Forum Intro/ Where to buy in Orange County

[gilbee]

Hey guys. like any noob, i will first admit that i'm a noob, and then pretend i know something about scooters. (JK)

In fact, i've never ridden anything that has both two wheels and an engine. however i am getting my permit on Tuesday and i'm planning on purchasing a Stella 4 stroke within a few weeks (hopefully sooner) and... i have no idea where to buy it from.

I went to North Hollywood and visited Noho Scooters (which was awesome BTW) when i found out that i should purchase from a location close to me so i can take it in for regular service. And since i don't plan on transporting it to North Hollywood from Tustin on a regular basis, i decided to start the search for a location i can ride to.

So, help please? any suggestions, recommendations, what to look for?
of course i've checked out Genuine Scooter's website and went thorough a few of the pages, however none of them tell you if they have a service center...

Thanks in advance

[chas]

Hey gilbee, welcome to the forum! Nice to see more Orange County people on here, by the way.

I would definitely recommend www.ocgenuinescooters.com as your first stop in your search. The shop itself is just over off of Dyer and they do offer service which is done out of a place called Cyclemall that does very good work and is located off of Redhill. The owner of the Genuine dealership is named Terry and he is a class act. They should be able to work out a decent deal with you as well. I have dealt with Terry and Cyclemall in the past and they were both incredibly helpful and provided great service.

Hope this helps!

[gilbee]

This is actually exactly the answer I was looking for. I just want to be able to buy from a good local shop that has a good knowledgeable service department.

Do you take your scoot there for service?

[chas]

This is actually exactly the answer I was looking for. I just want to be able to buy from a good local shop that has a good knowledgeable service department.

Do you take your scoot there for service?

Yes I do and they have taken very good care of me. I ended up purchasing my Buddy used through a private party and Terry (and one of his employees who I believe is named Jared) have assisted me with service/maintainance and the repairs I needed after I crashed my scooter. Like I mentioned before, they have their service done through a repair shop called Cyclemall and their service and workmanship were incredibly good and done in a very timely matter. Also, for what it's worth, the guys at Cyclemall that I dealt with were super nice and seemed to be all around cool guys as well as doing good work.

[ericalm]

I went to North Hollywood and visited Noho Scooters (which was awesome BTW) when i found out that i should purchase from a location close to me so i can take it in for regular service. And since i don't plan on transporting it to North Hollywood from Tustin on a regular basis, i decided to start the search for a location i can ride to.

Props to my local dealer, NoHo, for this!

There are some dealers out there that will do anything to undercut other ones and steal sales away from them.

[gilbee]

I went to North Hollywood and visited Noho Scooters (which was awesome BTW) when i found out that i should purchase from a location close to me so i can take it in for regular service. And since i don't plan on transporting it to North Hollywood from Tustin on a regular basis, i decided to start the search for a location i can ride to.

Props to my local dealer, NoHo, for this!

There are some dealers out there that will do anything to undercut other ones and steal sales away from them.

Yeah, i spoke to Mike. he even recommended that i check out Bar Italia Classics if i wanted to get a classic vespa (which i've been planing to invest in up until about 2 weeks ago)
Honestly though, i would buy from Mike @ Noho Scooters if it wouldn't be so inconvenient for the routine maintenance part.

[chas]

Well as much as I'd like to see Terry get some business, you don't neccessarily have to get your bike serviced at the same place you bought it. I didn't buy from OC Genuine and they still helped me out quite a bit just because it's a Genuine scooter and they service them. I would say get your scooter wherever you can get the best deal from somebody you trust. No matter where you end up actually purchasing your Stella, you can still get it serviced right in your own backyard.

[gilbee]

No matter where you end up actually purchasing your Stella, you can still get it serviced right in your own backyard.

What about in warranty routine maintenance? That's what i'm concerned of the most.

I actually just got off the phone with Terry, he really sounds like he's a nice guy. He also said that no one can beat his deals. The only thing is, he only has a Red model and i'm looking for the new Black in 4 stroke. He also said that he can dealer trade to get the color i want, but all the local dealerships have already purchased there scoots for the year which means that no one is going to have the black model that was just released.
which means that if i really want the black model, i'll have to find a dealer that can order my color and i'll then have it serviced local... hopefully.

