The following is taken from www.sunlsucks.com , which was taken from an EBAY guide. This has very good information for people that potentially want to buy a cheap chinese product on the internet (or in person for that matter as many brick and motors give bad service with the cheaper chinese products as well!!)
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:28 pm Post subject: EBAY Guides to buying Chinese
http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-buy-an-quot-off-brand-quot-ATV_W0QQugidZ1000000000011529 3
How to buy an "off brand" ATV
There are several important factors to consider when buying an ATV on eBay.
First and most important is to find out who made it.
Then research that manufacture.
Find out if they have a distribution center here in the states.
Are they online, can you call someone, do they have parts?
Most reputable Chinese quad manufactures and distributors forbid the sale of their product on eBay.
Then there are all the rest that flood eBay with cheap quads.
Most of these are being sold by someone who bought a few to try and will be gone when he realizes these things need parts and he cant get them.
Where does that leave you?
Hung out to dry.
The long and short of it is do your homework, research the manufacture and buy only quads you can get parts for because these quads will break (usually shortly after you start it).
http://reviews.ebay.com/ATV-HAILI-BRAND-NAME-CHINA-PIECE-OF-SH_W0QQugidZ100000000016645 42
ATV HAILI BRAND NAME ( CHINA) PIECE OF SH@#.
HI I purchased an ATV in Aug 2006. Seller real nice. I think this was one of the Scams.
The Brand name is Haili from China. 3 days after I received this ATV the crank case went out on it. I have tried everything in my power to get parts for this said ATV. I wish I had seen this site before my purchase. This ATV has been nothing but problems. From the brake cable to all the screws needing tightening. If anyone out there knows where you can get parts for this ATV please contact me. My next move is calling China.
http://reviews.ebay.com/Roketa-motorcycles_W0QQugidZ10000000002138513
Roketa motorcycles
I bought a Roketa from a dealer only 50 miles from my home. It was for my son. The dealer absolutely lied to my face when he told me that the bike was an Enduro. note, the invoice said Induro, so it was very misleading. when the bike was delivered Months later, like I said, it was a gift for my son, we had to wait over a week for the Certificate of Origin papers, which looked like someone copied them at home and stuck them in the package of paperwork. So I called them over and over. then, found out that they changed addresses. Hunted down the dealer to get a REAL Certificate of Origin. Mike Turber sent me one after 3 months, which is not notarized, so useless. The Certificate of Origin even has a place for the notary stamp. So I dropped it off at the dealer, as I was instructed, to get one that is notarized, that also was months ago. I have a 24 hour business to run, so I don't have time for this hassle. On the other hand, owning my own business I had plenty of money to buy more Roketas, if the customer service had even existed. Now the dealer has moved to New Jersey, & the person who now owns the shop says it has nothing to do with him. Which I guess is correct, he didn't sell me the bike, only his business did. Roketa doesn't give a rip if any of their customers get service. Finding a real dealer does nothing for you. For the money, might as well get ripped off on an internet dealer, you don't get any customer service either way you go. I only lost a little over a thousand dollars. This has been a nightmare. I own 5 custom classic cars, 2 Harley's, and a Suzuki, besides the daily driver new car, and the Lincoln Town Car my son drives. Yeah, they screwed me over, but they cut off their nose to spite their face, because I'll NEVER buy another Roketa. The thing that really ticks me off, they don't care if I don't buy anything from them again. they just keep sucking people in & don't care at all about repeat buyers.
http://reviews.ebay.com/Scooters-The-Complete-Guide_W0QQugidZ10000000001161036
Scooters - The Complete Guide
Here's the complete low-down on scooters !
The lowest rank is Chinese mainland scooters. Many claim to have Honda or Yamaha engines - dont believe it. They may have used those blueprints, but the material quality and fit will not be the same and the engine covers will NOT say Honda etc.. You can expect a lot of difficulty getting parts like transmission drive belts (which wear out). Most of them are sold by fly-by-night eBay sellers who dont carry parts. Last caution - most are not really DOT approved and most insurance companies will NOT cover them therefore registration will be not doable. Having said that, these scooters are only $1000 for a 150cc unit which is fun to drive (45-55 mph max not 65 like advertiised). The 50cc scooters will not attain street-worthy speeds. 27 mph max. You should buy 2, one for parts. Seriously.
