Where is the Best Place to Buy an Electric Scooter?
You’re probably familiar with the company that makes fun scooters for kids….
But who makes the best electric scooters for adults? And what kind of scooter do you need? And where can you find the best price, and the best customer service? And what do you do if you need repairs or parts?
Should you buy a scooter for the daily commute? For short journeys or long range adventures?
If you’re new to electric scooters, the questions might keep coming. Where is the best place to buy an electric scooter?
In this guide, we try to answer your questions, and to separate the most customer-focused manufacturers, distributors, and retailers from, well… most everyone else.
Our hope is that after reading, you will come away with a good sense of direction, whatever scooter you end up buying and whoever you buy it from.
There are a lot of poorly made scooters out there, and we at Electric Scooter Guide want you to love your first (and 2nd, and 3rd…) electric scooter and keep riding!
What Should You Expect from a Reputable Electric Scooter Dealer?
Since the adult electric scooter appeared on the consumer market just a few years ago as a serious vehicle for commuting and getting around, the number of brands and models seems to have increased exponentially, with so many look-alikes they can be hard to tell apart.
Many people’s experience with an electric scooter begins, and ends, with the Xiaomi Mi M365, one of the first scooters used for shared, “dockless” fleets. While it’s a great scooter, the M365 is no longer available.
Other scooters like the Segway Ninebot Max took Xiaomi’s place as inexpensive, reliable starters. But there’s a whole world of electric scooters out there beyond the most popular entry level models and their imitators.
Whether you’re buying direct from a manufacturer, a large online distributor, or a small local retailer, you should expect your seller to have extensive product knowledge of all kinds of electric scooters, as well as partnerships with trusted brands.
Do your own research, of course, and learn as much as you can, but also find a dealer who has loads of accessible content that can help you make an informed decision. Electric scooter dealers should be willing to educate you not only about their products, but also about scooters in general.
Most of our favorite scooter dealers and makers started out as riders and enthusiasts themselves, and it shows. They can’t stop talking about scooters. Finding a dealer who clearly loves scooters – lots of different kinds of scooters – and wants to tell you all about them is a great place to start.
Value + Service
As we tend to do with so many electronic devices, it can be tempting to go right to Amazon or Ebay and search for the best prices when you first decide to buy an electric scooter. But the age-old adage holds true: you get what you pay for. When it comes to scooters, you can be taking additional risks with a vehicle you need to perform safely on the road.
Bear in mind that when you’re buying an electric scooter from a reputable dealer, you’re also paying for warranty coverage and a service relationship that can last several years.
Many dealers on Amazon or Alibaba are able to offer cutthroat prices because they don’t pay for service centers, mechanics, or knowledgable customer service staff. Those costs are passed to you, the buyer.
Low price does not equal value. Fly-by-night companies sell poorly-made fakes and imitations of quality brands, inflate their specs or use inferior parts.
A reputable dealer with a happy customer base, on the other hand, will do their best to only sell products that keep those customers coming back.
Read reviews of an electric scooter dealer and see how the dealer themselves responds to criticism and bad reviews. Do they seem to care about their customers’ needs? Do their product reviews show that people generally have a positive experience buying from them?
Warranty
A reputable dealer, maker, or scooter shop will offer some warranty coverage on most major parts of an electric scooter. Some warranties will only cover the battery and motor for six months, some will cover these parts for up to a year or more.
Almost no electric scooter warranty will cover water damage, even if the scooter has a high IP rating. But all scooters should come with some level of coverage against defects and damages.
Warranty information should be clearly published on the dealer or manufacturer’s website. Read the exclusions carefully and understand what is and isn’t covered should things go wrong.
All of our recommended dealers either have their own service centers and their own electric scooter mechanics or partner with local shops around the country. They also source their own high quality parts for repair and replacement, so you know you’re getting the best.
Non-Warranty Support + Parts
Whether your electric scooter is still under warranty or not, you want to know that you have a dealer who’ll support you until you’re ready to make your next purchase.
The scooter dealers on our list support buyers with community rides, forums, special discounts, tons of advice for DIY repairs, mods, and upgrades, and a wealth of parts and extra accessories available to buy directly.
You might get some warranty coverage from a big box store like Best Buy or Walmart, but what you won’t get is the specialized service only available from electric scooter retailers and high-quality scooter brands.
If your dealer has a local store, all the better, but online-only distributors can also offer customer-centric service these days, with fast shipping and easy tracking.
Your scooter dealer should not only stock some of the best models, but they should also sell essential replacement parts like tires, inner tubes, batteries, etc., as well as any accessories you might need.
Best Electric Scooter Retailers and Distributors
Fluid Freeride
We can highly recommend Fluid Freeride, one of the most renowned electric scooter distributors, for their excellent customer service and service partners around the country. The people at Fluid know their stuff, and they’re more than happy to share their knowledge with customers at their physical stores in Miami, San Francisco, and New York City, as well as online.
