No Buddys in Austin?!

[JDA]

Wow.

I scrutinized my life, realized I could have a lot of fun, save money, and be environmentally responsible by buying a modern scoot. So I want one!

I researched for a couple of weeks and decided the 150 is best for my budget, experience level (none) and the way I would use a scoot. Part of that research was reading all the informed things you all have to say here. (This is my first post, thanks for reading.)

Plus, I love the way the Buddy looks.

But there are no Genuine dealers in Austin, TX. Which is nuts, because this is a scooter friendly town in all aspects, from seasons, street conditions, and usage. Scooters are all over, from vintage Vespas to recent models, especially around the University of Texas and downtown, and I live in that area. Scooters are perfect here. We have a Vespa dealer, vintage rebuild and service places, all sorts of places selling Aprilla or the major Asian scooters, shadier places that will sell you a scooter without disclosing the brand, and everything in between, except for a place that will sell you a Buddy. WTF?

So my question: should I get one anyway from the nearest place (San Antonio, about 70 miles away), forgo the benefits of having a local dealer and probably void my warranty by having local scooter repair shops do all the service?

Any of you live far away from a dealer, get a Buddy anyway, have it serviced at third party shops, and could give me some advice?

Finally, this is a rant, but the Sunset Buddys would sell like crazy in Austin. Just put a couple white Longhorn stickers on it and students and alumni would be snapping them up on almost impulse purchase terms, as the color is so close to our burnt orange. I have no idea why the local dealers haven't picked up this line.

[weaseltamer]

well i live 90mi. away from the Genuine dealer and i had resolved that i'd do every other oil change there, and do the rest myself. it might be a hefty challenge since i'm not much of a mechanic, but i'm workin on it. also i'm not even 2k mi. on the uav yet, so this may not be a schedule i stay with. but my mom did just get a truck...

thats all i got.

[ericalm]

So my question: should I get one anyway from the nearest place (San Antonio, about 70 miles away), forgo the benefits of having a local dealer and probably void my warranty by having local scooter repair shops do all the service?

Any of you live far away from a dealer, get a Buddy anyway, have it serviced at third party shops, and could give me some advice?

Finally, this is a rant, but the Sunset Buddys would sell like crazy in Austin. Just put a couple white Longhorn stickers on it and students and alumni would be snapping them up on almost impulse purchase terms, as the color is so close to our burnt orange. I have no idea why the local dealers haven't picked up this line.

Wow. I can't believe there's no dealer in Austin, which is such a great scooter city! You may want to email Brett Ratner at Genuine ([email protected]) and ask whether there is a dealer in Austin and the Genuine site just hasn't been updated or if a local dealer will soon be carrying them.

You can also ask if you can keep your warranty intact by having your scoot serviced locally—there are a number of qualified places in the city, I'm sure. The only service that must be done at a dealer is the first. Otherwise, you're simply required to keep the scoot well-maintained.

[San Francisco]

70 miles is not all that far away for making this kind of purchase, which
I think is substantial enough to make sure you get what you want [brand
wise].

Ask the Buddy dealer about getting all the maintenance done in Austin.
They might even know of the shops who would be doing the work.

But also make sure that the local shop will want to work on the Buddy.
These scoots are pretty basic compared to cars, almost like working
on a lawn mower. But some shops don't want to do anything that might
require they look at a new shop manual, that is, one that does not pertain
to the scooters they do sell and work on.

Bottom Line: I think the Buddy is a damn good scooter. If there is a way
to get one where you live, I'd go through the effort.

[louie]

I just googled the distance to my nearing dealer, 150 miles. I probably wouldn't have bought it at that distance. My dealer quit selling them and servicing them, probably didn't want to be servicing them anyway. Poor me.
I have come to terms with this by crossing my fingers that all will stay good and hoping the new scooter shop openning soon will become a dealer.
I would need to calculate the worth of travel with the worth of repair before i made the trip if needed.
I'm glad I got the opportunity to buy the buddy though. So I guess I don't have an answer, except to say that 70 miles isn't far for a lot of people. It is for me, unless I'm riding the scooter.

[Fueldrum]

I can kinda relate. I was fortunate enough to find a used Buddy for sale (evidently it gets cold in the winter in Kansas. Who knew?) in Kansas City, 30 minutes away from Lawrence, where I live. There's a Genuine dealer in KC that rocks(Scooterworld!), but Lawrence has a small scooter shop, so I figured if I needed anything specifically Genuine-related, I'm close enough to make a trip in, but I could have my basic maintenance done at the shop here in town.