I've gotten a lot of email from eBay sellers complaining about my statements re Chinese scooters. Here is further advice: Before buying a scooter, call the 'dealer' and order 2 critical parts - example a drive belt and a front brake disc. Their non-response and inability to deliver critical parts (or any parts at all) should tell you all you need to know. If indeed they have the parts, then and only then Id consider giving them the order. There is no rush most scooters are listed over and over and over. They are not one-time 'deals' on ebay.
Also getting email asking for a recommendation on one brand or another (usually unknown). I cant advise beyond the brands Ive mentioned here - advice there is to find out where its made and compare the pictures to other Chinese knockoff scooters.
There is an amusing derivative of Chinese scooters - the Chinese knock-off of another Chinese scooter. That's right, looks the same, same lousy quality, lack of parts etc. Why they dont follow the 1950's Japanese pattern of exactly copying German or other high quality stuff is beyond me. There are 4 or 5 very large scooter factories in China (Geeley being the largest and soon a car exporter to US) and probably 200 knock offs. If you call them, they'll send you a shipping container of scooters for $600 each, and off to eBay they go. No parts, no warranty, no technical support.
The Taiwanese manufactured scooters (Kymco being the largest) are a ways above Chinese mainland scooters. This is also the source of many smaller Honda-Yamaha branded scooters. Kymcos are good units but tend to be a bit over priced in the United States. I'd compare features carefully and buy if it looks like a good deal financially.
Next rank - Classic Vespa knock offs like the Stella (India) and Bajaj. These are more or less OK but rust fast.
Next, Italian and Korean scooters (Kymco, Aprilia) etc. These are a mixed bag and the prices start to approach Japanese scooters. However they are licensable and there is some parts availability.
Real Vespas. These are very slick, expensive $5000-up - and all-metal. They rust fast in damp climes. Quality is otherwise pretty good but the engines are smal for the money. Example a 150cc Vespa is $5000 same as a 250cc or even 400 Suzuki.
Next up, the Yamaha and Honda Chinese./Taiwan-licensed scooters sold under house name like Vino, Metropolitan etc. These are all right units with the advantage you can get parts. The Vino 125 is a pretty nice small scooter, 47 mph very high quality.
Next up, the larger plastic Vespas/Piaggio, like the X9 etc. These are all right but not price and feature competitive with the following category..especially in storage, dependability, service ease etc.
Suzuki Burgman 400 and Yamaha Majesty 400 scooters. There are very nice units priced $4300 and up. Excellent machines, they rival many cycles for performance and reliability.
Next, Honda Scooters. These are pretty expensive $4000 and up but very reliable units. The Reflex 250 is particulerly good, but same price as Suzuki and Yamaha 400's so Id have to think about that. The Big Ruckus 250cc is interesting but no storage and no floorboards to speak of.
Finally, maxi-scooters - Suzuki Burgman 650, Honda Silver Wing 600. These are really excellent long distance tourers, great commuters, capable of over 100 mph and carry a lot. Expensive, but worth it.
Final note: there are a few Vespa restorers selling on ebay, offering gorgeous sidecar Vespas from Indonesia or Viet Nam cheap. Somebody, please write a review of these ! Their feedback is good but there must be a few gotchas.
