Modern Buddy

Love my new scooter but my dealer charged over $100 for 1st service visit on my Buddy. Just wondering if $100 seems high to the rest of you Buddy owners?

the dealer i go to does the 1st oil change (at 200mi) for free. i did the next one myself.

when i asked the saleslady, she mentioned that it costs $90. so i guess that's right. the piaggio/vespa dealer where i test rode the typhoon and LX50 said that it's one-hundred-something (sorry i can't remember the exact number, but i wanna say $130-$140).

I think that's about what I paid...and the peace of mind is worth it. I'm really not a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to gas-powered stuff. Maybe down the road when I feel like I've got less to lose when I tinker

That seems kinda pricey. I did it all myself.

Change the gear oil, change the motor oil. Check the fairing bolts, check the tire pressure. Should be good to go.

That's about what I paid last Friday. I wanted to make sure the first one was done right. I'm definitely gonna take a serious look at doing the next one myself. Not because of the cost necessarily, but becuse I want to learn more about my scoot.

-jetboy

jetboy how many miles did you have on your scooter at the first service? the manual says 200 or some really low number like that... i called sportique and they said don't bring it in until 600 miles. i'm at 550 or so right now.

I had around 700. I wanted to bring it in at 500, but my schedule got all messed up for the day I had originally set. When I called to reschedule, Sportique was about two weeks out on getting an appointment. My fault really.

You should probably call and set something up ASAP. Or not ride for two weeks.

-jetboy

yow! i just called. service is $109 + $15 + $18 + tax...



apparently the $90 i was told before was for the 50cc and that's excluding oil and filter.

actually. we charge buddy 125's as 50's at $90. there is also the added cost of the oil and filter. We use Motul oil which is pricey. I spoke with everyone on the staff and let them know. There was confusion because we have 2 types of tune-ups, 50cc ones and 150 and over ones. The 125 throws a monkey-wrench in that.

see ya soon.

Colin

I paid 86, which I hate to do since I normally do all my own work. But hey that first one activates the warranty so ya gotta do it.

here in seattle it was in the $140 range.

It’s been over a year now when I got my first service (only one) - I am a poor record keeper but I did find a receipt for $58.78 that I can’t recall what it was for so most likely it was that first service. At the time I thought it was higher than I wanted to pay so since then I have done all my own work on the scoot except when I had the brakes repaired under warranty. Luckily I have tools and work with machines which allow me to do a lot of my own service and repairs.
When it’s all said and done I got a good deal @ ~ $60.00 and @ $100.00 that seems like a fair price to pay considering all the labor involved with checking the items that need to be checked - that is if you can’t do it yourself.

mine was free

ThisDude wrote:I paid 86, which I hate to do since I normally do all my own work. But hey that first one activates the warranty so ya gotta do it.

I feel that is inaccurate. If you record your services, done by whomever, yourself included, in detail, you should be fine by warranty requirements.

I am sitting at 300 miles and getting ready to schedule my first service. The Portland dealer told me about 180. I am going to call P-Town Scooters and see what they will charge me.

Wow, this forum only makes me love my dealer (Eco Moto) more and more!! They charged me $40 for the 1st service. I even bought a couple more oil filters so I can do the rest of the oil changes on my own. So I was out of there under $60.

However, if you read my post about the accident that occurred immediately after the service, I ended up walking right back in and ordering a new wheel for $60.

thx colin (the femsatronic colin) for clearing it up. i appreciate it. on another note i'm really baffled at the range of prices people are paying for service, assuming that it's the same which may or may not be true.

I'm taking mine in next Friday and they told me around 150.00 for the first go round. But it's going to be more, because I just got in an accident and need a little more done, brake broken, etc.

un_designer wrote:thx colin (the femsatronic colin) for clearing it up. i appreciate it. on another note i'm really baffled at the range of prices people are paying for service, assuming that it's the same which may or may not be true.

just like with real estate, i think the answer to your question is 'location, location, location!'

