Can you help me to fix my terrible scooter purchasing mistake?

[Ryandand]

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new to this forum, and was very excited to be purchasing my first scooter until I realized I had made a very bad blunder that I am now attempting to salvage. Feel free to judge. And then after judging me, I would appreciate any wisdom you can offer me (For the sake of my wife, please help!)

I have been researching scooters for a little while, looking to find the right scooter for my wife's birthday present. She has been talking about having a scooter to drive to our local beaches and around town for errands, and I wanted to surprise her for her birthday this year with a nice new toy. I decided to get something that is around 150-170 CCs. My wife likes scooters with a more retro vibe, so after lots of research and reading through a bunch of posts on different forums including this one, I settled on the Kymco Like 150i. I had my heart set on the pearl white model with the red seat (my wife had showed me a white retro looking scooter she liked the look of, so this was perfect).

After speaking with multiple Kymco dealers in our local area near Seattle, I was told that inventory is REALLY low everywhere right now, and that companies like Kymco are not returning calls from dealerships, and distribution isn't able to keep up with demand due to challenges from Covid. No local dealers had any Like 150s in stock at all, and weren't able to order anything for the foreseeable future.

I was crushed, yet still remained determined to find my pearl white Like 150. I started looking around to see if there were any dealerships in nearby states that might have the bike I was looking for (we are in Washington State). While perusing CycleTrader, I found a dealership in Las Vegas called EuroCycle that had the exact bike I was looking for. Their website showed a 2019 pearl white Like 150i (with Noodoe). It was listed as "pre-owned," but with just 21 miles on the odometer. Their website even said that they ship bikes nation-wide. I was elated! The price listed on their site seemed reasonable but I wanted to call and see what their dealership fees were and what shipping would run. Side note: It was quite late at night when I discovered this listing on the EuroCycles site. I read through the listing description, and clicked through a number of the photos, and then decided to call the dealership the next morning and see if the bike was in stock and check on dealership fees/shipping fees, etc.

I spoke with a gentleman the next morning who told me the bike was in fact there. I asked about their out-the-door-cost for the bike, and he said they would sell the bike for $2700, and that including taxes, shipping (shipping to Seattle is $675 through the shipping company they use), and dealership fees, the total cost would come to around $4,175. I was expecting to pay around $4,000 total after taxes and fees if I bought the bike locally here, so needless to say I was pretty excited to get a bike that was virtually brand new shipped right to my door for about the same cost. He sent me the cost break down that showed all the fees, etc. The next step if I wanted to lock in the deal was to pay a $1,000 non-refundable deposit on the bike.

Now, I'm going to share the link to the bike listing here with you all to look at, so you can see where my own stupidity comes into play. Here is the link to the listing on the EuroCycle site: https://inventory.rideeurocycle.com/--xInventoryDetail?id=10497269

 If you are actually paying attention and looking at every photo that the dealer has listed on the site, you will notice that there are a couple of pictures that clearly show a decent-sized crack on the left rear panel below the seat. Did I address this with the dealer when I called about the bike, you ask? No, I did not. Did I see those pictures the night before when I was up very late frantically searching for the Pearl-white Kymco Like 150i that I had decided my wife needed to have? Somehow, I did not. I still have no idea how I didn't register those pics when I was clicking through the listing.

The picture I DID bring up with the dealer before putting down my non-refundable deposit (yes, I did put my non-refundable deposit down after purchasing a vehicle history report that didn't show any red flags or known accident reports) was a picture that showed the ABS light on, and I asked the dealer if the light stayed on and if there was any known issues with the ABS. I DID ask in that moment whether there was also any other known damage, and the gentleman adeptly addressed my question about the ABS without really addressing the question about "any other known damage."

Anyway, you see my situation now. I put down a non-refundable deposit down on a bike that had damage shown in pictures on a website for a dealership 1100 miles away from me. Yeah, major MAJOR screw up on my part for a very expensive birthday gift for my wife. And I feel sick about it.

I would love to hear from those of you on this subreddit who are clearly smarter than I am:

1) What would you do at this point after realizing you somehow missed the pictures online with the damaged panel?

2) Is that panel difficult to replace? Would it be possible to order a new panel piece and install it myself, or take it to a local Kymco dealer and have them do it? I am realizing that it's not so easy to find OEM body parts for Kymco scooters, which is slightly concerning, but hoping this forum can help!

Thanks for getting to the end of my embarrassing tale. Let the judgment (and wise counsel) begin!

[Viper254]

If it's just one side panel you should be able to get away with it. Hopefully the bike runs and rides well when it turns up

I'd wait for it to arrive, then make an assessment in the flesh. It sounds like it should be sortable, though.

