*****************market maven***********************
this is the only recourse I have at this point: put my experience to the web, and let the netizens sort it out. y'all lemme know if I'm crazy for feeling a bit played in my dealing with scoots.
recently a small surplus of cash nudged me to buy a used scooter. at the time that I made the first inquiry, I had a hundred bucks, and the owner, Oscar, showed me a 2012, 50cc renegade that was in a crash. when I showed some interest, he assured me that he would give me a good deal- and since it was a low mileage bike, he can throw in a 1-month warranty. this assurance made me jump the gun and commit to buying before gathering my own marketplace information to fomulate my own idea of what a good deal really is on such a bike.
Oscar's version of a good deal was $700 for this slightly used bike (which he sells new in his shop for $950). I took a leap of faith and trusted that I was not paying too much for this used bike...
yet buyer beware... so I go online and research prices, and predominantly, I am seeing the same bike he sells for $950, online (unassembled) for $650. the site explains that the necessary assembly simply means handle bars and mirrors, along with connecting batteries...
of course I can not compare Scoot's overhead with a web seller... and he has to stand behind his sale more than an online seller. of course I see that this is worth a premium on top of the bare-bone net price. i.o.w., I have absolutely no problem with business making a profit in a capitalist system....
yet knowing Scoot already sold this bike once, then got it back after a crash, and is now reselling to me for a price higher than other advertised retail prices? and of course the retailers selling it new for $650 ARE making a profit... I no longer felt like the used bike for $700 was such a good deal...
at this point I only had $100 paid on the bike. upon the next payment, I wanted to talk to Oscar about the price. he was not at the shop, but before making the payment, I had his employee call so I can express the price concerns. in a rushed conversation (he was driving), he told me he understood, though he tried to explain that it is an unassembled price which has no warranty and may include freight costs... I countered that the site speaks of a 1-year manufacturer's warranty, and free shipping. Oscar, with all this info, told me he had to go, but to make the payment and we would work something out on the cost...
here again, in my rush to trust that I would get a positive out come, I continued making payments...
many payments later, I am ready to give the sixth hundred dollar. at this point I revisit the conversation we had at $100. he told me that he would give me a fifty-dollar discount, but he would pull the 1-month warranty that was part of the original deal...
am I crazy to think that such a short warranty on a used bike is reasonable? furthermore, isn't a 1-month warranty worth more than $50? for this reason I was adamant that I could not trade the warranty for fifty dollars. in addition, I wholly refuse to pay more for a used bike than it's cost new...
so at this impasse, Oscar leaves the shop and has his employee to tell me that if I don't accept the bike without a warranty, I would have to forfeight my $600... or I could pay $700 and get the warranty.
here is where I had to muster all my self-control. it is easy to let our out-of-control emotions make a bad situation worst... so I calmly and clearly remind that at the time that I was told a price concession was forthcoming, it did not include the caveat that would have to give up one of the valuable pieces that caused me to overlook paying more than it costs new...
in faith (again), I chose to move ahead... but only after earnest assurances from Oscar that he is not trying to screw me over.. he assured me that he would give the bike a thorough inspection, and even with the understanding that he would not give me and expressed or implied warranty, he still let me know if something goes wrong in the first few weeks, he'll take care of me...
so a few days later, time to pick up my new (used) bike. I get there and parts off the body need snapping into place... the mirror's all gimpy looking... but hey (I say) these are small things... and plus you knew it was a used bike...
I leave out of Scoots, and within an hour the electric starter stops functioning... but I am not petty, so I did not return it huffing complaints, because the kickstart was reliably working... still I saw this as an ominous sign of things to come... in the next half-hour, my back tire was was flat... couple that with me noticing that the horn doesn't work, that lemony feeling started creeping over me...
I put air in the tire and prayed that it simply went flat, but I could not rest assured as I looked at the two cracks covering over 300 degrees of the tire'surface. an hour later- blowout. no more air read more