mpgmotors.com Blog

The New Years Eve Party!

October 7, 2008 on 8:30 pm | In Uncategorized |

People stopping in often mention how many more scooters and motorcycles they are seeing on the road. After I say, “Everyone who is anyone is riding” with a wry grin, I usually reply that if you asked most of our customers at their 2007 New Year’s Eve party

(add your own slurred voice and spill something too)

“You gettin’ a scoot/bike next year??”

The answer probably would have been no. But a lot of you did decide to ride in ‘08. And that occurred to a lot of you when gas passed $4/gallon. Not a bad reason. You know I agree with that. We sold a bunch of scooters and bikes in ‘08. A lot of dealerships did. We documented that here

In October of 2008, we have a ton of reasons not to buy anything. The stock market is heading south, credit is tight, people are nervous - rightly so. But, people still need to get to work. Kids need to get around campus. Get groceries, the mail, have FUN. Yes, I said it, the FUN word - I still want to have FUN! If you need a vehicle, consider a motorcycle or scooter.

The FTC said in 2006 that the average price of a new car was $28,400. That’s a tough price to digest today and the car dealerships are feeling that pinch. Maybe you just need another vehicle. Maybe that car you’ve been milking along finally let go. I passed a dealer driving an ‘02 Buick today with $8,995 on the window. I don’t particularly like Buick’s but since that car provided the inspiration for this entry, we’re going to run with a Buick as an example. That price is just a third the price of the average new car.

That car is now six years old. It can probably carry 5 or 6 people (of course, it only had one person in it). Figure 20 mpg real world. Expensive enough that you would want to still carry collision insurance. No factory warranty although it’s still new enough that you could pay a couple of hundred dollars extra for an aftermarket warranty. Probably it was being sold “As-is” even though I imagine that it is in ok shape. Don’t know about the accident history, you never are completely sure.

Do you go for the Buick because things are so iffy now? $28K is a lot for the new car. A third of that sounds a lot better.

Well, you could buy 3 brand new Genuine Buddy 125cc scooters and keep the change (use the change to gear up). Or, you could buy just one for a third the price of our example Buick.

Why three? Well the math worked out really well versus the $9000 Buick. Plus, I allowed that the Buick had a bench seat up front and could carry six people. So can three Buddy scooters ;^). Take your family out on all three of them and you automatically have your own scooter rally. You can get riding a new vehicle, even now, for much less than even a used car would cost. The Buddy is fast enough to ride on most of our roads (except the PA Turnpike - I recommend our 250cc scooters/bikes for the turnpike - ours are fast enough).

There is more than just cost. All our products have 2 year warranties. If you need it, the Genuine’s also have roadside assistance (you don’t get that with the Buick either). You keep a lot more of your money if you pay cash or you can potentially finance your bike for a really inexpensive monthly payment. Gas costs are way down vs. the Buick and you will be able to ride it in SE Pennsylvania … a lot. The weather here doesn’t preclude riding all that much. It does get cold. Ever go skiing or ride a snowmobile? That’s considered fun. On my bike, I just need to drive 25 minutes to work. I can put up with “really cold” for twenty minutes to save $6 a day instead of driving “Beastie” (my F250 snowplowing, extended cab, really big, bike-hauling truck). And it’s not just Buddy scooters either. Our most expensive bike, the Hyosung GV650 a numbered limited edition, fuel injected 2009 product, costs just $7,499. It still gets 50 MPG, and will also blow the doors off of the Buick.

Oh, you can get 9.5 Buddy scooters for the price of the new car. Just in case you were wondering.

Folks we know that things are tough. People are being personally affected. We all are being affected. We’re just trying to point out that there are transporation options if you need them. We always want to have options.

Ride and drive safe folks!