Total Frustration with Things Out of My Control

[Mike Green]

Back in January when I was looking for a maxiscoot I stumbled across the Xciting 500Ri in a local dealer's showroom. Brand new 0 miles. Before I bought I did an online search "complaints and problems". The general concensus from owners out there was this was a quality product and high ownership satisfaction. The only "complaints/problems" seemed to be about extended wait time on ordered parts. After my wreck with the deer on Sept. 07, 2012 the ins. appraiser agreed to cover all damages less my deductable. The scooter has been with the dealer ever since then. A batch of parts will come in and then the wait continues. Went by last evening and told the dealer I wanted
the scooter cranked and the battery, fluids maintained. I was also informed that there are three remaining parts and they are back ordered into Dec! This is truly a very frustrating issue that I have no control over. Thanks for listening to me whine.
Mike

[Vivo]

Good scoots, like good wine (whine)... takes time.... 

[ludo]

Sorry to hear that... it really sucks.
Have you tried to contact Kymco directly?
I thought it wasn't a problem to get parts for Kymco.

[Vivo]

Sorry to hear that... it really sucks.
Have you tried to contact Kymco directly?
I thought it wasn't a problem to get parts for Kymco.

In fairness to Kymco, Dealers usually keep in stock parts that commonly wear out like, break pads, belts, bulbs, gaskets, plugs, etc. They don't keep in stock parts that rarely break like major body panels, wheels, etc.  They import only when there is a need.  

[Mike Green]

Vivo my friend your right as usual. Two of the remaining three parts that are back ordered are body panels but the 3rd is a right mirror!
ludo, yes I called their national headquarters in South Carolina and I was told that they cannot do anything about the backorder because it is related to a pending shipment from Taiwan. However they have offered to memo some of the larger dealerships to see if they have the parts in their inventories. For what it is worth my dealer told me they have the same problem with the larger manufacturers such as Suzuki and Yamaha as well. I really miss riding. It was a big part of my recreational time and I just wanted to get this damn frustration off my chest and talk to you guys about it. Whenever I'm getting on the wrong track the wisdom of Vivo usually restores me to sanity.
Mike

[bandit]

I know how you feel Mike.The starter went out on my 2009 people s 250 and it took 9 weeks to get a new one. I was lucky I had my motorcycle to ride till i got my scooter back.
A friend of mine wrecked his Piaggio mp3 scooter and it took 4 months to get parts.

[Vivo]

Mike, like we said before, all things happen for a reason ... a positive one I'm sure... not riding now just diverted your time with other equally important things.... rekindled your relationship with your wife maybe... spent more time with your SUV... or just a good healthy rest... or maybe you can fill that Excursion with burgers and fries and surprise those kids in a nearby orphanage.... a kid's smile of gratitude is worth more than a thousand miles riding....

[Zimmerman]

I think these wait times for parts are crap.

The owner is inconvenesed so the OEM can avoid the expense of maintaining an inventory.
Another OEM could get a real advantage by doing a better job with parts.

And why should parts need to be bundled in a shipment?
They should be shipped separately when ordered.

Another thing, scooters can't become a serious transportation option unless parts are available.

[MotoRandy123]

 My Aprilia was the same, it took 3 months to get parts. The problem is
it you ship one part it costs $100, if you fill a 4x8' container it costs $200,
so they try to send full containers. That being said, happy customers
generate more sales from themselves and from their friends and relatives
so it behooves the manufacturers to find a way to keep their customers
happy. The smallness of the market is the problem, if you only sell 200
of one model per year how many mirrors are you going to stock?

 So I guess the answer is to buy another scooter! Maybe a different brand
so hopefully one will always be operational?

[Urbestfriend]

You may recall a Deer hit Urbestfriend's Xciting 250.  The claim was $1,400 which included the labor I estimated.  The only plastic body part I replaced was the Front Cowl,  right where the deer hit me.
Now a further investigation found several broken plastic tabs on other panels some which may have fatigued over time and some that may have suffered actual damage.   These all had to be JB Welded, but saved buying a new part.   One of the ownership joys is also doing your own maintenance.  (That is...If you have a place to do it).  If you let a dealer do the repair,  you'll surely add to the parts needed which adds to the procurement of parts and they normally won't repair,  they'll just replace.  These days, nobody keeps parts in their inventory that are infrequently used.   I have however found the best solution in this case is to just have two bikes.  When one is down,  it's a minimum 2 weeks loss of use. I recently bought the Harbor Freight Hot Air Plastic Welder ($80.00).  Now it's more feasible to just fix the panel rather than throw it away.
   

[fshfindr]

Vivo my friend, I must disagree.  Why should we have to wait so long for parts.  We paid a lot of money for our bikes and not having repair parts available is the worst business plan that there can be.  Why should we have to wait so long to get back on our bikes.  Better yet, why should we show loyalty to Kymco by purchasing a similar bike in the future when they show that they don't care about us.  Kymco has a very good product but they are resting on their laurels.  Z has it right.  I understand that there is a central parts warehouse here in the states, so tell why were the parts not bundled in advance and kept in the warehouse.  All foreign car makers do it and they are successful, maybe that is the reason for not seeing more scoots on the road.  It is time for Kymco to learn from successful companies and start serving their customers so that they can develop brand loyalty which means repeat sales.

Richard L.

[08087]

Mike if it helps you at all I bought a 97' Plymouth Prowler back in Sept., I drove her home to NJ from Il., a nice 800 mile drive, all highway. I day shortly after getting her home I'm sitting in my driveway with her at idle when she overheats, turns out the cooling fan was broken (electronic type). So I call the dealer and low and behold the part is not only $500 but it's on back order too. It has yet to come in and I can't drive the car anywhere away from home because if I get stuck in traffic I'm toast. So I drive her are the block a few times every week to keep things moving but I've missed all of fall and part of summer with my drop top in the garage.

In the same boat,

08

[streido]

Very, very few makers/dealerss keep parts in stock locally now, i agree its crap but its all just to cut their costs/overheads. My local acoot shops dont even stock belts and rollers now which is basic maintenence stuff they should all hold really. When i ordered some new body panels after i got rear ended at a junction i had them in 48hrs over here. My dealer ordered from a supplier in England and had them sent up the day after i ordered, had i ordered before 12 lunchtime i prob wouldve had them next day. Most parts here only take 1-3 days for delivery which isnt perfec but looking at what you guys seems to experience over there its not too bad.

I now bypass tbe dealer and go direct to where they order from in England after stealing a look at the website they used when i ordered the body parts.

[MassScoot]

Mike: 1st...I had no clue you had an accident to begin with. I'm glad you're ok. I must admit that I had a problem with Kymco & the "only" part I ever needed. My 2005 Kymco People S200 speedometer cable broke. It took over 13 weeks to come in which I thought was insane considering it's a fairly "normal" part IMHO. I think Kymco USA should be doing more to help you out! That sucks!

[Vivo]

Fshfinder Sir, I know everybody disagrees..including myself, but I just stated the facts of what these dealers (in your countries) do.  In my country, stores/dealers have to stock all parts because the next door store also have parts in stock... in short, there's competition...   If I go to a dealer that doesnt have the part I need, I don't give a damn...I'll just go to the next dealer, next door....plain and simple... the ONLY part that has to be ordered are scooter tires because, as the dealer says, tires expire or deteriorate over time and that's not a good item to keep long in inventory... and also they have to compete with other scooter tire dealers as well... I dunno, maybe a letter to Kymco can change this...