The Scooter Jar

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Wait No More!

2002 Yamaha Vino 50cc

Thursday, April 5, 2007

A Schwinn Bicycle = $210 deduction

Yesterday, we dipped into the Scooter Jar in order to buy a bicycle from Costco. Holly has been wanting a bicycle for a long time now and with the warm spring weather, we decided to take a loan out on the jar for a Schwinn. I will post a pic soon.

I took it out on a ride myself yesterday and today and had a blast riding around! It's been quite a few years since I've ridden and I forgot how much fun it was to ride. The last time I actually rode a bike was 8 years ago in Arkansas on my mission. I'll have to dig out a pic of that too...

Anyway, all this 2 wheel riding has re-inspired me in my savings for the Buddy. I can't wait.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

$924.91

Yipee! The jar is getting richer!! $924.91 is in the jar as of today. This month is my birthday, so I got $200 in cash which went straight to the jar. I'll put the dough in the bank and slip the deposit receipt into the jar so that we don't have cash laying out in large amounts.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

$606 and Some Change

Today, the jar is at $606!

Also, yesterday Holly and I went to Fun On Wheels and checked out the Italia. It is pretty sweet. This was the only 125 buddy model they had in stock. We didn't get a chance to test ride it because it was rainy outside. But we did fire it up and it sounded awesome. V-R-R-R-O-O-O-O-M!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The Waiting - Part 2

Sometimes I feel like Homer Simpson when he was waiting desperately for his background check to clear so he could get his gun. I love this clip...

Saturday, March 17, 2007

My First Scooter...Accessory!

After receiving my email from last week, Brett Ratner of Genuine Scooters Dealer Development sent me this SWEET Italia key chain which just arrived in the mail today! Thanks Brett! This is my first scooter accessory.

Possible Pilot for a Buddy Commerical?

Here's a fantastic commercial for the Buddy--made by a buddy owner. Pretty awesome for being made by fans and not even getting paid for it!

Good Job guys!!

This video requires Quicktime 7 for playback on Mac or PC. Get it here.

Directed by Stacie Dekker
Camera Operators: Stacie Dekker, Tyler Purcell
Starring: 2006 Genuine Buddy 125 Scooter (orange), Alexey Mohr
Voiceover by: Mike Brownell
Edited by: Stacie Dekker at Concept Filmworks
Mixed by: Alexey Mohr at The Lex Factory

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Italia Coming to a Dealer Near ME!

Just days afer writing an email to info@genuinescooter.com detailing my desperate love for the Italia, Tim, the Genuine dealer (Fun on Wheels) just blocks from my house has informed me that one will be arriving next week to his shop. This surprised me because just last week, Tim did not plan on getting any 125's.

But anyway, I'm just excited to see Italia in person next week!

In related Scooter Jar news, I deposited another $100 dollars today making my grand total just over $400.

Only about $2600 to go! I am right on schedule to be on the street with my new Italia in May!

Monday, March 12, 2007

A Buddy Picture Gallery

metroscooter

motostrada

scoot

vespahartford

garnerclassicscooters

The above Italia Images are courtesy of americanbiker.biz

This is THE BEST buddy custom job I've seen to date.
See more pics of this buddy and his other bikes at "dslee design".

Complaint Letter to Genuine Scooter Co

From: Scott

To: info@genuinescooters.com

Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 1:10 AM

Subject: My Scooter Jar...

Dear Genuine Scooter Company,

I just thought I’d let you know that you’ve caused me many sleepless nights recently. It all started when I decided that I wanted to buy a scooter. I started a personal blog about my hunt for the perfect scoot as well as a chronology of dollar amounts added to my scooter jar.

A few days into my blog, I came across the Modern Buddy forum and found pic’s of the new Buddy Italia and the new ’07 red Buddy. Now I’m afraid I’ve become obsessed. So thank you Genuine Scooter Company. Thank you for making me lose sleep.

Sincerely, Scott

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I actually got an email back from GSC Monday morning:

Scott:

Thank you for the email. I'm glad you like the Italia. What is your mailing address, by the way?

Saturday, March 10, 2007

9 Long Days

In nine days, we've raised $297.53.

That's an average of $33.06/day. So I punched the data into a spreadsheet to see how long it will take to get our scoots. I added a bit of extra money on the price of each scoot, since we will need to buy all the necessary gear at the time of the scoot purchase (helmet, jacket, gloves, etc).

