WE ARE NOT JUST BASHING ALL THINGS CHINESE.
This is an actual SAFETY WARNING. We know exactly what we are talking about, we used to sell Chinese scooters. We have been through all of the horrors of trying to keep these poorly made vehicles on the road. We've seen critical, life-threatening failures occur over and over again. Even with an outstanding level of support and customer commitment we were still unable to keep these bikes running reliably.
Things to watch out for:
"Our scooters come with a full year guaruntee!" - It's easy for them to say that, they're not even in your home state. They don't play by any of your consumer protection laws. Where are you going to take it for service? Who is their "authorized" repair facility? Many of these places have told customers that WE would handle their warranty. That is simply NOT TRUE.
"100% Parts Support" - Most of these companies will cannibalize old or returned scooters to provide their customers with spare parts. If your exhaust fell apart in two weeks, do you think the EXACT same low quality part they're replacing it with will last any longer? Bad parts are bad parts. They don't fix the problem.
"DOT and EPA Approved" - These scooters are all being sold out of state. They don't have to meet any of the regulations in your state. Simply put, they can "Say" anything they want. There is no way for the DOT or EPA to enforce this unless they are looking at a unit brought to them by a customer and frankly most of their customers are too mad and lazy to follow up after they've been burned. We routinely hear victims say "Well, it was only $1200...I don't want to throw good money after bad." It's exactly that attitude they're counting on.
"ABS or Anti-Lock Brakes" - These are not actual ABS systems. They are cheap-o add on diverter valves that do nothing but act as a pressure bypass. In other words, when you apply the brakes HARD, they open a valve that dumps about 50% of the braking energy away from the brake calipers. These systems are DANGEROUS and result in losing half of your braking energy when you need it the most. In the worst case scenarios we've seen these systems get jammed up, completely locking the front or rear wheel causing the scooter to lose control and pitching the rider to the road. Real ABS systems are only found on VERY high end scooters and they are usually a $1000 option.
"Alarm system and remote starter" - This has become the unofficial "tattletale" that you're looking at a low quality scooter. These Chinese made Alarm/Remote systems cost about $20 and they're only good at one thing...killing the battery in your scooter. Why would you want a remote starter on a scooter anyway? There are a few good quality scooters who are offering alarm systems etc. as an aftermarket accessory. If the scooter you're looking at has it already included, be careful.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...be cautious with your money. NEVER order a scooter on-line. Never spend thousands of your hard earned $$$'s on a product the seller can't possibly stand behind.
Click here to read what the scooterscoop has to say about Chinese Scooters.
A very well respected dealer in Denver, CO writes:
My experience with the Tn'G line has been poor to say the very least. As a dealer I have never encountered such poor quality products. Of course, I steer clear of Chinese scooters - Tn'G was the only Chinese brand I ever tried selling and it bit me in the rear. I have many, many customer satisfaction problems several of which resulted in BBB complaints. The experience cost me thousands of dollars as I replaced Tn'G models with better quality scooters in order to keep my chin held high. I recently destroyed 8 Tn'G scooters because they were unsafe for street use.
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