I started school a few days ago and it was quite the experience. I’m taking English, Math and History this semester while working full time at OrangeSoda. Lets see how it turns out. I’m not really worried about any of the classes except for English. I just have to say that college is ridiculously expensive and I didn’t even pay tuition this semester (thank you Mom and Dad). I can’t imagine going to a college like Stanford or Harvard. My books for the three classes came to a grand total of $400, so thank you Utah Valley University for nearly maxing out my credit card. I appreciate it you greedy jackasses (excuse my language Katie).
It should be fun though. I’m really looking forward to being there for a good while to get my GPA up. Hopefully I can transfer to BYU someday and get my MBA from them. That would kick so much butt. Someday I guess…
If you don’t know, some friends and I bought scooters from Less Stress Auto & Powersports and we’ve had a little bit of trouble with them and with the management of the company. You can read the first review of the company by clicking the links at the top and bottom of the page.
On August 4th, the owner of Less Stress Auto & Powersports (Rory) called me and talked to me about the very first review that I had posted on my website. He was familiar with my friends problems and was curious about some others that we had experienced. Obviously our experience that we had wasn’t the best but Rory tried his best to make the situation better by explaining the warranty and even discounting Chads scooter to $125 installed instead of $350. He also apologized for the inconvenience and miscommunication that we had experienced.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I would ever go back to Less Stress Auto & Powersports to have them help me with my scooter, but now after talking with Rory and having him make the situation better, I’ll gladly go back for service or maintenance. Its good that Rory from Less Stress Auto & Powersports cares about his customers because he again has my business back.
I’ve been working at OrangeSoda for almost 10 months now and am now being promoted to an SEO Account Manager. It comes with new responsibilities that my specialist job didn’t have so I’ve got a lot of learning to do. The last few days I’ve been training 2 new people and I believe we’re still hiring. Once this pay period is up on the 31st then I’ll be training the new guys half the day, then I’ll be training for the new position with Dylan for the other half. I’m glad I get to do this because I’ve been working toward it for a long, long time.
I’m excited, new opportunities and better paychecks are coming my way!
A little bit ago Chad, Regen, Haylee and I bought the very popular Roketa Sicily from Less Stress Auto & Powersports, as well as another acquaintance of ours. With all reviews there are pro’s and con’s with the topic and I’m going to try to point out both. I’m going to try to not be biased so that whoever reads this gets the truth about Less Stress Powersports, and not just somebody’s personal opinion. I will include my opinion at the end however.
Our first impression of Less Stress Auto & Powersports was a good one. We found their building without trouble (you can see it going northbound on I-15 on the right with all the scooters & 4-wheelers on the roof). Less Stress Auto & Powersports is located in American Fork, Utah. Just off the American Fork Exit and a little bit east of Carls Jr. We found an amazing deal on a 150 cc scooter, and the person that was helping us answered all our questions and was very friendly. The test ride of the Sicily was good; it felt just like a quality Vespa at first. They had good speed and basically it was everything a scooter should be.
A few days later we all purchased them and had a great time without any trouble. Everything seemed to be working correctly but we were about to see how great of a purchase we really made.
Let’s start with Chad. He purchased his the same day and was enjoying his scooter. He never laid it down or let it out of his sight. One day he was riding it and it decided to shut off and he couldn’t get it started with the electric starter or the crank start so he had to push it up the hill back to his house. His scooter only had about 700 miles on it at this time and had the initial oil change performed by the people at Less Stress Auto & Powersports, and he had also done two changes himself before it had got to 700 miles (as did Regan, Haylee and I). Keep in mind that when we purchased them, we asked how often we should have the oil changed and they said 300 miles so that it can break in, then 1000 -1500 miles afterward. When Chad took his scooter down the mechanics said that his engine had seized up and was going to need a new engine because there was no oil in it, therefore, it was not covered under their warranty. We told them that we had changed it no more than 100 miles ago (as did Haylee, Regen and I) but they said that there was no oil leaking and there was no oil in the exhaust. Where did a whole quart of oil go??? We couldn’t figure it out so Chad would have had to buy a new engine for $350, after some miscommunication however between the employees and Chad; they offered it to him for $250 installed. Other than the engine, Chad’s scooter has done well, it’s held together nicely and all the electrical components work. Chad still had his temporary plate long after it was expired because Less Stress Auto & Powersports didn’t get him his official license plates in time, not that it matters, because Chad didn’t have his scooter to ride on anyways.
