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Having done extensive research on Chinese scooters, my wife and I bought 2 QLink Commuter 250's about 3 weeks ago from Power & Play Warehouse.  Our experience was good and the salesperson was knowledgable and friendly.

After 180 miles of careful driving to break in the motor, we experienced a problem with one of the scooters. 

After a 15 mile trip, I shut the scooter off only to hear the starter motor continue to crank... I made sure the ignition key was in the off position and removed it.  No luck, the starter continued to crank; I hit the kill switch and made sure the starter button wasn't stuck.  Alas to no avail.. it continued to crank.  (Mind you I did not have any indication of a starter problem when I initially started it.)

I decided to disconnect the battery in the hopes of saving the starter motor and the battery.  Knowing QLink had included a handy tool kit, I grabbed the tool kit to remove the retention bolt securing the seat that covers the engine compartment.  The bolt had an unsloted hex head and while the tool contained open end wrenches, screw driver and spark plug socket, a socket to fit the bolt was not included.  I grabbed the open end wrenches and after considerable effort got the bolt off and the engine cover open immediatly after the battery had died.

I called the Power and Play Warehouse service department in Pompano Beach, described the problem and was told it was propably a bad starter solenoid to bring it in and he would replace it. 

I won't go into the hassle of getting the bike down there but will say having a large utility trailer helped after a $30.00 cab drive home (cheaper than towing)  By the way, if you have AAA get the RV endorsment.  It's propably worth it.

Delivered the bike only to be told by the very courteous mechanic that he may not have the part, it may take several days to several weeks to receive it and he'll check the scooter the next day to diagnose it.

Needless to say the diagnoses didn't happen... the jury is still out on the quality of service, the promise of a large parts inventory and, since we still have one other Commuter still running, the reliability of the scooter.

Check back in about a week to see how things panned out.

I'd never heard of a Q-link scooter before so I googles it. It's an interesting looking scooter. Quite low but looks comfortable.

As I was reading your post i was thinking maybe if you had actually tried to start it again instead of switching it off it may have reset itself. Too late now off course.

I hope you won't have to wait to long before you get your scooter back. It's a bummer when you get something new and it gives you problems from the start.

It is actually a very nice ride.  Acceleration is excellent, control is excellent, comfort is excellent and top speed is very good.  This is a scooter you can take on the highway.  And as I said, we have two... my wife is experiencing no problems whatsoever, my problem is with service.

Hitting the starter button again may have been fruitless since it continually cranked & I checked the starter button to see if it was stuck.  The starter solenoid was faulty and my primary concern was not destroying the starter motor.  Notheless, in the hopefully unlikely event that it happens again, I'll try it.

Power and Play claims to have ordered the part more than a week ago.  I called them on 8/23 (three days ago) to check the status.  They told me that shipping had been delayed three days because of tropical storm FAY which wound up nowhere near Texas, and besides, I ordered a helmet for my wife around the same time the scooter went in and it arrived in just four days... from California.

The Scooter has been laid up for 13 days now and I'm becoming peeved... we'll see what the story is today.  I may offer to pay for expedited shipping myself since we didn't land out all that money for the bike to be sitting idle.  I hope I get it back soon too.

My scootr is ready! 

Having read all of the horror stories surrounding warranty service of Chinese scooters and the availability of parts I was concerned when it took longer than expected.  When the tracking number for the part gave no results, Power and Play Warehouse rose to the task and was willing to pay overnight shipping for a starter solenoid so that I would have it for the American Labor Day weekend.

Here's what I learned; you can actually call QLink and they'll answer your questions and work with you.  They actually do have parts in stock and they stand behind their product.

Kudos to Hido, Robin, Bruce in service and Jason of Power and Play Warehouse for answering the phone, treating me like a human being and doing what they said they would do.

I can't wait to get back on my Commuter 250... It's the Cadilac of affordable cruising scooters

Good on you Chuck. That hasn't taken as long as it first seemed.

It is good to read a good news story.