Granted, my situation is a bit different as I bought it used and didn't have a warranty to worry about.

But, to wrap up that story, I've taken the scoot into the local shop twice now for various things and have vowed to never again return! Scooterworld gets my exclusive business from now on!

If you decide to buy far, repair local, I'd DEFINATELY recommend finding a shop in town you really like before you finalize that decision.

Or ask for tools for Christmas.

[markontour]

Are you sure there isn't a dealer that sells Buddy in A? You should try to go to someone who sells Stella's, also try someone who sells Kymko's. If you want, I am sure I can check with Scooter Steve in Houston to find out who has them.
Just shoot me a pm.

[Tbone]

My exact dilemma! Well, add a few more miles to the nearest dealers which are about equal distance from me in time/mileage!

Right now out of all my choices, the buddy italia is top of my list and my wife (Who is sharing in the research even though I will be the rider).

There is about a 50/50 split on a thread I created called Questions and Recommendations about buying the Buddy and hauling it locally. Seeing about having oil changes and other routine maintenance done locally but warranty work and other major repairs done at either of the two distant dealerships. (Unless one opens locally!)

70 miles is shorter than mine and it seems that the Buddy is a better beginner bike and Austin is a scoot friendly place, there's bound to be someone local who can do the routine maintenance for you, at worst you suck up the cost of transport for the 140 mile round trip on warranty/major repairs.

[markontour]

Austin sucks! There are no Buddy dealers in the city (you do have to go to SA) or come down here. Scooter Steve here joked he should do it. Maybe if he made phat cash I could run his store here, and he could move to Austin...hmmmm sell and ride scooters for a living...doesn't suck I must say.

[typhune]

I just bought my Buddy from Urban Moto on Barton Springs and Lamar. Thye have a pretty vast collection of colors and 125's and 50cc's. They've been nothing but great to me. Highly recommended.

[Corsair]

I have some friends in the Austin area that I'm trying to get into scooters so it's good to hear that there's a dealer there. How would you rate their service, knowledge, etc.?

[Matador67]

As Typhuen mentioned. The shop at 600 Lamar (Barton Springs & Lamar) carry Buddy's. They have just about every color in stock from what I can tell. They even swapped out the grips and seat on an orange one for that real Longhorn effect.

$100 discount if you pay in cash and 10% discount on accessories with initial purchase.

Good luck.

[lojical1]

As Typhuen mentioned. The shop at 600 Lamar (Barton Springs & Lamar) carry Buddy's. They have just about every color in stock from what I can tell. They even swapped out the grips and seat on an orange one for that real Longhorn effect.

They could call it the Bevo Buddy . Maybe Genuine should think about having school spirit customs.

[typhune]

I only have 500 miles on mine, but every time I've been back up to Urban Moto to have something added on ( hard trunk installed, basket in the front) they've been a dream to work with. They also de-restricted my 50cc, so now I can even go 50mph! It's better downhill, but it sure helps those uphill battles....
As far as knowledge goes, they beat all the other scooter places in town hands down (I didn't even bother going to the vespa store. Too much $$). Unlike other shops (Woods "fun center" especially - those guys are all a**holes) They didn't have to look in a catalog or reference manual once. They know their stuff.

Cheers!
Typh

[shark]

The guys at Urban really seem to know and enjoy their products. We will be picking up a Buddy Italia 125 w/ brown seat/grip conversion this week.

[ericalm]

The guys at Urban really seem to know and enjoy there products. We will be picking up a Buddy Italia 125 w/ brown seat/grip conversion this week.

Get those brown seats while you can! None of the '08 Buddys have them.

[shark]

The guys at Urban really seem to know and enjoy there products. We will be picking up a Buddy Italia 125 w/ brown seat/grip conversion this week.

Get those brown seats while you can! None of the '08 Buddys have them.

I think the green Italia is much better looking in brown seat.

We havent even got this one home and I'm alreay looking for me another. I'm thinking the 150...

[polianarchy]

They could call it the Bevo Buddy . Maybe Genuine should think about having school spirit customs.

Off Topic:
13E\|0 !!! So you're from Austin, then? I lived there for a bit, but I grew up in Dallas & Houston.