Since its founding in 2018, Fluid has become one of the most knowledgeable electric scooter dealers in the world. You can get started with them in a few ways. Take a quiz or get a virtual consultation. Browse their parts and accessories shop. Learn about their 12-month warranty and lifetime service commitment.
Or just dive into Fluid Freeride’s sizable inventory of electric scooters from famous makers like Kaabo, NAMI, Inokim, Apollo, and their own brand here.
Voro Motors
Voro Motors is one of our favorite retailers of powerful electric scooters make by brands like Kaabo and Minimotors, and we absolutely trust them to recommend and stand behind some of the best electric scooters on the market for hitting racing speeds and taking off-road adventures.
We also list Voro as one of our favorite makers of everyday workhorse scooters, with their own brand, EMOVE.
Founded in Singapore, Voro has physical locations in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, NY, and Kapolei, Hawaii, just outside Honolulu. (Hawaiian customers get free shipping on all orders.)
Voro’s service centers are top-notch and their love for electric scooters shows in everything they do, from the local scooter communities they support to their “Voro Workshop” how to videos on their YouTube channel.
Alien Rides
Alien Rides is the place to go for some of our favorite high performance scooters, including the Segway GT1 and GT2 and VSETT’s line of speed champions like the 10+, 11+, and 11+ Super 72.
Alien Rides also sells electric unicycles, bikes, and other types of personal electric vehicles, and they have an extensive inventory of parts and accessories.
While they are an online-only distributor, Alien Rides has partnered with service centers in New York, New Jersey, and San Francisco and they offer a best-in-class 2-year warranty on all of their products.
Electric Kicks
If you’re in Australia, we’re pretty sure there’s no better place to shop for an electric scooter than Electric Kicks, yet another retailer founded by scooter lovers. Located in Melbourne, Electric Kicks has it all: a range of trusted makes and models, lots of specific and general product knowledge, their own service center, and warranty coverage and beyond for every electric scooter they sell.
Best Direct to Consumer Brands
While several brands choose to partner with a retailer or distributor, you can also buy an electric scooter directly from the manufacturer. Several brands we recommend purchasing because of their great scooters and their customer service and warranties include Apollo, Unagi, Anyhill, Solar, and GoTrax.
Apollo
Apollo makes several of our highest-rated scooters, with original designs that include the Apollo Air, City 2022, and City Pro. They also have some of the best software on the market, excellent customer service, their own service centers, and a team of designers constantly innovating their scooters with IoT.
Unagi
The only electric scooter brand available by subscription, Unagi has style to spare in a compact, lightweight package. Unagi scooters have excellent reliability and service on their scooters, which come with warranties for defects and damages whether you lease or buy your own scooter.
Anyhill
Anyhill appeared on the scene with two excellent models, the UM-1 and UM-2, that our reviewers loved. These are great scooters for commuting, family outings, and leisure rides, from a great new Chinese company happy to take over where Xiaomi left off when they discontinued their M365 series.
Solar
A boutique UK brand, Solar makes electric scooters for everyone from the casual commuter to hardcore racers. Solar also delivers when it comes to service, with a YouTube channel dedicated to DIY repairs and their own service and repair team in-house. Solar has worked hard to establish a presence outside their home country and will be opening service centers in the U.S.
EMOVE
Voro Motors created the EMOVE line as their own brand, and in so doing introduced a handful of highly beloved electric scooters that have withstood the test of time and the elements. The EMOVE Cruiser is the longest range scooter we’ve ever tested, with the highest IP Rating. Other scooters like the Touring and the seated Roadrunner also frequently make “best of” lists for their features.
As we’ve mentioned, Voro Motors has a great service model, with service centers on both coasts and Hawaii and many years of expertise in the industry. Few electric scooter dealers know more about their product than Voro, and not many scooters are as reliable and fun to ride as the EMOVE line.
GoTrax
GoTrax makes electric scooters for busy people, with several models under $1000 that are all great for daily commuting and urban adventures. GoTrax is also just a great company to buy from all around, selling scooters, bikes, hoverboards, and kids scooters since 2017.
Based in Texas, they keep customers happy with very responsive service and a one year warranty on all of their electric scooters and bikes. In addition to selling their own scooters online, GoTrax partners with local stores around the country. You should easily be able to find a seller near you.
Large Online Distributors
Finally, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with buying an electric scooter from a large online distributor like Amazon or an online/box store hybrid like Best Buy. Some companies prefer to sell their products this way because it cuts down distribution costs for them.
We’re big fans, for example, of electric scooters from Chinese company NIU, makers of the KQi2 Pro, KQi3 Pro, and KQi3 Max. While NIU prefers to sell in the U.S. through Amazon or Walmart, they also stand behind their products with warranty service, and their scooters are well-built and reliable.
Find a trusted review source, like Electric Scooter Guide, and learn about the company and the specific model before purchasing anything from a large online distributor. While customer reviews can be faked, we test all of the scooters we review, and the numbers we publish are based on real-world performance and expertise.
