My awesomely terrible sales experience

I went to a local scooter/ATV/motorcycle dealer Saturday morning to purchase a scooter. I had $1200 for a down payment and had narrowed my search to two scooters, the Honda Ruckus and the 50cc Yamaha Zuma. I had called Friday evening and was told both were in stock. I didn't plan on leaving without a bike.

I was soon approached by a sales girl. I told her what I was looking for and she led me to the scooter section. I was immediately disappointed to find there were no 50cc Zuma's in stock. I was looking over the Ruckus as it was the first time I'd seen one in person. I noticed that though the MSRP on a 2009 model is $2149 this one was marked at $2499 but that was a detail I could deal with later.

The sales girl asked if I knew what top speed was on the Ruckus. I'd researched them and it seems that 37-42mph would be top end for someone my size. She claimed she'd ridden one and was lucky to hit 25mph. Then, after saying "I'm not trying to upsell you" she did just that. She started showing me scooters that were bigger and more expensive. If I'd wanted a $3,000 150cc scooter I would have come in looking for one. I told her I wanted to talk it over with my wife. We talked for a couple minutes and I came back over to eyeball the Ruckus some more. At this point she said something to the effect of "Just because the speedo goes up to 45 doesn't mean it goes that fast." Darn, and here I thought my Ford Focus was a 150mph car.

She continued to talk to me about bigger scooters despite the fact that I told her I wasn't interested. I asked if test rides were possible and was told no, which is understandable. At this point I went to leave as she was rolling a Kymco forward to show me. I told her I'd like to try to ride a Ruckus somewhere before committing. Her response? "Good luck finding a dealer that will let you test ride one." Not a real great way to encourage me to come back.

Long story short, I came in 100% sure I was leaving with a scooter and left more than a little annoyed at the whole experience. I was given bad information and she'd tried to sell me things I wasn't interested in despite my saying so.

The worst part is they may be the only local place with new 09 Ruckuses in stock, which is the year I want.

For the locals this was Competition Accessories in Springfield, OH.

most of my sales experiences have been that way.

I am not sure that a 50cc scooter would be limited to 25mph.. a 50cc moped can do more than 25.. but is limited due to it's moped designation

*edit It got pretty savaged in a test recently

*Honda Rukus

I had a computer salesman tell me the new high powered video card in the new computer i was looking to buy would blow out my old monitor. Sure pal.

Are any of these a good deal?
http://dayton.craigslist.org/mcy/2436312153.html

http://dayton.craigslist.org/mcy/2354440430.html

2009 Ruckus $1800 http://dayton.craigslist.org/mcy/2423795390.html

There are hundreds, if not thousands of 49cc scooters in Gainesville, and they seem to hit forty-ish just fine, even if they're loaded down with two football players and a case of Natty.

i can see why they still have new 09's in stock..

I think trying one first is a good idea. Aside from the one owner here, I've never heard anything good about a 50cc ruckus. I think if you ride one, you probably won't buy one.

I'd be shopping used. Small displacement scooters around here aren't worth squat. They generally are purchased by people who thought "that'll be enough" and a year later they want more power and move up.

Dealership experiences vary greatly. My local Kawasaki dealer couldn't be a bigger bunch of douchebags, but the one slightly farther in the opposite direction has treated me very well. The salesman at the local Yamaha dealer wouldn't leave me alone when I was there for work (not shopping). All I did was ask one question about the TW200 and he was showing me KTM's. The Honda dealer I can never find any staff to help me, but the one 20 minutes away is exceptional. You'll just have to visit as many as possible.

Although I like the 'butch' look of the Ruckus, I'd probably go back to Yamaha--I have had great luck with their scooters. The C3 looks like a decent choice.

They make a nice fitted seat bag that adds some storage space to the Ruckus. Top speed and storage aren't a huge factor for me since mine mainly sees pitbike duty.

Here's a photo of the bag under the custom seat frame that I stretched three inches.

I find the cheaper the vehicle, the more stingy the dealerships are about test drives.

example:

Local Yamaha/Suzuki motorcycle shop only allows 10 minutes test rides that are escorted by an employee.

the BMW shop? tosses you the keys and asks if 45 minutes is long enough and shows you all the bells and whistles.

You can fine tune scooter performance to your riding style by changing the roller weights in the variator, or by changing the variator itself.

http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/rollers.html?gclid=CM3rl8OKs6kCFcJ05QodEDE1Lg

the roller weights are a neat idea to change the dynamics of the transmission

RossD wrote: I had a computer salesman tell me the new high powered video card in the new computer i was looking to buy would blow out my old monitor. Sure pal.

if its an analog monitor, it can.

although only by sending out-of-range signals to it for more than a few minutes..... and its not like you wouldn't be able to tell cuz the image would be static.

It's called working on commission with a sales person who does not know how to build repeat customers/good word of mouth.

I did just get a call from the sales manager apologizing at the very least. He even offered a discount on the Ruckus. Too bad I'm already picking one up tonight from another dealer who was already selling it $350 cheaper.

Let the modifications begin....

First mod...sell 50cc Ruckus and buy 150cc Ruckus?

rotard wrote: First mod...sell 50cc Ruckus and buy 150cc Ruckus?

No.

Remove 50cc engine, install 600cc engine from wrecked Honda Silver Wing.

I had a Honda C-110 when I was at Ohio State. 50cc, 4 stroke, 4 speed tranny. It would carry my 200# fine, could even double up. 60-65 on the interstate. What happened since 1965?

Woody wrote:

rotard wrote: First mod...sell 50cc Ruckus and buy 150cc Ruckus?

No. Remove 50cc engine, install 600cc engine from wrecked Honda Silver Wing.

I know a guy who did just that. It's a scary machine to ride.

In response to the review.

It is a 50cc scooter for crying out loud! Of course they are slow. They are government mandated to be. By law they are supposed to be limited to 30mph. That way they can be registered as mopeds. Cheap insurance, no need for a motorcycle endorsement and near 100mpg are why they sell them hand over fist, not performance. The fact that a new Ruckus does better than that stock is suprising. I have acheived 40mph on a unmodified one hauling my 220lb ass. I suppose that is based on the same loophole that allows the Aprilia RS50 to be registered as a moped.

Here in oregon the fine for modifying a moped to exceed 30mph is over $350! I am sure that ticket is only given out twice a year but the law exists. If you are caught keeping up with 45mph traffic with a moped plate you will be pulled over.

In Connecticut, <50cc = No registration, No plates, No insurance, No motorcycle endorsement.

Gas-n-Go.

Two words: Bitch Slap.

Throw a Kit on that bitch.