[Edwub]

I bought my scooter from a dealership further away (due the price, as well as they had the inventory in stock) but have never been there since. It was a motorcycle/power sports store that happened to sell scooters, so they gave me an incredible price that the local dealers could or would not even match!

My understanding is that dealerships tend to make more money off of gear/accessories and service than they do off a standalone vehicle sale, which has slim margins.

So, I decided to purchase it from the other guys, but have all of my scheduled service/maintenance go through and support my local dealership. And my local dealership seems great (NoHo ) - though they did tease me about purchasing it from a diff place, they asked whether they could swap the license plate frame to one that said "NoHo" since they'll be my go-to place for the conceivable future. Fine by me, Blitzen has the NoHo frame. (you can tell I don't feel much loyalty towards the place I purchased from, long irrelevant story).


Note that the Blur doesn't really have much in terms of accessories, and I already had gear, so the amount of stuff you're purchasing may affect your decision. (I just wanted the scoot out the door!) Either way, call around and get quotes from various dealerships.

[Drum Pro]

Props to my local dealer, NoHo, for this!

There are some dealers out there that will do anything to undercut other ones and steal sales away from them.

+1

[jamisfoes]

...

[Pflower001]

There is also Genuine Scooter of HuntingtonBeach, on pch at warner, never actually been there, but i have driven by.

http://www.huntingtonbeachscootershop.com/

[gilbee]

There is also Genuine Scooter of HuntingtonBeach, on pch at warner, never actually been there, but i have driven by.

http://www.huntingtonbeachscootershop.com/

i went about a month ago. it's in a hole in the wall shop with scooters boxed up on the left and about 5 buddys on the right. i stepped in and then right back out.

i decided to go with NOHO Scooters. mostly because i stopped by and the guys really seamed like they knew there stuff. plus they're a full on repair shop. on top of that, they had about a dozen vintage scooters for sale.
so i went with them because of the reputation and the fact that they deliver
over all great experience.

[jamisfoes]

You and I are both in OC. Too bad NOHO is so far away. Where do you plan on servicing your Stella? I have a minor problem (two missing bolts) so I called Beach City Mopeds and Scooters in Laguna Beach for warranty service. This is the conversation:

Me: Hello, I recently bought a Stella. It's missing two bolts. Could you help me with the warranty repair?

BCMS: Did you buy the scooter from us?

Me: No. I bought it from a different dealership.

BCMS: You tried to save a few hundred bucks getting the scooter from another dealership. Now, you want me to warranty the bike? It doesn't work that way. Take it back to the dealer you got it from.

Me: ...

If you find a good service shop nearby, please let me know. Go Yelp BCMS, some horror stories on how BCMS treats it's customers. After reading the reviews, I won't be taking my Stella to BCMS even if they offer warranty service. I am also reporting BCMS to Genuine Scooters. These guys shouldn't be allowed to sell Genuine scooters.

[ericalm]

Bah. It does work that way! BUT…

Missing bolts could be a dealer prep issue, which isn't exactly covered by the Genuine warranty. That's something the dealer should make good on. That might be why BCMS responded like that.

Still, not good service or a way to treat any customer. If they're closest to you, they may have lost a service customer, which is a lot more valuable than a sale.

[jamisfoes]

I'd be afraid to take my scooter to BCMS after reading their yelp reviews. The guy refused to help solely because I didn't buy the bike from him. The warrantibility of the two missing bolts were never brought up.

Any recommendation on a good Genuine dealership with a reputable service department in OC? The Huntington Beach one also seems kinda questionable. Maybe NOHO is my best bet afterall.

[gilbee]

I've gotten some good feedback from the genuine dealership in Tustin. I plan on taking it there for service. Of course I will keep you all updated about my scooter experiences

[jamisfoes]

Dean from Genuine Scooter called me and apologized for the incident. That made me feel a lot better. He said he is going to have a little chat with BCMS and make sure this never happens again.

[ericalm]

Dean from Genuine Scooter called me and apologized for the incident. That made me feel a lot better. He said he is going to have a little chat with BCMS and make sure this never happens again.

Dean's a good guy! Glad this is being addressed.