Apologies

[spaceprobe]

And this is why I did not get hung up about buying the SYM, online research seemed to show that SYM's were reliable, you got a lot for the money (although I except £6k for a plastic scooter is a lot, but peanuts compared to the BMW's £10). My experience with cars means I take deprecation with a pinch of salt, you may get a good deal you may not and I dont believe any brand is safe from this. Interesting I was reading about the new Kia Optima, it looks good, sounds good (7 year warranty) and get lots of good reviews. Its an Audi spec car + for less money than a Ford , but will it sell probably not because the badge says Kia. Far better to spend more on the Audi badge, yet with running costs and deprecatian you will end up loosing far more on the Audi

[bikerdezzie]

I got my tmax mk3 in 2008 brand new, traded in my ktm 950sm in and got 5200, paid 800 cash n got bike 6k out the door, 2 years later it went up 2.5k due to the exchange rate nonsense yet I think its still a 6k scooter, they go for daft money now so the sym sounds spot on to me price wise!

[Gerard C]

Its all really about marketing. Someone has said, quite rightly, that Kia and Skoda used to be cheap cars to buy. Maybe owners spent more time justifying their choice than they should have. But, then when the advertisements on TV kick in with the message that the are "Good" cars people feel better about their purchase, its more like a smug feeling - "I told you it was a good car". Eventually though those TV adverts and the marketing costs come back in the form of higher prices as someone has to pay for them.

The requirement for any secondary brand to move up is spending cash in markets that have potential. Where budgets are limited the brand has to be very clever to get exposure and recognition. Dare I say it - on Forums? I say these things from experience as we had exactly the same task with our brand against a well entrenched well funded competitor.

Existing high profile brands have more of a need for Posters, Banners, In Dealer support all which cost money reflected in higher prices to the consumer. The brand that doesn't maintain an image can disappear very quickly. To a certain extent most of us like to have possessions that are admired by our peers, which is why BMW does so well, It makes a statement about the status of the owner. If you want an example of good below the line marketing look at the Long Way Round. BMW saw the opportunity and KTM didn't. GS Sales didn't exactly suffer did they? Cost of the Bikes to BMW very little, value of the publicity - Priceless.
If I was SYM or any other brand I would be looking at my target market - which is us - and putting together Road Shows like there was no tomorrow. Make them simple and at simple places Local Biker cafes and meeting points. They are cheap compared to other methods of brand promotion. And I would be doing it now while the bargain prices exist because when the brand awareness rises then the spend on staying there also increase and consumers will pay for it.

[michaelphillips]

I got my tmax mk3 in 2008 brand new, traded in my ktm 950sm in and got 5200, paid 800 cash n got bike 6k out the door, 2 years later it went up 2.5k due to the exchange rate nonsense yet I think its still a 6k scooter, they go for daft money now so the sym sounds spot on to me price wise!

the seller even private want £3500 for a 2008 tmax and £4500 for 2009/10
so for me logic prevailed as i nearly had a 2009 tmax but could not get the dealer to offer enough for the nexus, which switched my mind (spring was nearly here so they didnt want my custom i think) yet the kymcosaki was due out and so i went for that as its new and will be less to look after, cheaper to insure and run... but if i was gonna spend 2K more then the sym 600 would be my preferred choice of new.. but then the mileage i do per week would not see the benefits

[smeghead]

Interesting stuff from Gerard regarding the advertising. It's very powerful and persuasive is advertising, most of us can remember the VW advert in the eighties where the squeak in the car was the lady drivers earring. We need to formulate our own opinions based on personal findings but peer pressure and brand status do sway our buying decisions. I like the idea of the roadshow's as I reckon most scooter riders don't have the same inhibitions and fears about riding something 'different' as say, motorcyclists do. I know since I've scootered I've changed.

[spaceprobe]

Agreed and by the way can someone tell why advertisers go on about soft touch dashboards. I don't know about you but I don't drive with one hand resting on the dash

[smeghead]

They'd be better off fitting a velvet testicle rest, nice and soft obviously.