicing. He then unloads them at good prices. Recently he got a 2003 Honda VT-1100 that honestly only needed gas to start and run like new.....for free. I've never been in the right place, right time, like that. I regard my CF Moto 250 as a mild bargain for a used scooter but it wasn't free. You have to become known in the community as the nice guy networking and forming relationships. I sometimes if I am driving by a dealership will simply drop in to say high how are you even when I am not in the need of anything more than the use of a restroom. Might bring some coffies or a dozen doughtnut/bagels maybe not. Don't demand anything either and make it a point while I am there to purchase at least some small maintenance item such as a clip, bottle of oil, visor wipe, etc. Just how I am wired as my Briggs Myers scores pretty accurately indicate. When I purchased my Aprilia it was the finance manager at the dealership who stopped me at the door as I was leaving asking me to stay and walk with him while he made his rounds and locked up the Mega Dealership handing me the keys to his personal bike to take for an extended ride as he finished locking up the back lot. With the price he offered on a new one and the generous trade in on my Znen it was a no brainer since he was giving me many times what I could have sold the Znen for further reducing my my out of pocket expenses. The Chinese scooter dealers only offered $100 to $150 trade in which made the Aprilia deal with the much larger trade in an even sweeter deal than I had ever hoped for since with the bigger trade in the real out the door costs were a few dollars lower on the Aprilia. I know some will be stomping up and down like Rumple Stiltskin calling me a liar over that however that is how it all worked out in April of 2011. Also being able to get preferred 0% financing through Piaggio instead of using a credit card at the clone dealership allowed me to keep my money in the bank earning interest instead of paying out interest. It just kept getting better and better despite my going in knowing for a fact I could never afford one of those frightfully expensive Italian bikes. I learned from that experience not to listen to the mongers and test out the waters. You strike out a lot for sure but every now and then you hit a home run. Made a few good friends along the way too. When I went down the folks from one dealership saw me recognizing me and my bike so I had a crowed sprinting in my direction to offer assistance. They invited me to come in and collect myself while they looked over the bike serving me coffee and having someone sit with me a while offering to call for medical assistance if I did not start feeling better. More like extended family now than just strangers one does business with. |
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Post by w650 on Mar 31, 2017 5:19:45 GMT -5
I just don't think your experience with your dealer is typical Rocky. While you have managed to cultivate that relationship with that dealer somehow, my skeptical bearing would believe that he sold other bikes like yours at MSRP or only slightly lower to others who didn't have your magic.
Superior Scooters in Connecticut sells a wide variety of 50cc scooters from $899 for a Tao Tao to the $1500 for Bintelli, Wolf and Lance. $1799 for a Typhoon or SR-50 is right at MSRP and those scooters have shady origins from somewhere in Southeast Asia. You personally might be able to grab one for less.
Yes, you have to be known to have things fall into your lap but most of us are too busy to have the time for that. My brother, for instance, does just that. Recognize that you are one of the people who has the knack while the rest of us nearly always pay full price.
That doesn't make you a liar, it just means that you have the ability to make things happen that others don't have the luck or skill to do.
