Girl riding electric scooter

Should You Buy an Electric Scooter or Rent One? Pros and Cons

Electric scooters are all the hype now and for a reason. They are convenient, ecological, and fun. People use them for leisure riding and commuting. Some have their own scooters, but there are many scooters around the city for rent. Is it better to buy an electric scooter or just rent it when needed? Read on to learn.

Advantages of rental scooters

There is more than one reason why people rent scooters instead of buying them.

No worries about maintenance. As a renter, you are not responsible for maintaining the scooter at all. You will not have to repair it if needed. The rental company takes care of everything.

No charging. Although it’s not very expensive to charge a scooter, it takes time. When renting one, you don’t have to worry about it. Just find one with enough charge.

No need to store or carry the scooter. While not very heavy, scooters can still be a hassle to carry around. If you want to leave it outside, you have to find a good place for parking and lock it: otherwise, someone might steal it. But when you rent a scooter, you can park it everywhere. Of course, others would be thankful if you didn’t leave the scooter in the middle of a sidewalk. Also, try not to leave it somewhere in a ditch or your backyard so others can rent the scooter too!

Advantages of buying an electric scooter

The main advantage of having your own scooter is that you can ride it anytime you want. With rentals, you have to find one nearby with an app or place a reservation beforehand. That takes planning or extra time: you might open up a scooter rentals app to see that the nearest scooter is 5 miles away. Or there is no free scooter available at all. It can seriously mess up your plans.

Customization. Most rental scooters are pretty basic and of the same model. But when you buy an electric, you can get any kind you want. Or you can customize, choosing the parts yourself! This way you can have a perfect scooter to satisfy all your needs.

Good maintenance. If you rent through an app like Bird or Lime, there is a chance that a scooter will be poor-maintained. Although the companies try to ensure optimum maintenance, they can’t take care of everything, and some people tend to be careless. You will have to maintain the scooter yourself, but you can ensure better maintenance this way.

Finally, if you are not very much into the sharing economy, you will have the comfort of knowing that no stranger touched your scooter.

Learn about the best scooters on the market in 2021

Does a rental scooter cost more?

It depends. Usually, the cost for unlocking the scooter is $1 (might be €1 in Europe). Afterward, the rate varies. It might be $0.1 per minute but could also be $0.35. It might differ in different cities. A standard rate is about $0.15 per minute: this is usually the cost for Lime scooters. You can also rent scooters for a few days with a fixed daily fee which can be cheaper if you plan to ride a lot during those days.

Purchasing a scooter has a high initial cost, of course. An average electric scooter can cost around $300, but many want to buy a better, maybe even a customized scooter. Such models can cost more than $1000.

A 20-minute ride with a rental scooter can cost around $5, including the unlocking price. If this is your commute and you plan to travel by scooter every day, twice a day, it might be better to invest in one; unless you don’t want to bother with parking, carrying, and maintenance. Otherwise, a rental scooter is way better for occasional and short-term rides.

So, should you purchase an electric scooter?

There are several questions to answer yourself. Are you planning to ride a lot regularly? Do you want a really good model rather than just a typical electric scooter? Are you prepared to repair and maintain the scooter? Do you have the budget for this one-time investment? If you answered yes, it might be better to buy an electric scooter instead of renting it.

It also depends on your location. If you live in a big city, there should be scooters aplenty. But if you come from a less populated place, it might be hard to find one for rent. In this case, buying might not even be a better decision but perhaps the only one available as well.

But if you are not so sure about riding much and want flexibility, it’s better to rent one. It’s a commitment and hassle-free option which can also cost less if you will only ride occasionally. Read our tips on renting an electric scooter.

Perhaps you are thinking about something different than the popular electric scooter? Check out our article on different types of scooters!

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