Chase your Dream: The Naperville Scooter Store

[streido]

Not ever have driven a Vespa, how does a Kymco stack up against them, would a seasoned rider of a Vespa look at a Kymco, would a Kymco be a stepping stine type of scoot for a Vespa or is Kymco a strong enough brand to hold customer loyalty.

Its night and day, imo. Vespa has all steel body, Kymco is steel framed but all plastic panelled, a proper Vespa is geared, kymco is not, built quality on the Vespa is more "solid", its almost a bit like comparing a German car to a Jap car, Vespa is classic design, i can carry a spare wheel for my Vespa, cant easily do that on the Kymco. I have both but since i got my Vespa back on the road i have barely used the Kymco. All round the Vespa is a pleasure to take out for a ride, not saying my Kymco is bad, its not, its just not got the build quality, solidness and coolness the Vespa has, in my opinion. As long as i dont crash it then i know i wont lose money on the Vespa if i come to sell it at some point as it holds or increases its price, i will lose money if i sell on the Kymco. Saying all that Kymco is a trusted Brand name scoot and has a rep much better than most "cheaper" foreign scoots. I would prob place Kymco scoots as mid range scoots, not cheapo scoots.

But yeah, given all that, do some research and see if the markets there, maybe everone just wants a vespa round those parts? And as has been mentioned, find a real good mechanic to repair and service your customers scoots.

[bdrannik]

Its night and day, imo. Vespa has all steel body, Kymco is steel framed but all plastic panelled, a proper Vespa is geared, kymco is not, built quality on the Vespa is more "solid"

Not all Vespas are the "classic style" metal body and geared..  My parents have a Vespa LX150 which is plastic bodied and twist-n-go.   The LX series is built on one of the Piaggo platforms (Vespa is owned by Piaggo) and although it's a plastic body the overall fit and finish is considerably "more quality looking" than most other brands, if not all.

Being so close to Chicago I would also definitely consider the scooter brand "Genuine", which if I am not mistaken is distributed in the US from Chicago so your shipping costs would be minimal.  

The Genuine "Stella" model is a steel body/geared scooter modeled after the Vespa P series and is a very nice clone of one (LML in India, the manufacturer if the Genuine brand scooters, used to make Vespa P series sold in India under license from Vespa/Piaggo).  Genuine also makes sport/plastic bodied scooters in addition to the classic styled models.

I plan to visit Naperville on a future Chicago trip - will have to stop in and say Hello..

Brent

[08087]

A couple of thoughts:

The "Geared" scoots, are they auto trans or a manuel shift?

To the OP and others, the Vespa brand may require a certified mech. to have gone through one of their schools or other certified process which also costs money, money the OP may not have as a start up.

My neighboor owns a Piaggio (spelling) 350 model and it is much more solid looking then my people's 200, I tink his is twist and go but I'm not sure. I'd love to talk with him but he's kind of standoff'ish.

[bdrannik]

Before in my previous post regarding the Genuine brand I had missed the info on page one of thread stating you had already checked into them - sorry about that.

08087: Most of the Vespa-type geared scooters you shift by twisting the left handgrip.

[KennyT]

Hi bdrannik, 08087, streido, vivo, donut, and bleys.  Thanks!
Wow!  Great advice!
Yes, a good mechanic is a must.  He could service mine!
The location would be expensive, but I think it is an opportunity in itself due to its poor condition and great location.  I may need to rent small storefront, but would love to own this property...
I think the Vespas would be great, and again the train station is loaded with them...
Naperville has 5 high schools, and I could see them scooting to school.
Yes, the winter months could be slow, but I bet scooters and accessories would do great for Christmas...
Thanks again everyone, and please...
Visit http://www.facebook.com/NapervilleScooter, and click like!
Ken
p.s.  any thoughts on Lance?  Nice looking and reasonable...

[08087]

Hi bdrannik, 08087, streido, vivo, donut, and bleys.  Thanks!
Wow!  Great advice!
Yes, a good mechanic is a must.  He could service mine!
The location would be expensive, but I think it is an opportunity in itself due to its poor condition and great location.  I may need to rent small storefront, but would love to own this property...
I think the Vespas would be great, and again the train station is loaded with them...
Naperville has 5 high schools, and I could see them scooting to school.
Yes, the winter months could be slow, but I bet scooters and accessories would do great for Christmas...
Thanks again everyone, and please...
Visit http://www.facebook.com/NapervilleScooter, and click like!
Ken
p.s.  any thoughts on Lance?  Nice looking and reasonable...

What is the markup on a typical scoot you might sell X's number of units you hope to sellper month on avg. that number should cover your nut plus expenses electric, front end salary(s), matreial. What you make on your parts and service will cover your mech and your income. This will be sparce in the early days, so will you be keeping your real estate job for awhile?

[streido]

Kenny i know one guy not too far from me who deals in the LML Scooters and parts, he has a direct link with India and gets parts and complete scoots from there no probs. The accessories/parts market is huge and prices are pretty low compared to UK prices anyway (I got an LML Flasher relay direct from India for under 1/3 of the UK price). May or may not be of use to you?