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Post by mikestib1 on Mar 31, 2017 5:45:24 GMT -5
Not sure how this thread turned into Italian scooters vs everything else. Too bad. Guess I'll quit watching
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Post by SylvreKat on Mar 31, 2017 7:20:46 GMT -5
I'll throw in my blonde non-mech thoughts here. 1) re: the blog with the wrecked Piaggio--I'm guessing ANY brand of scooter would have suffered similar (or worse) damage. So don't make like it's a Piggy problem. 2) re: rocky paying taxes etc on top of his $3k. Uh, EVERYONE pays taxes on their scooter purchases on top of the listed price. Or at least most do (I believe TX has no state taxes? Leo?) But then if you live in a state w/out taxes you aren't paying any on your Italian scooter, same as your Chinese.... Other dealer costs may or may not be thrown in. My Piggy dealer, all I paid was the taxes. The dealer costs were part of the list price. 3) on maitainance costs--in the 10 years I've owned Peej, only costs I've paid are the annual tune ups. This despite at one point he sat for almost 2 years due to a workman's comp knee issue. So don't spout "higher maintenance costs" when there may very well be way fewer maint. costs. 4) please quit comparing Vespa to ANYTHING non-Vespa. You pay for the name there. Same engine as my Piggy, lots more money 'cause it's Vespa-branded not Piggy. Pretty much just like lots of other non-scooter things--same company makes several diff brands with similar quality and features but charges more for the "better" name  5) even if the dealer can't discount, he can still work deals. I got a free Nolan modular helmet with mine. And that was after I'd not only broken but dynamited Dave Ramsey's advice of don't let them know how much you want the thing. I might as well have just told the guy "I want this"--excuse me, told him "  I FREAKIN' LOVE THIS BIKE WANT IT WANT IT WANT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Of course he wasn't going to discount it any, he knew he had the sale, I was in LURVE. But--when I pressed for a discount since it was a new 2yo bike, he did give me the helmet. And I think threw in the first warranty-required tune up free. Now then, you guys can bash on me for being the non-mech "dumb blonde". But you don't really have to be all that mechanical to see prejudice. You love your Chinese, that's awesome! rocky got a Good Deal, kudos to him! I paid full price (and that's all), my choice. >'Kat, thinking it was supposed to be All About The Ride, not if I spent more or less on that Ride.... |
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Post by spandi on Mar 31, 2017 7:21:59 GMT -5
Spandi - I can pick up tomorrow morning a new Piaggio BV350 for a touch over $3,000 thats a fact. And no I won't abuse the relationship and make purchases for others. You won't see the prices published on-line either as you have to form relationships with people at dealerships in-person and not through the vaporous etherial internet to get good prices. If you go in with the attitude you have displayed here the price would probably end up at $4,000 to $4,500 or possibly even full MSRP. I today checked the local prices at the Brick and Mortor Chinese dealers in my area and many have given up on selling scooters over 50cc's however their middle of the road 50cc scooters (not even close to a Linhai) are about $1,500 plus State and Local fees and taxes while the Piaggio (not Vespa) 50cc bikes can be had for $1,799 or $299 more again plus the same State and Local fees and taxes. For what you get for the money if you ride more than a few thousand miles in you scootering lifetime the Piaggio if you shop around are a better deal. Anyways I have enough proof since I have done what I have claimed with the bike being ridden thousands of miles a year and can do so again tomorrow. Yes you do have to be a regular at the dealerships to maintain the connections/relationships with people and occasionally purchase at least some small item such as a bulb or bottle of oil however that pays off greatly over the long run. Again the Rocketa still has to have Florida excise tax, title fees (about $250) and sales tax so out the door prices both migrate up similarly so that is a moot argument and does not work. As a point of law in many juristictions even on an out of state on-line purchase if they do not charge you state and local taxes you are supposed to make a personal declaration to your state/county and pay them by the end of the calendar year. Yes many skirt that somewhat succesfully but technically you are still suppoesed to self declare and pay up. Note that I have not followed your lead and ridiculed you with pithy quotes, etc or lowered the bar of decorum so please stop going down that road. Rocky if you can get a good deal on a piaggio scooter fine, if the local dealership has become your social club, also fine. But please don't sit there and try to make me believe that a Chinese 50cc scooter is going for $1500 samolians (!) it just won't wash. Do I think you you got a fine machine at a very good price? Yep. You did very well for yourself, but a true comparison would be in what you would normally pay for such a machine and not against a Chinese scoot. And that should be enough satisfaction for anyone. |
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Post by w650 on Mar 31, 2017 8:00:10 GMT -5
The Lance Cabo 50cc has an MSRP of $1699. Brand name Chinese scooters do cost in that area. I'm guessing in Florida that size is hot and dealers can get whatever the market will bear. They were all over the place when I visited Myrtle Beach.