Haylee got the white model and really hasn’t had too much trouble with it. There has been a couple times where it hasn’t wanted to start but we got it going with the handy crank start. She hasn’t had any engine troubles luckily but has had some issues with her blinkers not working. The oil was running very low one time but Regen checked it before it got too low and filled it back up. We went down to Less Stress Auto & Powersports and were greeted by who we believe was the owner. We told him we were having blinker issues and that it won’t start and he immediately said that he would sell us a new battery for $40 or so dollars. We asked them to please take a look at it before we buy a battery and one of their good mechanics came out, opened up the battery compartment and checked the battery. It seems as though the battery was in perfect condition but one of the fuses had split in two. The mechanic replaced it no problem and without any cost. Everything worked again and we were grateful we got to deal with the mechanic rather than the owner.
Our other friend, whom I’ll keep anonymous, also had their engine seize on him. He heard about Chad’s little experience and checked the oil and to his surprise, there was none. He didn’t have any leaks either and has driving his scooter considerably less than we have.
I would like to know where the oil is going, because it’s not leaking and it isn’t pooling inside of the exhaust system. Perhaps it is burning it faster than it should, I’m not sure, I’m by no means a mechanic.
Neither Regen nor I have experienced any problems with our scooters. The casing that holds the headlight is a little bit loose but that is because of my own negligence. Besides that, mine runs perfectly. It has never broken down or shut off for any reason.
If you are debating on whether to buy a scooter from Less Stress Auto & Powersports, I would strongly suggest upgrading the warranty, and I would strongly suggest tightening all the bolts and screws once you get it.
Now here’s my personal opinion…
The experience I had with Less Stress Auto & Powersports could have been better. I was impressed with the price of the scooters ($1200 OTD) but that is about as far as it goes. When you have a problem with your scooter and take it there, you have to pay to have them fix/replace parts, despite the fact that you purchased a warranty. You can’t sell a knowingly faulty product, while the consumer is under the impression that it’s going to last and them charge them for repairs. It’s not right, it’s not ethical. Neither regen nor I had any problem getting our plates but Chad and Haylee’s came long after their temporary had expired. I was impressed with the gentleman that helped Haylee and I replace the fuse, but the other mechanics that Chad, Mitch and I dealt with were, truthfully, were a little bit incompetent and my first impression was that they were using drugs. Out of 10, with 10 being the best experience I could have had with Less Stress Auto & Powersports, I’d rate them a 6 but that is only because my scooter hasn’t had any issues. Unfortunately my friends would rate them much lower I’m sure because of their troubles. I guess it goes to show you; you get what you pay for.
NOTE: After reading this review, please read the update to what is going on with Less Stress Auto & Powersports by following the link below
After work, Choch, Chad and I went to go grab Choch’s 4-wheelers so that we could go up by Squaw Peak and go do some trails. I haven’t been 4-wheeling since Bryce Canyon with my family so this was fun to do again. The trail that we were riding on wasn’t anything intense, normal cars were driving on it and other hikers. We went off the road onto a random trail where it was a little bit more of a challenge and got stuck in a dead end. It was a little bit steep but the machines performed just fine. Once we got to the dead end though it was a little bit tricky, Chad nor I wanted to screw up the 4-wheelers so we had Choch get them out. It wasn’t anything crazy, you just had to maneuver them in an awkward fashion. We saw a bunch of deer up on some hills and some even ran right in front of us. On the trail a couple that was parked off to the side of the road in a Subaru were smokin’ and we’re pretty sure they were about to go make whoopie. We decided to turn around to go back a little bit late so we were driving in the dark for part of it, luckily there were headlights. We got the machines all loaded up and Choch likes to test his trailer skills so he tried to do a U-turn on a road that was probably 20 feet wide. The trailer plus his truck was probably 25 feet long. Amazingly, he got it turned around and we headed down the canyon and on our way home.
Oh, and whoever the person up there with their Silver Audi A4, needs to learn how to park.
