TaoTao 125f1 vs TaoTao 250 Rhino vs Coolster 3125

Numbrseven · 11-16-2016, 11:43 PM

I Need Help Deciding Which 2 Of These ATV's To Purchase For My 4'8" Tall Son And 5'9" Tall Daughter (they are both 13 years old). I Am Going To Buy Them Each They're Own Machine. Price Is A Factor, But Not The Final Deciding Factor. There Is A $450 Difference In Prices From What I Have Found.

culcune · 11-17-2016, 07:34 AM

The 125f1 would be perfect for your son; heck, your taller daughter, too (but both will outgrow the f1 in the not too distant future, unless their riding is mellow)! But since I can get them cheaper through my buddy, I personally would go with the 125 and the 250 Taotao (my friend sells them wholesale and retail)

That being said, you can replace the f1 with the Coolster, since I have heard great things about those here on chinariders, but I personally wouldn't since my friend doesn't deal with them, but you shouldn't have issues no matter which brand(s) you buy.

**JerryHawk250** · 11-17-2016, 08:14 AM

I found that the Coolster is a little better build than the TaoTao. I bought the Coolster 3150DX-2 2 years ago for my daughter when she was 13. It is a perfect size her as well as being big enough for my wife and I to ride. I think APSCUSA has a twin pack on sale right now for $2399 including shipping. I have pictures in my photo album of the coolster. Its been very dependable.

Numbrseven · 11-17-2016, 05:09 PM

Thanks. You talked me into 2 Coolsters. Now to find the best deal! Any dealer recommendations? Has anyone used XT Powersports? It looks like they and Killer Motorsports have the cheapest prices I can find, APSCUSA's price is only cheaper shipping to a terminal - 70 miles away.

**JerryHawk250** · 11-17-2016, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numbrseven

Thanks. You talked me into 2 Coolsters. Now to find the best deal! Any dealer recommendations? Has anyone used XT Powersports? It looks like they and Killer Motorsports have the cheapest prices I can find, APSCUSA's price is only cheaper shipping to a terminal - 70 miles away.

I bought my coolster from Killermotorsports but had issues getting damaged parts replaced. Got them after contacting coolster direct.That was 2 years ago. May be different now. It wasn't a pleasant experience. I purchased my Hawk and a Cazador 180 from APSCUSA and had great service before and after the sale. The Cazador was damaged in Shipping and they send out replacement parts the next day. XT Powersports I can't comment because I have never dealt with them. But search the forum. If there is anything bad about them I'm sure it will come up.

BlackBike · 11-17-2016, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numbrseven

Thanks. You talked me into 2 Coolsters. Now to find the best deal! Any dealer recommendations? Has anyone used XT Powersports? It looks like they and Killer Motorsports have the cheapest prices I can find, APSCUSA's price is only cheaper shipping to a terminal - 70 miles away.

Why don't you call apsc and just say, look, i want to give you my business and that I have herd great things about your company. Could you match the price since I am buying two? I bet they will do it.

**JerryHawk250** · 11-17-2016, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Why don't you call apsc and just say, look, i want to give you my business and that I have herd great things about your company. Could you match the price since I am buying two? I bet they will do it.

I think Don will work with you. Give him a call. See if he will do free commercial shipping and have it delivered to a local loading dock or to someone who has a forklift. I had mine shipped to our shop where I work.

2LZ · 11-18-2016, 10:10 AM

I'm with everyone on the Coolster twin pack. They seem to be very good quads for the $$$.
You'll find that with many of these big box web dealers, the after sale service is non-existent. That sets APSCUSA apart from everything I've heard. I have not had personal experience with them.
The Tao Tao 250 (Rhino) is a manual trans, if that makes a difference.

Keep us posted and of course, pics are mandatory upon arrival!

WarZ · 11-18-2016, 12:58 PM

I've got to chime in and say, that initially I was incredibly excited about buying from APSCUSA.com after speaking with Don on the phone and hearing what he had to say. Respectable prices too.

However ...

So far actually getting anything from them has been a nightmare. I placed an order in October for a twin pack. Don said it would ship that friday and I could pick it up the following thursday at latest. I thought, "fantastic !". Never received the order, in fact the order never shipped. Called 2x / week trying to find out what was going on. Usually was told they would call me back after looking into it. They usually don't call me back. So after 3 weeks of waiting for the order to even ship, I cancelled the order. The final reason was that they didn't have them at the warehouse in the end.