I just scheduled my first service with P-Town Scooters and they are quoting roughly HALF of the Portland Vespa dealership, who charges $180. Having done my research, P-Town scooters is a seemingly reliable shop. I want to take the best care possible of my scoot, so what sorts of things should I be wary of (synthetic oil, etc.)? Any suggested minor modifications at this point? I will eventually put a performance exhaust, but are there any other mods that would be good?

Collin wrote:Any suggested minor modifications at this point? I will eventually put a performance exhaust, but are there any other mods that would be good?

I would pay for this first service, then load up on the materials to do it yourself from now on. It really isn't hard. Really!

Anyway, people have raved about what adding a shield has done for them. That'll be my next mod. Adding the pipe is nice, but to get full use of it, you need to mod the intake as well. This of course creates a new need to adjust the carb and isn't easy to get right.

1) small shield.
2) pipe.
3) learn all you can about intake and carb adjustment. Then pay someone to do it.

Now for the real reason I'm responding.......how's the scootin' up in Portland? What's the year round climate like?

Scootin' up here can get interesting. Yesterday (i think) was a Ride to Work day (which I participated), and we had rain ALL day. Chance of thunderstorms...yay! There are a lot of hills on the west side, so scootering seems to be more of an eastside thing. Half of the bridges to get from one side to the other have steel grating. Getting all of that outta the way, overall it's not bad. I have lived in the northwest my entire life and I don't mind the rain one bit. The summertime here is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We don't get as much rain as everyone might think. Seattle gets a ton more rain than we do, but we kinda get lumped into the same group as Seattle. Its usually 5-10 degrees hotter in the summer and 5-10 degrees cooler in the winter.
There are scooters everywhere here and of all varieties. I have seen more than a handful of Buddy's, Vespa's, and a whole host of Chinese scoots. Kymco seems to be very popular here as well. I have been told that Portland is some sort of "Scooter Meca" by a couple different folks. I am still relatively new to this whole scooter thing (just rolled over 400 miles, have had it two weeks), but so far I am loving it. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you are), I am moving to SoCal in a couple weeks, so I have not gone on any rides, or met too many people in the area. I fully intend on becoming involved in clubs down in Cali, and I can't wait for my first group ride.
On a side note, suprisingly I get more nods and waves from Motorcycle Guy than Scooter Guy/Gal. I actually had a Motorcycle Guy ride alongside me all the way through downtown and asked a bunch of questions about the Buddy. In fact, he was headed out to go for a ride and asked me if I wanted to join. I would have, but I was on my way to pick up my girl.

Tuesday I had my Buddy in for oil/gear change for the first time (the dealer I go to suggests waiting between 500-800 miles). I had 560 miles on mine.

It cost $51.00

He said to come back at 2000 miles.

scullyfu wrote:here in seattle it was in the $140 range.

Actually Deb, yours ended up being "free"

We charge 1 hour ($82 shop rate)
Oil and Filter works out to be $32.97
Disposal fee for used oil & Filter is $7.00
Sales Tax is $10.87
All totaled is $132.84

The variances will typically be labor rate and state sales tax rate (8.9%)....

KidDynomite wrote: Anyway, people have raved about what adding a shield has done for them. That'll be my next mod.

Do you have a specific post that described the benefits?

BosBuddy wrote:

KidDynomite wrote: Anyway, people have raved about what adding a shield has done for them. That'll be my next mod.

Do you have a specific post that described the benefits?

These threads should help y'all out:

viewtopic.php?t=1563

viewtopic.php?t=1009

viewtopic.php?t=684

I did a simple search for the word "windscreen" on the forum's handy search feature.

polianarchy wrote: I did a simple search for the word "windscreen" on the forum's handy search feature.

Yeah, I did that "simple search" before I asked.
I'd already read the posts listed. I found mixed reviews. When he said "raved", I thought I'd missed something.

BosBuddy wrote:

polianarchy wrote: I did a simple search for the word "windscreen" on the forum's handy search feature.

Yeah, I did that "simple search" before I asked.
I'd already read the posts listed. I found mixed reviews. When he said "raved", I thought I'd missed something.

*shrug* I love my windshield, but YMMV. Best of luck with yours.