East Coast Tri-Motors, a scooter, three-wheel car and dune buggy dealer, features a new showroom in Wellington, where clients can get personal service as they shop for the perfect specialty vehicle.
It’s this personal service that is often missing when buyers attempt to order such specialized mechanical equipment from other dealers over the Internet. From assembly problems to warranty issues, East Coast Tri-Motors is there to help.
Family-owned and operated by Daryl Pfaff and his parents, Vernon and Laraine Howard, the shop is still a work in progress. “We just opened about eight months ago. This is our second location because we outgrew the first one in two months,” Pfaff said.
The owners owe most of their success to selling specialty motors such as those for three-wheeled cars and trucks; it’s also what prompted them to start the business.
Pfaff, a retired New Jersey police officer, moved to Florida after being injured on the job. He and his family were one of a group of families who decided to start a church, Wellspring Community Church in Broward County’s Parkland neighborhood. “We needed some way to market our church, so we went on craigslist and found a three-wheeled truck,” Pfaff recalled. “We thought that was the coolest thing and used it to market our church, and saw the great results we had.”
Many people were interested in purchasing these fuel-efficient vehicles, and East Coast Tri-Motors became the ideal place over the Internet and in Florida to buy them.
As an authorized dealer of Boreem Motor Sports, Sunny Motors and Snyder Technologies, East Coast Tri-Motors offers a variety of vehicles, which include its popular three-wheel cars and trucks, dune buggies, all-terrain vehicles, trikes, scooters and choppers. Everything from dune buggies to three-wheeled trucks are on display in the 3,200-square-foot showroom.
Although these motors are mostly for fun and recreational use, Pfaff said, they can easily become a hassle if not assembled and serviced properly. “Most of them are Chinese-made, and when people buy through us, we get them serviced through our pickup or dropoff service and get parts for them,” Pfaff said. “We also get people coming in here who haven’t ordered through us but need an authorized mechanic to fix what they bought through another Internet company.”
Since many of the specialty motors like scooters and trikes are ordered online and shipped to a client in parts, it’s up to the client to properly assemble them.
“They usually recommend an authorized dealer to assemble them, but most clients don’t know that because wherever they purchased the parts did not let them know that,” Pfaff said. “That’s the problem with many Internet dealers. Many of them are here today to make a quick buck and gone tomorrow, but we are here to build relationships with our clients.”
As the premier tri-motor dealer on the East Coast of the United States, East Coast Tri-Motors serves as a source for parts and also has a mechanic who specializes in putting together and customizing motors such as those for scooters, trikes and ATVs. With a simple phone call, clients can schedule an appointment to visit the showroom for service.
“Because we are made to call ourselves an Internet dealership by the State of Florida, we have to be by appointment only,” Pfaff said. “We do take walk-ins and drive-ins, but we have to operate our business as a majority appointment only, which is better for our clients because we can set up times that are more convenient for them.”
East Coast Tri-Motors is located at 3132 Fortune Way, Unit D-9, Wellington. For more information, visit www.eastcoasttrimotors.com or call (561) 204-2411 or (561) 886-7871.
ABOVE: Head mechanic Lonnie Taylor with owners Vernon and Laraine Howard and Daryl Pfaff.