So, one bad experience, and perhaps it was just bad luck, or a real shortage. But, because they are spoken of so well on this forum, I decided to give them another chance, and maybe my prior experience was just a fluke.

So last week I ordered the twin pack again. Explained to them the situation and how I'd give them another chance. Placed the order. Don said it would ship this monday, and I'd see it by friday...

So now it's friday, called apscusa (twice actually, after waiting a couple hours after the first call with no call back), and finally am told, that for whatever reason, the shipping company has not picked up the atv's / order. So, 2nd order still has not shipped yet. And now I am again waiting for a call back to find out why etc.

So long story short, it's moving into over a month since I tried to place an order with apscusa, and they have still not shipped anything.

My credit card of course was charge immediately, both times.

So if those machines aren't on a truck by end of today or monday at latest, I think my only wise course of action is to cancel the order again and move on to a different seller.

What is distressing is this - they seem like genuinely nice guys, and I want to give them my business. But it is getting downright silly at this point. I'm not sure if this is industry standard when buying a coolster atv, but it's getting very scary.

2LZ · 11-18-2016, 01:26 PM

Wow! That's wacky. Well hopefully this isn't going to become the norm but twice is kind of odd.
I know I had good shipping from Superior but their after sales service was non-existent....but at least I got my order when they said it would ship.

culcune · 11-18-2016, 06:44 PM

I will go 'public' with Excalibur Motorsports www.atv4usa.com

They are not a mail-order company per se, but will mail-order most anything from the companies they deal with. Their website is old, but they do have a smattering of Taotao quads, and many of their bikes are out of stock. Why? They became the main distributors for TGB Scooters, so keep very few bikes, quads, etc in stock. However, they are located in City of Industry, Cal. (they moved from Chino) and are about a mile and a half from Kandi USA http://www.kandiusa.com/. Kandi has off-road go-karts as seen on Excalibur's site, but are also the exclusive US distributor for Bashan's Brozz and Shark http://www.kandiusa.com/product_list.php?id=270. Alan, the manager of Excalibur was not aware of this until I told him, LOL. When they were in Chino, they were a couple of miles from Taotao's So. Cal. warehouse. While Taotao's Chino warehouse is not the headquarters, ALL their product ships through there. Alan is friends with people there and deals with them all the time. The 125f1 I ordered for the charity raffle a few months back was drop-shipped in a few days to my home directly from Chino.

The point is, it cannot hurt to try Alan. Think of Excalibur like a Chinese motorsports' consultant. Alan is VERY good about MSO/MCO, as some who have ordered can attest. Also, they can wholesale Hawks, Magicians, Apollos, and XMoto bikes as I put them together with RPS.

The disclaimer--they might not be as low-cost as the online retailers, but Alan will take care of you after sale, using his channels such as through his personal connections with all the companies they deal with. It cannot hurt to call him first, and see what kind of deal he can get you. If you buy from him, I keep in personal contact with him and the owner, Wade, but Wade has other projects going on, and Alan is the main guy, so if you had issues and couldn't get hold of Alan, PM me.

If you think it is kind of pricey, see if he can go down in price. If not, then move on to plan B, C, D, etc.

909-591-8800

BlackBike · 11-18-2016, 08:10 PM

Culc, when will your new BROZZ BIKE arrive

Numbrseven · 11-18-2016, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackBike

Why don't you call apsc and just say, look, i want to give you my business and that I have herd great things about your company. Could you match the price since I am buying two? I bet they will do it.

I did contact them to see about shipping the 2 pack to my house. I have a forklift at home so unloading them is not a problem. They said the price online was as low as they could go and shipping to my house would be $125 extra.

Numbrseven · 11-18-2016, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

I think Don will work with you. Give him a call. See if he will do free commercial shipping and have it delivered to a local loading dock or to someone who has a forklift. I had mine shipped to our shop where I work.

I have a forklift at my house. Free delivery only applies to a shipping hub apparently. That's an hour and a half from where I live.

