Christchurch advice?

[Bowden]

Hi
Im 21, Living in Christchurch, and have decided to go back to school for my diploma.

Ive driven cars all my life, but with student allowance and the cost of automobiles(fuel, wof, rego etc)I have decided on a scooter for personal transport!, Yay!, I may have never riden a 2wheel vehicle, but Im confident Ill get the hang of it

My question lies towards sales/vendors, Where can I Get the best deal etc?, I have visited City Scooters to browse, however there scooters are out of my price range, Im interested in the $1000-$1300 Bracket(no point in getting an expensive one right out of the gates, amirite?)

Any fellow scooter-riders recommend a good store, would like a warrenty, but is not essential, mainly I want to buy from a store for the security this gives me.

Thanks for your time

[gammaguy]

you get what you pay for.

chinese pricetag=chinese quality

be careful out there:rolleyes:

[R1madness]

I have a nice 1 year old oliver scooter for sale. It has only traveled 980km. $1650.
Cheers
Ian

[3umph]

you get what you pay for.

chinese pricetag=chinese quality

be careful out there:rolleyes:

yip thats for sure... many don't think of it that way

[scootnz]

The less money you spend on a scooter upfront, the more you will end up spending in repairs etc down the road, and wasted time when your scoot ends up off the road and you have no transport.

IMO you are wasting your time budgeting only $1000-$1300 for a new scooter. You might find a second hand Japanese scooter that, while tired, could get you around for a while.

Why did you pick that amount? Is that all you can spare, or did you just not want to spend more than that?






Hi
Im 21, Living in Christchurch, and have decided to go back to school for my diploma.

Ive driven cars all my life, but with student allowance and the cost of automobiles(fuel, wof, rego etc)I have decided on a scooter for personal transport!, Yay!, I may have never riden a 2wheel vehicle, but Im confident Ill get the hang of it

My question lies towards sales/vendors, Where can I Get the best deal etc?, I have visited City Scooters to browse, however there scooters are out of my price range, Im interested in the $1000-$1300 Bracket(no point in getting an expensive one right out of the gates, amirite?)

Any fellow scooter-riders recommend a good store, would like a warrenty, but is not essential, mainly I want to buy from a store for the security this gives me.

Thanks for your time

[awayatc]

look around secondhand....plenty good deals out there.
Once got a near perfect nifty fifty for $20.......
many scooters/small bikes do very little mileage in their life.... and thus have plenty of life left....
The biggest favour you can do yourself is NOT buying Chinese....

[200BUSA]

Depending on what size scooter you want to get. City scooters do have the wee 50cc Bug Adly style for just over $2200 two stroke, no wof needed and $70 a year for rego. I bought one a few years ago to travel to work and have done over 8000kms and still going really well. A good scoot made in Taiwan.

[portokiwi]

40000000000000000000 chinese bikes cant be toooo bad:scooter: look how they treat them and what loads they carry on the bikes.:bash:
No if you are going to get a bike look around the shops as thats what you are after. Look and ask about the (spelt wrong) warentee.

Nothing wrong with a nice 2nd hand bike

[Bowden]

Hey thanks for all the advice everyone!, much appreciated

I was looking at that specific price range because I get the feeling my first scooter is going to take a few knocks, learning how to ride etc, and Id rather not waste 2g on a scooter for learning, If I find that a scooter suits me perfectly then maybe 6 months - 1 year down the road I may buy a new model, Sort of like how you wouldnt buy a 16 year old a new car for there restricted license.

something like
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=203169609would be nice, the colour and shape has really caught my eye, and Ive been told bigger wheels would help my balance while starting out

the $1300 upper limit is somewhat negotiable, but Ive set myself only $1500 for this, and need to buy a helmet for around $150(ive been told this is a common price)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-204323757.htm
was my first choice, im not sure about these types of scooters though, I am somewhat of a newbie to the market

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-203912959.htm
also looks quality, would like your opinions if at all possible, might as well lean on the experts right:yes:

[Bowden]

Sorry to Double post, ive been surfing trademe all day, and have found a few choices for the community here to critique

Ranked in order of...well, Wantedness

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=203169609
Honda C50 Little Cub 2004

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=203230044
Adly Fox 50 2003(free helmet)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=194344755
Mod 50 Stepthru 2009(Slightly expensive, but If i didnt eat for a week, id manage)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=204323757
Lifan Metro LF50QTA 2007(seems like a really good deal?)

[ZK-Awesome]

I had an Suzuki SJ50 before I got a bigger bike http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-203891523.htm

[portokiwi]

out of all those... the honda would be your best pick.so far

[Bowden]

I had a look at this scooter, seems alright, but the damage puts me off, missing wing mirror, scratches/damage all down the side and to indicator etc, are these enough to deter a buyer?, like I said this is a whole new field for me!

[portokiwi]

ZKs one is good

[Bowden]

Little off topic, but id rather not create a new thread for this
Ive been looking at a Kymco 50cc 2008 scooter, seems to be in good nic and is going for sub $1000, so It seems fairly alright, however it has a wof, even though its 50cc, if it already HAS a wof, can you cancel it?, one of the major reasons for buying a scooter is the lack of wof cost...

[zooter]

What's it registered as? I forget the codes but easy enough to look up on LTNZ site. You want it to be regoed as a moped. Having a wof is then optional.

Many 50cc have too much grunt and have to be registered as bikes, but are sold restricted in the exhaust and/or transmision to allow them to pass as mopeds. Good fun to be had derestricting them but don't get caught speeding.

re your choices, the kymco brand has a solid reputation, lifan somewhat less so. Any other noname chinese model is a big gamble. There's an outfit called ScooterKings somewhere in Addington that sells reconditioned imported Suzuki's with a waranty.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Scooters/auction-204412689.htm the bidding on this might go a bit crazy but it's well priced at the moment. How many gozzilion got made?
That SJ50 might be a bit xxy at $1250 all scratched up, even with the case, good scoots though. The postie in Alexandra had one and wore out the variator eventually but that's cheap as chips.

[Bowden]

Cheers for the replys all, I can see this is a community Ill have to participate in

Ive found a scooter for myself, fresh outa japan, its a Honda Dio, ill be first NZ owner if i get it, $1300 all up with a helmet and $117 rego costs, If im lucky enough to win the auction, then ill post some pics on sunday as I learn to drive it, Thank god for leather jackets eh

*edit* what's the story with 2t engines, I've researchd there operation, and now understand the mechanics behind them, but what's the usage of oil, I.e how often is the oil changed and do you need to top it up every time you fill the tank?