[Ruffus]

@Ryandand,
first of all welcome in this forum.
Second, nothing to be embarassed about at all. Just not watched carefully, in euphoric mood to get a birthday gift to your wife.
As far I can see on this pic, this side panel might have been cracked by closing the seat and something like thick gloves in between.
And, this is easily repairable by someone at a body-shop where they fix broken car fenders.
They can make it unseen.
 And, all the body parts are either screwed on or interlaced with plastic noses into latches, therefore easy to remove.(pls see pic)
As for ABS I don't know, but we have a lot of specs here to get you going.
Don't worry, all'l be fine.

[Neil955i]

No judgement. We’ve all dropped one at some time or other!  And, as Ruffus says it was coming from a good place, trying to get a great birthday present for your wife.  We can all identify with that.

As has been said, you have 2 choices: a new panel which you can probably put on yourself or, likely cheaper, a plastic weld repair which in my experience when professionally done will be invisible from the outside. Cost? Be amazed if the latter would be much more than $100?

So, total outlay still well under the $4K you first estimated. Winner and, as the old saying goes, “happy wife, happy life!”

[Kansas kymco]

You should be able to get the panel repaired or replaced. Do you actually have the scooter yet?  Maybe others can chime in about the ABS light. On some scooters the light stays on until you actually move and the sensor gives some feedback . I would check with Solano scooters in Florida for parts, they are the largest Kymco dealer and are online.   

If that's the biggest mistake in life you've made so far you are a very lucky man.  I hope your wife enjoys the scooter .

[Stig / Major Tom]

Price is a little steep...but it's a good scooter.
Repair/replace the panel - no worries. The ABS light stays on until scooter is moving about 10MPH, then turns off. Comes on whenever scoot is stationary.
Stig

[Kansas kymco]

To be honest when I read  (I made a terrible mistake) I thought you had purchased a cheap Chinese scooter.

[Iahawk]

I'll chime in here, too... first of all, breathe..it will be ok. I know it sucks to have a crack in your plastics, but it probably won't be the last one. as others have said you can fix it cheaply, leave it..buy a replacement panel...lots of options.

A cheap way to fix is to simply reinforce the back side of the crack with self adhesive mesh drywall tape. On top of that slather on a thick coat of JB Plastiweld epoxy. You'll make a solid repair that won't flex or crack anymore. If done carefully you may not even see the crack.  This may cost you $10.

it's a great scoot that your wife will love. I do think this is on you and not the dealer as they clearly showcased the crack in their pictures of the scoot. They weren't hiding it.

Let us know when you get the scoot and what you think of it. Great board, here, with lots of helpful people.

[souzamoto]

Sounds like the other replies are spot on. One thing though, Saying that a deposit is "Non-Refundable" is actually Illegal. Now, I could be wrong as I'm not proficient in Nevada DMV law, but I would do some research.
CJS

[john grinsel]

My book---you just paid too much for bike you have never seen/ridden---after 66 years of doing this and over 1.5 million miles,, who cares about color,etc.....it is how they go down the road.    First your wife needs to get Motorcycle license and training.

[Ryandand]

Hey everyone!

Can't thank you all enough for welcoming me to this forum, and for your encouragement while I'm kicking myself here. This is an awesome community here! Really appreciate all the great input about possible repair options aside from getting a new panel as well. Definitely worth exploring. 

I did contact my local Kymco service center today and they are going to look into getting a new panel. They said under normal circumstances it would be no problem for them to get a new panel for the bike, but that things are just tough with Covid right now and it's hard to get responses from Kymco since the supply chain is so messed up. But I feel better knowing that I can likely get a new panel for the bike down the road here once things do begin to settle down a bit.

@kansas Kymco appreciate the recommendation for Solano scooters. I noticed that when I look at the Kymco 150 CC OEM parts page on the Solano site, they don't have the Like 150i listed: https://solanocycle.dealerspikeparts.com/oemparts/c/kymco_scooter_150_c_c/parts

@stig thanks for your comment about the ABS. This is exactly what the dealer told me as well, so I'm not concerned about that. The crack is my main concern. Curious how that crack came to be after a mere 20 miles. You may be right that the price was a little steep, especially considering the cracked panel. Total cost without shipping ended up being around $3500, which seemed fairly in line (even perhaps slightly less) than what I was seeing for other 150i listings, although I'm kicking myself that I didn't see the crack in the pics and therefore didn't try to negotiate the price down further before I put my deposit down. How much do you think this bike should go for (assuming no crack).

Do you happen to know whether there was much of a difference between the 2019 Like 150's and the 2020 models?

Thanks again for the encouragement and the suggestions. You are all appreciated!