buying a new scoot!

[pimaCanyon]

Hello Kymco Fans,

Last weekend I test drove the Buddy 150, the People 150, and the Sym HD200.

I just got back from test riding them all again, and I have eliminated the Buddy from my list.

Between the Buddy, the People 150, and the HD200, the Buddy's ride felt the harshest. I could feel more of the motor vibration under the seat than with the other two. Also bumps on the road.

So now I'm trying to choose between the People 150 and the HD200. If price were the same, or within 2 or 3 hundred bucks, I'd go for the HD in a heartbeat. But the out the door price is 1000 more for the HD-- 4100 for the HD, 3100 for the People. So now I'm wondering whether the HD will be worth that extra grand to me.

I'm 6 feet tall, under 150 pounds.  I plan to use the scoot for in town riding, maybe occasional weekend short trips to Madera Canyon or up Mt Lemmon (I live in Tucson), maybe occasional 2 up riding.

Any comments or feedback will be most welcome!

[zombie]

My basic feeling is they are both around town kind of scooters. Short trips are fun if not pushed too far. As far as quality, I believe they are about equal. Depending on your area, parts availability should be a factor in your final decision. If you trust your skills to maintain, and repair your machine is in my mind the most important factor in choosing a brand. Does your dealer have factory trained mechanics for your brand? If so is there more than 1 trained mechanic at the dealership? Say you bought an ABC brand, and the only mechanic for 100 miles around QUIT, and went to barber school! I know from experience Kymco parts have up to 2 week shipping time if there is not a stock item on hand. Kymco USA does a fairly good job at having most parts avail.to their dealers, so the 2 week scenario is rare but can happen. Perhaps someone w/ Sym experience can help to compare here. 1,000 bucks can go a long way toward steering my decision, and the performance of the 2 is roughly equal. Fit and finish is about the same. Perhaps a REAL demo where you could take one home for the weekend, then follow up w/ the other. Is a chrome knob worth 1,000.00 or will a harder seat suffice! I am biased toward Kymco, and I do like money. I do all my own maintenance so My bet would be the Kymco, and a picnic basket w/ an $850.00 bottle of Cabernet

[axy]

My basic feeling is they are both around town kind of scooters. Short trips are fun if not pushed too far. As far as quality, I believe they are about equal. Depending on your area, parts availability should be a factor in your final decision. If you trust your skills to maintain, and repair your machine is in my mind the most important factor in choosing a brand. Does your dealer have factory trained mechanics for your brand? If so is there more than 1 trained mechanic at the dealership? Say you bought an ABC brand, and the only mechanic for 100 miles around QUIT, and went to barber school! I know from experience Kymco parts have up to 2 week shipping time if there is not a stock item on hand. Kymco USA does a fairly good job at having most parts avail.to their dealers, so the 2 week scenario is rare but can happen. Perhaps someone w/ Sym experience can help to compare here. 1,000 bucks can go a long way toward steering my decision, and the performance of the 2 is roughly equal. Fit and finish is about the same. Perhaps a REAL demo where you could take one home for the weekend, then follow up w/ the other. Is a chrome knob worth 1,000.00 or will a harder seat suffice! I am biased toward Kymco, and I do like money. I do all my own maintenance so My bet would be the Kymco, and a picnic basket w/ an $850.00 bottle of Cabernet

Around two-two 1/2 weeks for P250S engine block, from the moment my mechanic sent declaration that it was a factory fault until it arrived to Croatia. I do not think that is so bad (I am saying so because I have 3rd scoot and a car, and on top of that, the engine block is patched so the scoot can drive all the time).

[pimaCanyon]

Thanks, AXY and Zombie, for replying.  Yeah, an $850 bottle of Cab!  You are funny (And I am way too cheap for that!)

I went back to the dealer for one more test drive and ended up deciding on the Sym HD 200.  The extra power is something I felt I did not need, but the scoot fit better and I liked the ride better.  I am having a bit of buyer's remorse today, but I know I'd have similar feelings if I had gone for the People!  So I'm not too worried about it.  Yet.

I suspect the Sym HD 125 might have been the best fit for me, but the sale price on the 200 was lower than regular list on the 125.

Dealer ordered the scooter yesterday, should arrive next Friday, so hopefully I will drive it home in a week!

[juice]

With a 2 year warrenty and a local dealer/service center I really dont see how you could have gone wrong by selecting by price,fit,and just trusting your gut . Good luck and enjoy your new scoot !

[pimaCanyon]

thanks, Juice!  Yes, I remember at the time I made the decision it felt right from the gut.  Felt like the obvious choice.  Thanks for the reminder.  Buyer's remorse has abated, looking forward to next Saturday now!

 

[jprestonian]

Hard to go wrong with the HD200. It's one of the best values on the market, today, IMO.
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[scootermaven]

I saw a 2009 SYM HD-200 w/less than 1,300 mile on it on the Raleigh, NC Craigslist today...and it comes with a boatload of accessories at that price.  Because SYM is lesser-known in the U.S. than KYMCO, there are some amazing deals to be had on SYM scooters in the pre-owned marketplace.  I imagine you had to put down some earnest money (deposit) on the SYM HD-200 you ordered, but it may not have been a bad idea to have looked at some nice pre-owned HD-200's in your area.  Below is a link to the Craigslist ad I saw for the HD-200 maybe for those of you are in the N.C. area...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/4146234194_4c0f5c3005.jpg

I imagine it won't last too very long at that price.  If I had enough extra money at this time, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[jprestonian]

Below is a link to the Craigslist ad I saw for the HD-200 maybe for those of you are in the N.C. area...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/4146234194_4c0f5c3005.jpg

That's a photo of a SYM Fiddle II, which is nowhere near as nice a bike as the HD200. The Fiddle II is made on the mainland, and they have not held up as well in the field, in my experience.
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