I would like to debunk at least one legend. My 2008 Bashan had two things going for it. First I bought it from GS Motorworks, a drop shipper that didn't skimp on components. Second, Bashan builds all their engines in house. Several Chinese builders bought their's from outside. Lazarus, my name for it, starts and runs like new after almost nine years and 9,700 miles. Not all 2008 scooters stunk. If the importer was conscientious the scooters worked. They weren't bulletproof and needed restraint. I expect mine to last a good long time.
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Post by spandi on Mar 31, 2017 10:55:14 GMT -5
The Lance Caboo 50cc has an MSRP of $1699. Brand name Chinese scooters do cost in that area. I'm guessing in Florida that size is hot and dealers can get whatever the market will bear. They were all over the place when I visited Myrtle Beach. I would like to debunk at least one legend. My 2008 Bashan had two things going for it. First I bought it from GS Motorworks, a drop shipper that didn't skimp on components. Second, Bashan builds all their engines in house. Several Chinese builders bought their's from outside. Lazarus, my name for it, starts and runs like new after almost nine years and 9,700 miles. Not all 2008 scooters stunk. If the importer was conscientious the scooters worked. They weren't bulletproof and needed restraint. I expect mine to last a good long time. Good points, but allow me to make one observation, the fact that Lance (at one time made by Znen) has for years been manufactured by SYM, a Taiwanese company, and not in the same category or cost of scooters from the mainland. There is a lady who had one at the local supermarket, and it was beautiful! And well worth every penny she paid. As to your own experiences, it just proves that not every dealer on the internet is selling inferior products, and is why companies like Amazon are surging ahead whilst B&M stores and shopping malls are dying out. |
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Post by floridagull on Mar 31, 2017 15:41:53 GMT -5
All Lance's - and lower-end Kymco's and Genuines - are made in China. Yes, better components and QC - but manufactured in China...  |
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Post by w650 on Mar 31, 2017 16:55:01 GMT -5
SYM also manufactures scooters on the Mainland. The Fiddle III and Mio for instance. Many people believe that Lance is a Taiwan scooter because its VIN number starts with R instead of L. It's any interesting ploy. It turns out that one of the digits in the VIN indicates where the manufacturing plant is. Piaggio uses the same thing on the Fly 150. When it was manufactured by Zongshen it still had a Z heading its VIN. It turns out that Piaggio put a 2 in the proper place on the VIN to indicate it was built in China. Lately the rumor is that the Fly is being built in Piaggio's Vietnam plant, but Piaggio isn't saying.
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Post by w650 on Mar 31, 2017 17:01:08 GMT -5
All Lance's - and lower-end Kymco's and Genuines - are made in China. Yes, better components and QC - but manufactured in China... Lord, don't get me started on this. Short version. I bought a Kymco Like 50 to flip. It turned out that the person I bought it from didn't put oil in the injector bottle and fried the piston. Then burned out the starter motor trying to spin the low compression engine to life. Even quality specs won't save an engine from dumb owners. |
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Post by floridagull on Mar 31, 2017 17:37:56 GMT -5
Good Lord - of course not!  Your Like 50 was probably made in Taiwan though, no? I thought that Kymco started production of the Agility, Super 8, and Like in China in the 2015 model year?  |
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Post by w650 on Mar 31, 2017 18:03:22 GMT -5
Oh No. My Kymco has an L at the beginning of its VIN number indicating Chinese made.
I know that the Super 8 was already being made in China in 2008, hence the price difference between its $2399 and the People 150 at $2900 in that year. The Like 200i is made in China today, the 50cc was dropped. The Agility has been built in their China plant from the beginning.
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Post by crawford on Mar 31, 2017 19:51:44 GMT -5
For all you guy's wishing your wife's would ride maybe a scooter trike. I git my Zodiac's and my wife won't stay off rides and rides just got to love her. Maybe it will help your love life also. LOL
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