Early this morning at about 2, I woke up having some pretty miserable pain in my throat. I’m not sure where it came from but its been going on for the past few days but I couldn’t sleep and the pain was growing pretty intense. I woke up, texted my Dad and he called me and we planned to meet up at the AF Hospital. We got there and I got looked at pretty fast. They did a few test but I don’t have strep, and I don’t have mono. And no Chad, I don’t have what you’re thinking either. They gave me some antibiotics and a couple other things, I went home at 4 AM, then woke up and everything was normal. It was so cool how fast it all went away. I guess my tonsils were pretty swollen for whatever reason. If it happens more I’m sure I’ll have to have them taken out. Lets hope not though!
The Good. The replacement of my motherboard has fixed my computer and it is now working like it should be and I love it. Over the weekend we got a ping pong table for the apartment and its awesome. Chad and I also went to the Gateway and I got myself a couple new pairs of shoes. I love Famous Footwear because I got two pairs of nice shoes for like $85. I used to get shoes that looked exactly the same and they were $110 alone. I should be getting promoted this week (cross your fingers). I’ve been waiting a for a while but we’ll see what happens.
The Bad. We got our router to work in our apartment finally but we’re having trouble figuring out how to put a password so that our neighbors won’t bum off it. Help would be appreciated.
The Ugly. I have UVU orientation on August 12th and luckily my parents are paying for the first 2 semesters. I’m not even going full time and tuition is a little under 2 grand, plus books. Hopefully this new promotion will allow me to pay for college without having to take out any loans. That would be nice.
So we called Dell again and they sent out a guy yesterday to put in a new motherboard. Its working normal now but we’ll see how long that lasts. Now that most of the major components of the computer have been replaced (memory, hard drive, motherboard) I can start working again.
I have to deal with Comcast now, they seem to have not done their job right the first time. A technician is coming out to fix our internet and give us a new modem. Sounds like Dell.
My father and I bought me a new Dell XPS 1530 computer. It’s a nice computer that we paid a good $1400 dollars for. Unfortunately it wasn’t even 2 months from when I got it till it started having problems. I’m not sure what caused it but one day I booted it up and it gave me a blue screen telling me that I have a Memory Parity Error. Their XPS line is their “top” line of notebooks too, I might understand my experience coming from an Inspiron or something lessor, but not an XPS. So I thought, “ok whatever we’ll just get it fixed by Dell and everything will be normal”. But no, that didn’t really happen. We called them and they connected to my computer remotely and updated my BIOS and other drivers. After they did that the Parity Error was still there. We called again and they did some more stuff but it just kept coming back. Thinking that I just got some bad memory, we ditched the 2GB and upped it to 4GB. We completely replaced the memory and upgraded but still that stupid blue screen and message would come back. We called them and they suggested replacing the hard drive, so we said alright and Dell sent a technition out within a few days. It worked good after that for the first day, but still, that damn message would come up. I wish I had used my mom as an example because she has had 2 other Dell notebooks and they have all crapped out. I’m not sure of the reason on why hers were acting up but I wish I had gone with a MacBook Pro. It would have been worth the extra cost. I would suggest to anyone wanting a laptop, to AVOID DELL! Go with an HP or Sony, freak, get a Gateway, you’ll still be better off. I know that I will NEVER buy another Dell Notebook.
Thanks Dell, for selling me this worthless piece of crap, I really appreciate it. If I had money to buy another laptop, I’d post a video on YouTube like this one, at least Apple knows their wrongs and fixes the situation and gave him a new notebook.
On the 7th, Chad, Chad (aka Choch) and I got to move out of our homes and into our new apartment at Thorneberry! We only moved like 2 miles away from home but I love PG so it works, and its closer to my work. The actual move in was kind of a pain in the butt because the cleaners that were supposed to be done with the apartment at 3, didn’t get done till 7, so we didn’t have as much time as we thought. Today, Comcast is coming out to set up our internet and cable so now we’ll have something to watch.
Kevin 
29, August
I started school a few days ago and it was quite the experience. I’m taking English, Math and History this semester while working full time at OrangeSoda. Lets see how it turns out. I’m not really worried about any of the classes except for English. I just have to say that college is ridiculously expensive and I didn’t even pay tuition this semester (thank you Mom and Dad). I can’t imagine going to a college like Stanford or Harvard. My books for the three classes came to a grand total of $400, so thank you Utah Valley University for nearly maxing out my credit card. I appreciate it you greedy jackasses (excuse my language Katie).