Since I don't know if we are going to get new scoots or used scoots yet, I ran both scenarios.

1st New Buddy	$2,900	Monday, June 04, 2007
2nd New Buddy	$5,800	Friday, August 31, 2007

1st Used Buddy	$2,200	Monday, May 14, 2007
2nd Used Buddy	$4,400	Friday, July 20, 2007

I will run another analysis next week, just in case the DPD (deposits per day) gets better.

"The waiting is the hardest part" -Tom Petty

There are two '06 Buddy's listed on craigslist right now and the temptation to buy prematurely (before I have the cash in the jar) is almost unbearable.

But, I really have my heart set on the '07 Italia or the '07 Red model which would have to be purchased new from the dealer. But the thought of buying used and saving about $1,000 and having riding pleasure sooner is very tempting.

Here's the the two deals I found on craigslist that have really grabbed my attention. Maybe one of you lucky blokes (or Sheila's) live near Baltimore or Tampa Bay where the two bargains are listed. The Baltimore Buddy is pink though. So if I did buy that one, I would definitely paint it.
_____________________________________
BALTIMORE BUDDY

Genuine BUDDY 125 SCOOTER PINK W/WINDSHLD MINT!!!!!!!!! - $2000

Reply to: sale-287953519@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-03-03, 7:48PM EST

For sale 2006 mint pink Genuine buddy 125 LIKE NEW 1,400 miles with windshield $2000 or best offer
Rated scooter of the year !!!!!!The speed of these little scooters is very impressive!!! super reliable!!!
This was my wifes scooter but she just moved up to a 250cc scooter so this one must go!!!!!
90mpg !!!! 65mph !!!!!!! CALL 443-866-6366 7:00am to 11:00pm

Location: bel air md 21014
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 287953519
____________________________________

TAMPA BUDDY

2006 125cc Buddy Scooter - $1500

Reply to: sale-278025789@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-02-13, 9:36AM EST

2006 Buddy scooter, 575 miles excellent condition. used only to go back and forth to work. scooter is orange and brown. job relocation to far to ride to work. call chris @ 727-384-0444 for more info.

PostingID: 278025789

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Series Italia 2007 Genuine Buddy

Today's post is dedicated to the Series Italia. What's the difference between the Italia and the standard '07 Buddy? The Italia has "white wall tires, dark green seat, gray grips, and an eye-catching two-tone paint scheme that will make you dream of scooting in Tuscany." (Buddy Italia! website). What a sweet scoot!

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Holly Makes a Great Sacrifice

Holly re-allocated $100 cash from her March massage therapy fund and put that money right into the Scooter Jar! Now that's what I call sacrifice!

That puts us somewhere in the $300 range so far.

Today's Obsession - '07 Buddy 125 Italia

The '07 Buddy is the scooter that I most desire. After reading some posts at the Modern Buddy Forum, I decided that if I'm going to get a Buddy, then I should get the 125cc. And if I'm going to get the 125cc, I just as well get the new '07. The new buddy comes in a variety of colors as shown below. (The '06 Buddy only came in 4 flavors). They've also upgraded the headlight this year with a halogen, the tail light was upgraded to LED and the scoot also now has a 12v accessory adapter.

Per Genuine's website, "All Genuine Scooter Company models come with a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty and one free year of roadside assistance." That's the most competitive warranty available in the scooter industry as far as I'm aware.

I'm not totally sure how much the scoot is OTD (Out the door) yet. I'll post as soon as I find out. Here's one last head-on picture of the beautiful '07 in red. Delicious.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

$40 Added Today

The scooter jar is $40 richer today! Thanks Holly for the extra dough!

That puts the pot to about $200 so far...

Monday, March 5, 2007

We Want a Bigger Scooter

We decided that we want bigger scoots, but we are going to need to look into how much insurance will cost...

UPDATE (3/7/2007)
I just got a couple quotes for insurance from Geico today. It looks reasonable enough, so I think we'll proceed with our plans to get a scooter in the 125cc to 150cc range.

This quote is for insurance without any collision or comprehensive coverage.

This quote includes collision and comprehensive with a $50 deductible for each.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Scooter Jar Starts Today at $144.47

I started my scooter jar today.

I already added $144.47 to the jar just today!

We are saving up to buy two scooters. One for me and one for Holly. Below are the scooters I like the most so far. We are planning on going with 50cc scooters to avoid insurance and a motorcycle license. Do you have one of these scooters? How do you like it? Please share your comments!