SF Moto

Reviews 4

TE

Ted Chen

After doing a lot of research, I zerod in on getting a SYM HD200 Evo scooter. IMO it offers the best price/performance and lowest cost of ownership in its class, and it can keep up with traffic on 101. I quickly discovered that SFMoto is the SYM dealer for the San Francisco area, so that gave me great comfort knowing that I could get my SYM competently serviced there. But I noticed that several Yelp posters wrote some pretty bad reviews on SFMotos service, and that gave me pause. I did not want to buy a SYM if I could not get it serviced well. So I sent an email to Eric, the founder and owner of SFMoto, inquiring about the poor reviews. Eric was gracious enough to respond to me with an explanation of the actions that he had taken since. Erics response gave me confidence in SFMoto. I wanted to purchase a used SYM, since I just got my M1. I searched Craigslist for multiple weeks, but found the one that I wanted at an excellent price on SFMotos online inventory. I visited SFMoto on a weekday and got Matt to help me out, and helpful and friendly he was. Although I had pretty much made up my mind, I wanted to get Matts expert confirmation on my thoughts. I also took some time looking at the other scooter models that were on display before putting money down. I picked up my scooter the next day. The paperwork process with Maria in Finance went smoothly and was pretty fast. As my scooter was delivered to me at the back of the shop, I noticed the very large number of motorcycles and scooters that were parked outside (perhaps twenty to thirty) waiting to be serviced or to be picked up by their owners after servicing. It hit me on the head, that many, many customers place their faith in SFMoto for servicing. After picking up my scooter, I noticed that there were no license plates, although I did get the registration and title. I only assumed that plates would eventually arrive from DMV via mail. After a few weeks, I still had not received my plates so I contacted Maria in Finance. I learned from her that I should have received plates along with the scooter at the day of pickup. She offered that it must have been SFMotos mistake and that she would take care of it including paying for any fees. SFMoto did just that, and now I have my plates. Since I purchased my SYM HD200 in around September, I have put on nearly 900 miles. The scooter has run flawlessly. I have taken it onto highways 280 and 101, and it keeps up with traffic moving at over 70 mph. Im ecstatic that Ive been getting over 70 mpg. Riding it is tremendous fun. I have done an oil change myself, which is simple. But I plan to bring it into SFMoto for any major maintenance or repairs. Also, I am now interested in getting a motorcycle. I am keeping an eye on SFMotos inventory. Thank you SFMoto!

---

NE

Neil Wadhawan

I bought a used Vespa from SF Moto and what followed was terrible. I will write a very short version because detailing all that happened would take thousands of words. Here is the short version. From the moment I drove off with my bike there were several problems. Each time I went into to fix a problem the bike came out with more problems. They literally were unable to fix what needed to be fixed and they damaged something else while they had the bike. Each time the bike was in for service I was promised that it would be done by a certain time and I would be update throughout. I was never updated a even a single time and I brought my bike in at least 6-8 times. When the work was done I was never notified each time, instead I had to call in and they would then tell me it was done. The worst problem of all was when the drive belt broke shortly after purchase. I was assured at purchase that all belts were in great condition and had thousands of miles left on them. According to two Vespa mechanics drive belts dont just break. The drive belt broke and SF Moto took a very long time to fix it. The moment I drove away from SF Moto after the repair my bike stalled. Two mins later the bike shut down. It was later found that their repair of the drive belt which should have never broke, destroyed my motor. Eric H. the owner, refused to refund my money and instead offered only to replace the motor with a similar motor. After a month of waiting I finally got the bike back in terrible condition. I cannot stand going back there anymore for anything. Each time they screw something else up and the owner has treated the entire matter unethically. Clearly I was lied to about the condition of the bike from the beginning and I continued to be treated terribly throughout. I tried to give Eric the benefit throughout but after the problems kept on persisting I realized the nature of the way he does business. Side note: When I later went to SF Vespa to purchase a new Vespa, I was told by the owner there that I was the third person that day (I was there at 1pm) that told a similar horror story about SF Moto. Apparently they are notorious in the scooter world of SF for screwing scooters up and ripping people off. I would stay away.

---

RY

Ryan M.

In brief, SF MOTO & First Kick Scooters provides the highest level of customer service I have ever experienced anywhere. Eric, the owner went far beyond my expectations of customer care in my experience with purchasing a scooter. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anybody interested in motorcycle/scooters new & used. The financing office staff also should be mentioned for the excellent care and service they provided. Here is my story: Six months ago, after considerable research on which scooter I should buy, I walked into SF Moto intent to take the next step and explore financing options toward owning the bike that I wanted. I was greeted by a friendly and knowledgeable staff who guided me to the machine I desired and assisted in finding a lender who would provide a loan. I went into the dealer knowing I had poor credit and likely would be turned away, but their "credit angels" helped find one that could provide the loan while helping me to recover my credit score in the process. However, on the day to pick up the bike the lender pulled the offer for no apparent reason and to both mine and SF Motos surprise. I lamented that it just wasnt meant to be and headed for the door. However, the staff (Eric) stopped me on my way out and told me that they wanted me to get the bike that I want and they would help me. They agreed to hold the bike for me while I made down payments until it was paid off. Never did they pressure me or give me any negativity even through a job change and six month long period of making payments toward paying the bike off in full. Thanks to the incredibly high level of customer service and genuine care, I am now the proud new owner of the scooter of my dreams. THANKS SF MOTO! I definitely will be a loyal customer for life thanks to the treatment I received while at SF Moto.

---

IB

Ibrahim Sargin

I bought a second hand scooter from them, that they said was serviced. A month later, I found myself on the road side 35 miles east of Twentynine Palms with a drive belt that had disintegrated and broken. Luckily I was rescued by a group of motorcyclists with a pickup truck. Now that Im older and wiser, I can tell that it was likely a trade-in that was a bit more battered than their usual stock and they were just flogging it to the first fool to come through the door (me), sadly without having to put too much effort into it. When I opened the drive belt housing up to replace the belt, it was clear that the broken belt had not been replaced for quite a while (bike had run 17k miles, belt should have been replaced at 12k miles, according to the service manual, so was likely the original belt). I doubt very much they had bothered checking. The steering on the bike also seemed odd right from the beginning, in fact I rode it back straight after buying it and got them to adjust the steering. Its only now that Ive got the cowls off that I can see that the handle bar mount is not lined up straight with the steering stem, probably a slightly bent steering stem. That is something that is much harder to spot, especially on a maxi scooter, and I can never really be absolutely sure whether it was like that when I bought the bike, but I suspect it was. Would I buy from them again? Probably, they do have some nice bikes and are generally great people (service/advice in the shop is really good) but I would definitely make sure exactly what they mean when they say serviced, especially if you buy a battered old scooter from them: Ask to see a list of which items where checked/serviced and compare with the schedule in the service manual.

---

---