How would you go about getting a Peugeot?

[primavera]

Have any of you seen the new Peugeot Satelis scooter? What can I say, I'm in love. I really, really want one. But Peugeot hasn't sold vehicles in the US in a decade. So how would you go about getting one? I suppose you could go to France to buy one and then ship it home, but I imagine the shipping cost would be astronomical. Nor do I have any idea what would be involved in terms of customs - would I need special permits to import a vehicle? What do you all think - is it impossible, or just more trouble than any sane person would ever go to?

http://www.peugeot-motocycles.fr/satelis.php

[Ganja Ninja]

1. It would be more trouble than it's worth.

Peugeot hasn't been sold here for years and never to my knowledge have they sold motorcycles or scooters in the US. For the extra amount of money you would spend to get it you could go buy a better Aprilla or Piaggio.

One suggestion if your heart is set on this particular scooter is do a little research. You might find it's available (built under license) from another manufacturer in the far east.

[primavera]

3. Yeah, that was kind of my suspicion

Bummer, though, it looks like a really sweet scooter. You seem comfortable though rating the Aprilias and Piaggios higher. If I may ask, what is your basis for that view? Is it your impression that the Italians make higher quality scooters, scooters with more features, better performance, what? The main reason I'm all hot and bothered about the Peugeot was that it had features which I had not seen from other scooter manufacturers, such as the unusually large trunk and, most notably, this "compressor" system they're using which they boast increases hp while simultaneously improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. Being the good lefty tree hugger that I am, the prospect of something that gets better fuel economy and produces lower emissions sounds like a cool thing to me. But do you think that's just a marketing gimmick and I could find similar features on a Piaggio or an Aprilia? I have a Piaggio Fly 150 now and am generally pretty happy with it, although, as far as scooters go, the gas mileage is unspectacular - a hell of a lot better than any car of course (save maybe a Prius), but nowhere near the 100-110 mpg I used to get on my Honda Metropolitan before it was stolen.

Ed. for sp.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. I don't really rate Aprilia's or Piaggio's higher. I just meant that if

you were spending extra money to import a Peugeot you could step up from a 150 to a 250 Aprilia or Piaggio.

[Rob H.]

2. There was at least one dealer selling Peugeot scooters in the US

....in the early 2000s, iirc. As far as I can remember, the dealer brought in at least a couple of 150cc scooter models, the Looxor 150 and Elystar 150, and a few 50cc scoots, the Looxor 50, Elystar 50, and Speedfight 2. He was one of the only (if not the only) stateside importers and didn't do everything required to get DOT approval* and supposedly wasn't all that reliable when it came to bringing in accessories or repair parts. (And repair parts were really expensive when he could get them.)

When Peugeot broke off their relationship with their US dealer(s), that was the end of the line for their scooters in the US. (I read on a scootering board that Peugeot didn't want just a few dealers importing their scooters in the first place, anyway, because they wanted a more robust dealer network.) The strong Euro in 2004 also discouraged Peugeot from selling any more scooters here, too.


*They weren't DOT-approved because their front turn signals weren't a minumum of 15" apart, the headlight wasn't set up to be always on, it didn't have the required reflectors, and it didn't have a kill switch aside from the key.

[primavera]

4. The part issue worries me too

I have a hard enough time as is finding parts for my Piaggio and there are plenty of Piaggio dealerships in the US. Finding parts for a scooter whose manufacturer is totally unrepresented in this country... I shudder to think about it. It pisses me off, though, that Peugeot isn't exporting to the US anymore. Apart from a wide assortment of scooters, they appear to make some attractive cars as well, particularly in the small, fuel-efficient category so woefully under-represented in this country. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

[Rob H.]

6. I know what you mean

We had a Vespa dealer here in Memphis up until last year when he closed his shop ostensibly in order to move it downtown and thus far hasn't reopened. It left a lot of Vespa and Genuine riders here orphaned wrt parts and service, to say nothing of the fact that now the nearest Vespa dealers are in Nashville and Little Rock. Luckily a local Kawasaki dealer has started selling Kymco scooters, so those riders who bought any from the now-closed dealer aren't out in the cold.

Have you ever taken a look at www.cyberscooter.it? It's an Italian site, and even though I don't understand a word of it I like to go there to drool/fume over the cool scooters available outside the US.