I have done a lot of research on this topic and finally decided to purchase one of these inexpensive 250cc Scooters.  Since there were no local dealers, I had no choice but to shop the Internet. Many of the reviews you read are correct.  These machines are knock-offs of the name brand scooters that you will find at local dealers. The quality is definitely different and the big deciding factor before purchasing any Chinese Scooter is, "who will do the maintenance".  When you purchase one of these machines you must have an above average mechanical ability, for you are not only the driver, you are also the mechanic.  There is really no one who will work on these machines......at this time.  If you lack this ability, don't buy one.

I visited many BBS dedicated to these scooters and often the negative comments are penned by those with no mechanical ability.  These BBS are very informative and have provided much insight.  I don't know if I would purchase one from eBay.  When I did decide to purchase a Scooter, I looked at supplliers web sites and then I emailed them and asked some questions for a few reasons, other than the obvious.  I wanted to see if they would answer, and how they would answer.  I did not want to deal with a business that did not have a decent command of the English language.  From that point I selected a group of possible "winners" and called them.  I quickly whittled down my list based on whether or not the phone was answered and how it was answered.  The company that was first on my list went quickly to last when a 15 or 16 year old answered and could not answer simple questions in a "professional" manner.  My second choice became my first choice after the 5 minute conversation.  Some never answered the phone and some had some really bad answering machine messages.

I received my Scooter in a steel framed crate covered in cardboard.  It arrived in exceptional shape and the driver delivered it "to my door" as promised.  I do have a new respect for "dealer prep charges" as I never thought twice about a new vehicle prep before.  Whatever a dealer charges you, (car or bike) it is worth it.   Minor assembly of the mirrors, trunk box and battery was required.  All of the fluids had to be changed before a ride could be taken.  Some of these maintenance procedures were a bit tricky and the correct tools are a MUST.  Total time from uncrating to taking a ride was a leisurly 4 to 6 hours.

As for parts and mainteance, I think the Scooter explosion is about to happen.  The current attitude towards Chinese Scooters is so reminicent of the early 1960's and the insurgence of Japanese automobiles into our (US) society.  Parts were hard to come by, as were mechanics. Little by little the vehicles were accepted and I envision this also starting to happen with the Chinese Scooter industry.

In my opinion, I believe I did my homework and I also got lucky.  I have been in contact with the company I purchased my Scooter from on a few occasions and they have been a pleasure to work with. Needless to say, I am really pleased with my purchase.  I know that this Scooter won't last a lifetime, but then, I paid far less (about one-third) of what I would have for a name brand one.  Resale value is probably very low but then one could easily recoup their investiment by parting out the machine and selling it on eBay.