The Real Cost of Owning a Gomoto

I took my Gomoto GT in for its 4000 km service 12 days ago on a Wednesday. I was then told that I should not expect to get it before Monday.

When I heard nothing from them by Tuesday, I called. I could only get hold of the manager of Scooter World late in the afternoon. They had not yet looked at the motorbike. Neither had they ordered the parts that I requested to have replaced. Apparently two people had just bought brand new motorbikes earlier in the week, and they would not work and that took priority.

I phoned again on Thursday afternoon, and this time I became really unhappy when I was told that they would work on my bike as soon as possible.

I see that I missed a phone call from Gomoto / Scooter World on Friday. No message was left. Unfortunately I was in a seminar that kept me busy until after business hours.

I have no idea what the status of my motorbike is. I hope and trust that it will be ready tomorrow morning.

My bike has now been out of commission for three weeks. It was broken for a week before I could find the time to take it in to be fixed. Now it has been at the repairs shop for another two weeks. If I was running a small business, or if I had to use the bike to commute to work every day, I would now have been livid.

I do use my bike on a daily basis. This hiatus in its working condition has caused quite a lot of discomfort. I am fortunate because my wife owns a car. I needed to plan carefully to slot my travels into a time when her car was available.

Riding a Gomoto is pleasurable. Three weeks without this pleasure! Very Upsetting.

Update: Monday, 18 September

I called Scooter World this morning. Everything has been fixed.

They were just experiencing a few challenges with the wheels:

1. It appears it is not possible to replace the spoke wheels with rimmed wheels in this model.

2. But they will replace the spoked wheel at the back with a new one. This happens under warranty, and therefore I will not be paying as much. This is very good news for me.

3. I received another call from the owner of the shop in the afternoon. The wheel will be delivered tomorrow afternoon and I should be able to collect my bike at 17:00.

4. The final cost for fixing the clutch handle, and servicing has now been reduced to R500 and something. That is much better than the R1200.

I feel much better, and my liking for the manager at Scooter World has gone up again!

UPDATE: Wednesday 20 September 2006

Frustration levels are back to RED ALERT! I made all my arrangements to get a lift down to Scooter World to collect my Gomoto, on Tuesday afternoon. At 16:35 I called. A lady answered the phone and gave me a message that I could collect the motorbike at about 12:00 on Wednesday. It is now 11:40 on Wednesday. I don't have access to a lift until this afternoon and all the business that I had to do in town has to wait until somebody finally feels that it is important enough for them to fix my bike. I'm too scared to even call. I will just become more and more upset!

FINAL UPDATE: Wednesday 20 September 2006

I finally collected my Gomoto at 15:00 in the afternoon. The seat was not bolted on. I guess that is the result of me taking it apart before I took it in to them. I forgot to take in service booklet to have it signed, so I guess I will have to visit the shop again.