http://reviews.ebay.com/Tank-Touring-150DE_W0QQugidZ10000000001609637
Tank Touring 150DE
n April of 2006 I purchased a Tank 150 touring deluxe here on Ebay. It was brand new and shipped free from the dealer. The purchase price was $1488.00 including shipping. It is now August 2006 and I still have not been able to register it. There is a problem with the vehicle identification number. Seems there is another one that was manufacturered by the same manufacturer and it has the same VIN #. It is also licensed in my state.It has been all this time and the dealer and the distributor have not been able to resolve this matter.Seems like they could have promoted good customer service by picking the one I have up and providing me with a new Tank.The Tank also had fender damage on both sides. Due to the crating and was missing the right foot mat. Still have not received those replacement parts either..I WOULD NOT recommend anyone to purchase a Tank Sport product.The bike is not that well built as stated in all the ads you see.I recommend you spend a little more. Buy local.Buy a brand that has excellent parts support and customer service.I RATE THIS PRODUCT AS VERY POOR. _________________ 2004 KPX Xterro: pumper carb, oil cooling, 10 gram rollers, Toy junkies pipe, uni
2005 Blade 150 DX: 4 Valve head, 10 gram rollers, East Side pipe, uni
Last edited by Hopster on Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:20 am; edited 1 time in total
I especially like the idea of trying to order a few replacement parts before buying a complete powersports product from a dealer. This should show the dealers or distributors true colors rather quickly. Many claim they stock all parts, but in fact, do not.
So if you plan to buy a new buggy or other chinese off brand powersports product, order a belt or other consumable part first to test the waters.
-Steve _________________ 2004 KPX Xterro: pumper carb, oil cooling, 10 gram rollers, Toy junkies pipe, uni
2005 Blade 150 DX: 4 Valve head, 10 gram rollers, East Side pipe, uni
I especially like the idea of trying to order a few replacement parts before buying a complete powersports product from a dealer. This should show the dealers or distributors true colors rather quickly. Many claim they stock all parts, but in fact, do not.
You probably won't actually have to buy the parts. If you email alot of these internet/EBAY sellers with a question (other than buying) or about purchasing parts, you won't get an answer.
I especially like the idea of trying to order a few replacement parts before buying a complete powersports product from a dealer. This should show the dealers or distributors true colors rather quickly. Many claim they stock all parts, but in fact, do not.
You probably won't actually have to buy the parts. If you email alot of these internet/EBAY sellers with a question (other than buying) or about purchasing parts, you won't get an answer.
Good point! But to be fair, there are even some very good dealers that may get slow on email at times. I would at least try to contact them by phone if email doesn't work right away and see what their responses are to parts requests.
-Steve _________________ 2004 KPX Xterro: pumper carb, oil cooling, 10 gram rollers, Toy junkies pipe, uni
2005 Blade 150 DX: 4 Valve head, 10 gram rollers, East Side pipe, uni
This has very good information for people that potentially want to buy a cheap chinese product on the internet (or in person for that matter as many brick and motors give bad service with the cheaper chinese products as well!!)
A Cabot husband and wife have been arrested for allegedly defrauding customers through their scooter/atv business. The couple has a showroom in Cabot but they also do business over the Internet and that's where they're accused of being dishonest.
Police say there are more than 100 victims that investigators are busy taking statements from. None of them lives in Arkansas because it was all done through eBay or other websites.
Makes S2S look good (not that they are) ! _________________ 2004 KPX Xterro: pumper carb, oil cooling, 10 gram rollers, Toy junkies pipe, uni
2005 Blade 150 DX: 4 Valve head, 10 gram rollers, East Side pipe, uni
If S2S is Schytown, he is back at it again.....http://www.schytown-parts.com _________________ Greg Harris
www.wickedgoodatv.com corncrop@hughes.net
207-577-0115
I used to be a dealer for Sunl and they Sucked!!!! They had no parts at all. Anyways I got rid of Sunl and switched to BLADE. They are a Great company and they have tons of parts for there karts. The problem is no one knows about my site. So i am trying to get people to come to my site and experience a REAL gokart a BLADE kart!!. Please stop by and check my site out.
Pretty big jump for a new business to jump right into directly importing your buggies from China!!
That takes some stones to lay out that kind of cabbage, but it probably helps you with the lowest price anywhere guarantee, to buy in large volume that is.
Blade has a great product and a great reputation, so, as long as you hold up your end to your customers, you should do very well.