FLASHLIGHTBOY · 11-19-2016, 01:24 PM

yES SHIPPING IS USUALLY CHEAP TO A MAIN HUB... WHEN THEY HAVE TO give ti to the local carrier then it goes way up... so usless you are going in to the main city ... have it felivered... BUT check it over good for damage and note it on the bill.... for later...

11-16-2016, 11:43 PM	#1
Numbrseven Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Florida Boy Posts: 89	TaoTao 125f1 vs TaoTao 250 Rhino vs TaoTao ata135D I Need Help Deciding Which 2 Of These ATV's To Purchase For My 4'8" Tall Son And 5'9" Tall Daughter (they are both 13 years old). I Am Going To Buy Them Each They're Own Machine. Price Is A Factor, But Not The Final Deciding Factor. There Is A $450 Difference In Prices From What I Have Found. Last edited by Numbrseven; 11-17-2016 at 12:22 AM.
	0

11-17-2016, 07:34 AM	#2
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	The 125f1 would be perfect for your son; heck, your taller daughter, too (but both will outgrow the f1 in the not too distant future, unless their riding is mellow)! But since I can get them cheaper through my buddy, I personally would go with the 125 and the 250 Taotao (my friend sells them wholesale and retail) That being said, you can replace the f1 with the Coolster, since I have heard great things about those here on chinariders, but I personally wouldn't since my friend doesn't deal with them, but you shouldn't have issues no matter which brand(s) you buy. __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	1

11-17-2016, 08:14 AM	#3
JerryHawk250 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 11,538	I found that the Coolster is a little better build than the TaoTao. I bought the Coolster 3150DX-2 2 years ago for my daughter when she was 13. It is a perfect size her as well as being big enough for my wife and I to ride. I think APSCUSA has a twin pack on sale right now for $2399 including shipping. I have pictures in my photo album of the coolster. Its been very dependable. __________________ 2023 Lifan Lycan 250 Chopper 2023 Venom Evader 2022 Lifan KPX250 2020 Kawasaki Vulcan S 2004 Honda ST 1300 2016 Black Hawk 250 (sold) Keihin PE30 carb,125 main,38 slow.Pod filter,ported & decked head 10:1 CR,Direct Ignition Coil,15/40Sprockets,NGK DPR8EIX-9,De-Cat,Dual Oil Cooler,Digital Cluster 2016 Cazador180 XL 2014 Coolster150 JerryHawk250.com My YouTube Channel
	2

11-18-2016, 10:10 AM	#8
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,065	I'm with everyone on the Coolster twin pack. They seem to be very good quads for the $$$. You'll find that with many of these big box web dealers, the after sale service is non-existent. That sets APSCUSA apart from everything I've heard. I have not had personal experience with them. The Tao Tao 250 (Rhino) is a manual trans, if that makes a difference. Keep us posted and of course, pics are mandatory upon arrival! __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	1

11-18-2016, 12:58 PM	#9
WarZ Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Western NY Posts: 11	I've got to chime in and say, that initially I was incredibly excited about buying from APSCUSA.com after speaking with Don on the phone and hearing what he had to say. Respectable prices too. However ... So far actually getting anything from them has been a nightmare. I placed an order in October for a twin pack. Don said it would ship that friday and I could pick it up the following thursday at latest. I thought, "fantastic !". Never received the order, in fact the order never shipped. Called 2x / week trying to find out what was going on. Usually was told they would call me back after looking into it. They usually don't call me back. So after 3 weeks of waiting for the order to even ship, I cancelled the order. The final reason was that they didn't have them at the warehouse in the end. So, one bad experience, and perhaps it was just bad luck, or a real shortage. But, because they are spoken of so well on this forum, I decided to give them another chance, and maybe my prior experience was just a fluke. So last week I ordered the twin pack again. Explained to them the situation and how I'd give them another chance. Placed the order. Don said it would ship this monday, and I'd see it by friday... So now it's friday, called apscusa (twice actually, after waiting a couple hours after the first call with no call back), and finally am told, that for whatever reason, the shipping company has not picked up the atv's / order. So, 2nd order still has not shipped yet. And now I am again waiting for a call back to find out why etc. So long story short, it's moving into over a month since I tried to place an order with apscusa, and they have still not shipped anything. My credit card of course was charge immediately, both times. So if those machines aren't on a truck by end of today or monday at latest, I think my only wise course of action is to cancel the order again and move on to a different seller. What is distressing is this - they seem like genuinely nice guys, and I want to give them my business. But it is getting downright silly at this point. I'm not sure if this is industry standard when buying a coolster atv, but it's getting very scary. Last edited by WarZ; 11-18-2016 at 01:02 PM. Reason: typo's
	1

