I see a lot of Honda Forza and PCX and Yamaha Nmax  (many smaller 125 scooters but I am not interested on those) on sale in Phuket (specially Patong) that are most probably ex-rental. There are many here on the island (I think at any one point looking at traffic, up to half of all bikes on the road here are rentals and farang driven). Mainly scooters of course.

 

It's hard to spot these unless they have a lot of mileage or scratch all over and the big give away is the left over mark of a rental sticker (look carefully and you might see it).

 

I don't know, I guess the negative is that the bike was mis-treated and roughed up, but then again it may have been looked after and serviced well and repaired by a responsible owner rather than, say, years of no oil change or service otherwise....

 

I heard many people in the west buy very good condition ex-rental cars and enjoy it for years trouble free, but no idea about bikes and I guess it is all different here in Thailand and tourists renting for a few days/weeks.. !

 

What is your opinion, any tips about spotting these and should they be a sure "avoid" at all costs... !?

 

 

They are cheap to fix so just find a clean looking one with everything working and drive it ...when it breaks fix it.

Or buy another one.

 

 

By reputation rentals are reckoned to be poorly maintained and driven hard by riders that only need it to last 3 days and who almost certainly never check oil or water levels. Western rental companies have insurance companies and the police to think about, not a concern here. But as johng above says, check it all works. 

33 minutes ago, Agusts said:

I guess it is all different here in Thailand

That you got right. 

On 4/10/2018 at 7:40 PM, johng said:

They are cheap to fix so just find a clean looking one with everything working and drive it ...when it breaks fix it.

Or buy another one.

 

 

yes, that is how i see it also, scooters are stubbornly resistant, cept for the tyres

No matter what scooter or bike you buy used, take it to a reputable dealer (rolleyes) and get new brake pads, brake fluid, oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plug and tires. Don't forget full first class insurance for it too. 

As mentioned, I would stay far away from rental scooters. The vast majority of rental companies (I know a few) try to squeeze as much money out of them (read: no maintenance) as possible in as short a timeframe as possible. On top those are usually at least third hand as rental companies like to buy them second hand for their fleet, they have no reason to take the depretiation hit.

 

Lots of second hand scooters to be found at auctions as well from all those people defaulting on their loans.

 

Ask the seller when the last service was, in what intervals he serviced the bike, what was performed during service. If they know the answer, chances are they looked after the bike.