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Post by zhan on Jun 12, 2013 10:26:20 GMT -5
Well folks, I decided to skip the Puma Romeo after all, and I did spend several hundred more on the Cali Classic from Sym instead. It runs great, has lots of power, and really goes down the road. I am VERY impressed! It's my first scooter. I hope I didn't make a bad decision. I got it for $2200 out the door (that includes tax, title and license fees). I really hope it works well. I'll post more later as I get a few more miles on her.  Thanks Kindly! Attachments:
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by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 23:51:28 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 23:51:28 GMT -5
Guess some folk's don't know how to shop. A 150cc Aprilia Scarabeo can be had new for only a few hundred more than the Romeo. A Scarabeo 200 still can be had for around $2,000 while a Sport City 250 new can still be had for around $2,999 to $3,200. The Scarabeo 500 is still in limited supply and honest dealers have them new for around $3,999. All Piaggio products and not that much more than Chinese scooters of equivalent displacement. Check out Moto International in Seattle they regularly get in new factory leftovers at decent prices and will even help pay your airfare so you can fly in and ride home. I can see plainly that the smear advertising tactics of Chinese scooter competition has been quite effective. I would say you are either a dealer, or someone who has never owned a Chinese scooter, but feels deeply compelled to parrot what you are seeing and hearing from your favorite brands. If you actually owned a Puma, and had a bad experience you would like to share, I would love to hear it and figure it into my purchasing decision. But from the look of your post, you're just aping a starving Aprilia salesman who desperately needs to sell another scooter in order to pay his rent. Thanks Kindly! |
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by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 23:49:17 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 23:49:17 GMT -5
zhan if you look closely there is a delete option for unwanted postings. (All the way to the right.) Ha!! Thanks! |
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PCC Romeo
by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 16:22:54 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 16:22:54 GMT -5
LOL I will have to keep a look out for those zombies!
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by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 15:37:06 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 15:37:06 GMT -5
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by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 15:35:53 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 15:35:53 GMT -5
And by the way, the reason the Romeo is priced at $1200 is because it's the last one of two 2012 Romeos he has left in stock. His 2013 stock is arriving in the next week or two and they will be priced a few hundred higher. This is the guy I'm buying from. They're nice folks by my standards. They've been friendly and honestly answered all of my questions. There have been no promises to provide me a "Honda or Yamaha" quality scoot at the price I'm buying at. I know I'll be doing a little tinkering, but that's half the fun in my opinion. www.advantiauto.com/inventory/?f[make_name]=Puma%20Scooter |
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by: zhan - Jun 10, 2013 15:29:21 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 10, 2013 15:29:21 GMT -5
When a salesman speaks assume nothing... Hehe yes indeed it was $1425.00 out the door to be exact. That includes tax, title and license fee. Honda and Yamaha can't even come close to that figure. I can't even find a used Honda or Yamaha that comes close to that figure. Why would someone spend $3500 or $5000 on a scoot in the first place? If saving gas was the object anyway. Go spend $3500 or $4000 and get a fancy Honda, but know that anything you saved in gas, you just flushed down the toilet on the cost of your scoot. Thanks Kindly! |
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by: zhan - Jun 9, 2013 18:09:47 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 9, 2013 18:09:47 GMT -5
Great links!! I really appreciate the info! |
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by: zhan - Jun 9, 2013 16:31:34 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 9, 2013 16:31:34 GMT -5
That's awesome! The guys at the dealership seemed really nice and really helpful. They told me I can come in whenever I want and I can ask all the questions I want. I'm such and impulsive shopper, and I fear I may have been swayed by a firm handshake and straight look in the eye. Do you own a Puma? Should I buy her? The Romeo is a beauty in my opinion! I have A Znen made 250. (Puma's are made by Znen) if I were going to buy a Chinese scoot over again, the first place I would go is Puma. (Everything else is a DISTANT second.) BTW, Puma is Znen's rep in the USA so parts and expertise are no problem. So these scooters aren't the raging piles of bat droppings that some on the internet have made them out to be? I suspect that a lot of the Chinese bike bashing is coming from dealers who are trying to push their stuff over the Chinese bikes. |
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by: zhan - Jun 9, 2013 16:13:42 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 9, 2013 16:13:42 GMT -5
[replyingto=spandi]spandi[/replyingto]That's awesome! The guys at the dealership seemed really nice and really helpful. They told me I can come in whenever I want and I can ask all the questions I want. I'm such and impulsive shopper, and I fear I may have been swayed by a firm handshake and straight look in the eye. Do you own a Puma? Should I buy her? The Romeo is a beauty in my opinion! Attachments:
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by: zhan - Jun 9, 2013 16:05:32 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 9, 2013 16:05:32 GMT -5
Hiya and welcome! You've got a Puma Dealer a MILE from your house???!!!! SWEET!!!! Hehe yes indeed! I've been seriously been looking to buy a scoot now for several weeks, and I ran into his dealership quite by accident a few days ago. I was getting ready to toss the idea of a scooter because I want it to save gas. For a $5,000 scooter I would have to ride it for 4 or 5 years straight just to make it pay to own it. And having the dealer close by is a plus! Ha! |
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by: zhan - Jun 9, 2013 15:58:53 GMT -5
Post by zhan on Jun 9, 2013 15:58:53 GMT -5
Greetings all! I'm new to this forum, and new to scootering. I've owned dirt bikes and street bikes on and off over the years and enjoyed them very much. I have never owned a scooter before but have borrowed a couple for lengthy rides. I'm looking at picking up a scooter for my daily 10 mile commute to work in order to save gas, and I have been HORRIFIED at the prices of the supposedly "good" scooter. I would have to shell out $4,000 to $5,000 or more in order to be able to claim bragging rights to superiority over Chinese scooter owners.
To make a long story short, I found a Puma dealer about a mile from where I live, and I'm really teetering in the direction of buying one of the last of his 2012 stock of the Puma Romeo 150cc that he has. It's $1400 out the door, which totally blows the wheels off the idea of getting a Honda at over $4,000 out the door. I know it's Chinese and I know it's probably going to be higher maintenance than it's Japanese/Italian cousins, but come on people. $1400 vs $4500?!
I'm fairly handy with a wrench, and I certainly don't mind taking the covers off and replacing vacuum/fuel hoses, fuel filters, fuses, and the like. I'm about to take the plunge and just buy it. It's adorable! For someone with an above average mechanical reasoning ability, and a joy for tinkering, would this be a bad scooter to buy? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!
Zhan
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