11-17-2016, 05:09 PM	#4
Numbrseven Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Florida Boy Posts: 89	Thanks. You talked me into 2 Coolsters. Now to find the best deal! Any dealer recommendations? Has anyone used XT Powersports? It looks like they and Killer Motorsports have the cheapest prices I can find, APSCUSA's price is only cheaper shipping to a terminal - 70 miles away.
	0

11-18-2016, 01:26 PM	#10
2LZ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Volcano, Ca Posts: 7,065	Wow! That's wacky. Well hopefully this isn't going to become the norm but twice is kind of odd. I know I had good shipping from Superior but their after sales service was non-existent....but at least I got my order when they said it would ship. __________________ "Light a fire for a man, and you heat him for a day. Light a man on fire, and you heat him for the rest of his life." 2007 Suzuki DRZ400S (SM convert) 2009 Q Link XP 200 1967 BSA B25 250cc Starfire 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411 1948 Royal Enfield Model G 350
	1

11-18-2016, 06:44 PM	#11
culcune Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yuma, Arizona Posts: 9,035	I will go 'public' with Excalibur Motorsports www.atv4usa.com They are not a mail-order company per se, but will mail-order most anything from the companies they deal with. Their website is old, but they do have a smattering of Taotao quads, and many of their bikes are out of stock. Why? They became the main distributors for TGB Scooters, so keep very few bikes, quads, etc in stock. However, they are located in City of Industry, Cal. (they moved from Chino) and are about a mile and a half from Kandi USA http://www.kandiusa.com/. Kandi has off-road go-karts as seen on Excalibur's site, but are also the exclusive US distributor for Bashan's Brozz and Shark http://www.kandiusa.com/product_list.php?id=270. Alan, the manager of Excalibur was not aware of this until I told him, LOL. When they were in Chino, they were a couple of miles from Taotao's So. Cal. warehouse. While Taotao's Chino warehouse is not the headquarters, ALL their product ships through there. Alan is friends with people there and deals with them all the time. The 125f1 I ordered for the charity raffle a few months back was drop-shipped in a few days to my home directly from Chino. The point is, it cannot hurt to try Alan. Think of Excalibur like a Chinese motorsports' consultant. Alan is VERY good about MSO/MCO, as some who have ordered can attest. Also, they can wholesale Hawks, Magicians, Apollos, and XMoto bikes as I put them together with RPS. The disclaimer--they might not be as low-cost as the online retailers, but Alan will take care of you after sale, using his channels such as through his personal connections with all the companies they deal with. It cannot hurt to call him first, and see what kind of deal he can get you. If you buy from him, I keep in personal contact with him and the owner, Wade, but Wade has other projects going on, and Alan is the main guy, so if you had issues and couldn't get hold of Alan, PM me. If you think it is kind of pricey, see if he can go down in price. If not, then move on to plan B, C, D, etc. 909-591-8800 __________________ "They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard
	2

11-18-2016, 08:10 PM	#12
BlackBike Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: George West, Texas Posts: 4,097	Culc, when will your new BROZZ BIKE arrive __________________ ***************************************** 2015 Bashan"Blaze" BS250GY-31 (DB-07K-250) GONE 2017 Suzuki V Strom 650 XT "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." ~Benjamin Franklin~
	1

11-19-2016, 01:24 PM	#15
FLASHLIGHTBOY Join Date: May 2009 Location: SASKATOON Posts: 1,161	shipping yES SHIPPING IS USUALLY CHEAP TO A MAIN HUB... WHEN THEY HAVE TO give ti to the local carrier then it goes way up... so usless you are going in to the main city ... have it felivered... BUT check it over good for damage and note it on the bill.... for later... __________________ DEALER FOR ZSTAR & GIO PRODUCTS, TAOTAO ABIBABA ATV ETC
	1