I have a bad habit of buying any new scooter that pops up on eBay or Amazon which has extremely good speed + range specs and a temptingly low price. However, in doing this I have been burned many times by outright scams, poor or non-existent after-sales service, inflated specs, and low-quality items.
In this article I’ll review a few of my recent Amazon/eBay scooter purchases, tell you what I liked and didn’t like about them, and recommend some of my favorite premium scooter brands that you can count on for quality and customer care.
Megawheels S10
I bought the Megawheels S10 on eBay at a crazy low price, I think I paid around $150 for it. It was somewhat underwhelming, and I sold it a few weeks later. No suspension and solid tires made for a very bumpy ride, and the handlebars weren’t even big enough to fit an external light, which was a bummer because the stock headlight was the single dimmest headlight I have seen on any scooter, ever. Luckily the claimed speed (15 mph) and range (13 miles) turned out to be accurate upon testing.
Read my full review of the Megawheels S10 here.
Purchase on eBay here.
Hover-1 Alpha Cargo
This was another too-cheap-to-pass-up scooter that I purchased about a month ago. I would actually recommend this scooter for anyone looking for a no-nonsense sit-down scooter with some storage, and my wife rides this back and forth from her university campus a couple times a week. I didn’t have a lot of complaints with this scooter, and I’d probably buy it again if it was on sale.
Read my full review of the Hover-1 Alpha Cargo here.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Zondoo ZO01
Zondoo is the classic example of a scooter company that touts statistics that aren’t anywhere close to being accurate – they claim the ZO01 can hit 55 mph, with 60 miles of range. For me (a 140lb rider) it topped out at 48 mph with almost a mile of runway and a slight tailwind. Range is 25 miles if you have dual motor engaged. I had some serious maintenance concerns with this scooter as well, which Zondoo was either unable or unwilling to fix. Would not recommend.
Read my full review of the Zondoo ZO01 here.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Zondoo ZO03
This scooter is the bigger brother of the ZO01 – and I had the exact same maintenance and controller issues that I had with the ZO01. I managed to hit 49 mph, slightly faster than the ZO01, but nowhere near the claimed speed of 56 mph.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Beyond Scooter
The Beyond scooter is possibly the worst scooter I have ever owned – I actually had to send it back and get a replacement three different times because of the exact same issue: the battery would shut off and stop providing power to the motor when trying to accelerate up a shallow incline. The fourth scooter they sent me finally worked, and I haven’t had power issues, but a few weeks ago the handlebars fell off in the middle of riding. Not cool.
Purchase on eBay here.
Megawheels S1
This scooter is tiny, and extremely light. It is marketed as a kids scooter, which it certainly is, but I couldn’t resist trying it out to see if it was worth the $100 that I paid for it. Conclusion: it’s not. The minuscule 6-inch solid tires make any road feel incredibly bumpy and unsafe, and the front light is a joke. However, the one redeeming quality is that it passes the 1-finger lift test!
Purchase on eBay here.
Kugoo Kirin M4 Pro
This scooter claims a 30 mph top speed and a range of 43 miles. My top speed was 26 mph, and I got 23.5 miles of range. Not even close. Also, this scooter is the reason I ended up in the hospital last year with a broken jaw – I hit a curb and the front tire absolutely shattered, along with the entire front end of the scooter. Would not recommend.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Yume Y10
I purchased this on sale from Amazon, but they never gave me a delivery date. After a few months of no scooter, they outright canceled my order and provided me with a refund. I’m not sure if it was a listing error or an outright scam, but I never received the scooter, and won’t be trying to buy a Yume product on Amazon again.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Best Brands For Quality: Apollo, Dualtron, Segway
These are 3 brands that have stood the test of time, have a solid customer base, and have proven themselves with excellent customer service and product quality. Our favorite Apollo scooter is the new Apollo Pro (read our full review here) or the Apollo City Pro (review here). Dualtron offers an extremely wide lineup, but our favorites are the Dualtron Popular (review here) and the Dualtron Thunder 3 (review here). Segway focuses on the lower-end scooters, but the quality is excellent. The Segway Ninebot Max (review here) is a classic, best-selling commuter that is a great first scooter.