[tortoise]

a good mechanic is a must.  He could service mine!

Hard to think of anything more worthless than a motor scooter shop proprietor that lacks preventative maintenance and troubleshooting abilities . . such as knowing the difference between ac-cdi and dc-cdi ignition systems.  The high school and college crowd may be a "slippery slope" . . typical "laws don't apply to me" mentality trying to make their 50cc 4-stroke "30 mph moped" go 50 mph.

[streido]

trying to make their 50cc 4-stroke "30 mph moped" go 50 mph

 

Isnt that what its all about? Its a big part of it for me. Making something slow go fast is fun and unique, anyone can go out and buy a big fast scoot but tuning up a little putt-putt to go zoom-zoom is what i like. You can polish a turd, it just takes time 

On the other hand i kinda agree with young kids being annoying. At least 1 scooter shop near me stopped selling and dealing in vespa and vespa parts cos he said it wasnt worth all the hassle. Every day some scooter boy was in complaining about parts being wrong, trying to return worn used parts for a refund or just basically being abusive to staff over petty stuff. He had enough and stopped selling parts/accessories unless THEY fit them. Was my local Vespa shop, now hes gone i have to order my parts online, but i get why he quit.

So yes, you WILL need a basic knowledge yourself to manage the shop properly imo.

[08087]

Hard to think of anything more worthless than a motor scooter shop proprietor that lacks preventative maintenance and troubleshooting abilities . . such as knowing the difference between ac-cdi and dc-cdi ignition systems.  The high school and college crowd may be a "slippery slope" . . typical "laws don't apply to me" mentality trying to make their 50cc 4-stroke "30 mph moped" go 50 mph.

I tend to agree with you, a basic way around the item you sell and service is important, but if your a good manager you can hire the right people to take car of this for you. Most car dealerships are owned and run by very well off men/women that have never held a wrench. They hire the right parts guy, service manager, sales manager etc. they manage their managers. Upstart funds are important though.

[donut]

Hard to think of anything more worthless than a motor scooter shop proprietor that lacks preventative maintenance and troubleshooting abilities . . such as knowing the difference between ac-cdi and dc-cdi ignition systems.  The high school and college crowd may be a "slippery slope" . . typical "laws don't apply to me" mentality trying to make their 50cc 4-stroke "30 mph moped" go 50 mph.

I tend to agree with this member...
You really need to set yourself up for success not for ....
I grew up in retail (albeit perishable but that has an additional set of challenges), 150k pop (even with the college is lean), mean income is good, but in a SEASONAL part of the country...

I have gotten to know a scooter shop owner in my nearby college town, just over 150k with a higher mean income than yours... he can take a scooter apart and of course put it back together... shop is relatively small in a "b" location (near downtown/mall/campus) They sell Kymco, Genuine, Aprilia and a few others (new/used) ... it's a tough business and the $ are in repair ... also in a seasonal part of the US ... winter's are tough ...
If you are in a seasonal area of the country... scoots are not on the holiday gift list.... he just buckles down, keeps a skeleton staff (most motorcycle shops here fire and then rehire in the spring most of their staff... yes MOST)...

Lots to think about and plan... start building a simple excel spreadsheet budget... start listing every single expense you can think of ...

if you need some help, pm me...

Not trying to kill the dream but being prepared will help the dream some true...

[Wil B.]

Ken, if this is the Naperville in Illinois, You might want to check out the nearby Vespa dealer on Ogden Avenue.  It's a used car dealer that also has a showroom with Vespas, Piaggios, and Moto Guzzis.  I've driven past it many times.  Address could be in Naperville or Downers Grove.

You might want to stop by just to talk and inquire how the scooter selling business is.  Also check out any other nearby scooter dealers.  I believe DGY on Ogden carries a lot of scooters including Aprilia.  Having owned several small businesses, you cannot do too much research!

If you ever get this venture off the ground, I will definately visit and support.

Wil B.
Broadview, IL

'71 Guzzi Ambassador
'91 Nighthawk
'04 Kymco Super 9
'10 Kymco Yager 200gt

[KennyT]

Hi Wil, donut, tort, 08, and streido.  Thanks for all the input!
Don't worry (guys that sound worried)!  I am not jumping into anything...
Just planning.
Thanks again!
Ken

[KennyT]

Worthless?  Worthless is a mechanic that starts a shop but doesn't know marketing, sales, or how to run a business and is quickly out of business...
Thanks again!
Ken

[08087]

Worthless?  Worthless is a mechanic that starts a shop but doesn't know marketing, sales, or how to run a business and is quickly out of business...
Thanks again!
Ken

Well said, I have a freind that is a great small eng mech. he started up a business selling and repairing those little skate boards with eng mounted to them, was doing great with sales but was not making enough on the markup, he was doing well on the repair end too. Another friend of ours (professional sales person) dropped by and showed him where he was going wrong on his pricing but the guy wouldn't budge, 6 months later he closed his doors. Total time from open to close a little over 1 yr.