Used goods, be those washer driers, fridge freezers, and computers, or else more expensive items, such as cars, motorbikes, and scooters, can be an amazing bargain or, for the unfortunate, simply a waste of money. 

To help you separate the wheat from the chaff, continue reading to learn how to make sure you are purchasing a quality secondhand electric scooter. 

Think About Future Maintenance & Repair Needs

Unless you are deliberately looking for a classic, vintage scooter, which you are planning to turn into your labor of love for the next few years, the used scooter you end up purchasing needs to still have parts available at a reasonable price and from more than one supplier. 

As a rule, any used scooter that is ten years old or younger will more than likely be an easy repair job when it comes to sourcing experienced bike mechanics and the parts they need. 

Have 5 or More Shortlisted Scooters

Unfortunately, in the modern world today, more and more people are being conned when they purchase any kind of expensive item through online sellers and private advertisements in magazines, as unethical sellers are becoming more adept at hiding serious flaws and problems with the items. 

To avoid falling into a similar trap yourself, you should source your new, used scooter through a reputable and established dealer, such as bmgscooters.com, whose staff will be on hand to answer any query you have at any time. 

Make Sure There Is a Spare Key

There will be exceptions to this, but as a general rule, you should be given both the primary and the spare keys when you ride your new scooter away. 

All scooters, just like bikes and cars, are initially produced with two keys and if you are only given one, you need to think hard about whether you want to take risk of never being able to find a replacement for the spare, or that the private seller still has the key and intends to take the bike back. 

Concentrate on the Engine

As the engine of a scooter is the most expensive component of the entire machine, it makes sense that this is the area you should focus your detailed inspection on, both for functionality, as well as safety. 

If the scooter you are test driving, or at least switching on and off and letting the engine run, is a four-stroke engine, then there should only be a smooth humming sound when the engine is in operation. For scooters with two-stroke engines, the sound should only be as loud as a weed cutter or a gentle, grinding chainsaw noise. 

Not only should you be starting and switching off the engine, but you should also either ask the seller to rev the engine or indeed do this yourself on your test drive. The revs should produce an almost instantaneous reaction and immediately after the acceleration is stopped, it should reduce speed quickly.