Modern Vespa

never. eight ways from Sunday and twice on Monday! double that especially for you bacon butty and bangers and mash jerk ass jerks!

(this includes jimc, and by proxy probably jess, Patrick and possibly birbs-- oh and several of our NSM boys from SEA)

love you all!

xoxo!

-g

It’s so much more fun to ask the questions here! A google search doesn’t give me the SPARK I just got from you.
I actually do both.
And how’s your day going? You sound a bit cranky. Maybe you haven’t been riding enough.

I feel a new tee-shirt coming on

always cranky

do not ride enough

been around for an appreciable amount of time to answer questions, though.

at your service

PM me your addy.

something shall come in the post.

(also need you shirt size, please to include in your PM)

Thanks!

I’m headed out for croissants and coffee.

But don’t worry. It’s early here. I’ll have lots of time to obsess over the next Vespa and ask random questions.

I love my '07 GTS250 that I bought 4 years ago. It was on ebay for $2450, 4k miles, in immaculate condition. The only "issue" was flat spots on both tires from sitting too long. Now at 22k miles and a strong runner. Never regretting getting such an enjoyable ride. The best compliment was the older gentleman who walked right up to the scoot as I was "suiting up". He just stood there and stared at it for maybe 15 seconds. I let him have his moment. Then he looked at me and said "Don't ever sell it", I replied "I won't". Obviously he was reminiscing about a scooter he owned back in his younger days and regretted that he ever sold it. It is called scooter fever and there is no cure!!!
Tony in Tn

For reference - My 07 has 68K miles and a daily driver - No fuel pump or cooling issue ever. Just regular maintenance and it keeps on going.

Yes I would but the 300 does it better and you can get them at very good prices too! Depending how you ride, the 300 can be better on gas too. It has more midrange torque so you need less throttle to get you places. But that 250 does look good and there is nothing wrong with them. I've serviced a couple with really high mileages on them, I mean into the 70 and 80,000 mile mark with no big issues at all. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Anyone had experience with rebuild titles? Sounds like bad news to me.

Google says they are damaged and given a salvage title. The salvage title can’t be sold. But if repaired and then inspected it can get a rebuilt title and sold. Dealers in Miami have a lot of these and they re late model Vespas at low prices. The insurance company totals them and they are sold at auction and repaired by who knows.

I would think this would lower future resale value for sure. Then there is the hidden frame damage that the inspector cannot see.

I am answering my own question. But I like the prices. I asked one dealer what happened. He said “fell, nothing more”. Hmmmmm

If you are actually considering salvage or rebuilt titles, be sure you understand the rules in your state concerning these types of compromised titles. The regulations and limitations on such titles vary significantly from state to state.

In my state (Oregon) salvage titles can not be upgraded so they substantially reduce the value of the scooter/motorcycle. They are also not insurable (liability/comprehensive) as insurers regard them as already having been damaged beyond the value of the bike.

salvage title does reduce resale value, but there are a good number of Vespas that have one.

many insurance companies had an issue with the fact that the body is the frame. They have policies that if the frame is bent they total it. so any dent to the cowl or leg-shield and they would say the frame is damaged.

But if it has a salvage title and the seller does not want to lower the value based on that, then they should be willing to provide details about the damage and repair.

Which is bloody unfair! Just because it'd be uneconomical to repair by a dealership (high labour costs, high parts mark-up, necessity to get it back to original condition) doesn't mean that an owner couldn't easily and cheaply get it repaired to full roadworthiness.

At least the UK allows this to happen, with no adverse effects on future value or any note made on the registration (a category N write-off).
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/what-is-an-insurance-write-off/

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances..

related. The scooter looks good except one of the rear panels/fenders has a nasty scratch.

How does that get repaired on most vespa's? Is it replaced or repaired and repainted. Anyone have experience with what that costs?

I have just rejected scooters with one ugly scratched rear side fender (or what ever it is called). As long as it is cosmetic, I could just get it fixed?

Scratch, dent or crease? A scratch can easily be hidden with some 'makeup', often just a touch-up pen and a bit of polishing. A dent can be teased out by a competent 'no paint' dent repairer. A crease might need some further specialist doctoring, but can be eventually hidden.

I was pointing out the rules in Oregon and warning the OP that such rules can and do vary from state to state. My understanding is that salvage titles can be "cleared" and upgraded in California for example.

No argument there - I was just bleating about any system that unfairly devalues one's property just because of somewhat rigid rules.

I registered an out-of-state bike with a salvage title in California. The CA title I got back was un-branded, though I suspect that was just the CA DMV's oversight.

I rode my 2006 GTS 2509n I-70 between Breckenridge and Denver or Boulder multiple times. So the answer is of course I would.

A 2015 LVX with Mallosi kit and a bunch of chrome bling recently sold for $3,700 in PA. I don't remember mileage but struck me as neither high nor low for the age of the scoot. I thought it was at least bauble what it should be. That's whatcovid has done twosome markets

That’s on the high side but the used market is inflated right now, just sold my old 250 with 36000 miles on it for 1500, I loved my 250, make sure the exhaust manifold recall is fixed(I’m sure it was if it has 15k miles) make sure the belt was recently changed etc it’s due for that at 16k. The things that you’ll have to look out for is old bike problems, loose connections that melt etc, if you go through all the connections though you should be good. 2007 is a rough year for scooters and you’re probably better off looking into getting a 2010 or a 2012 for a better price. That was around the time the demand slowed down, the company fixed all the stuff with the factory transition and everything worked out. All the major problems with the 2007 models are easy fixes and are covered by piaggio, 2007 is before the fuel pump problems that the 2008-2009 bikes had

What is the "salvage title"?

In most states it means an insurance company wouldn't pay for repairs because the scooter isn't worth it or the vehicle was stolen and recovered. It's basically an attempt to protect buyers from a bad deal, but can be as meaningless as cosmetic damage or as serious major frame or engine damage. Caveat emptor.
The DMV tags the vehicle as uninsurable except if inspected.

If it is then repaired and inspected, in Florida it switches from salvage to rebuilt. The rebuilt label lowers the value considerably.

My old GTS headlight is much brighter OEM. I am beginning to think there has been some photo shopping here.

in addition to that, some insurance companies will not insure rebuilt or salvage title vehicles. so, just another consideration when purchasing...

I realize the thread is a year old, but I just bought a 2007 250gts this past week and felt the need to share. I paid $3300 and that was a steal vs many of the other scoots that I looked at. They were all either GT or GTS models between 2004 and 2011 and generally were selling for between $3900 and $5100. Mileage was generally between 7k and 20k. Just wanted to share given the continued high prices.

That sounds great. We love photos! Finish your profile with where you live and enter your GTS with year. I thinks it's a great model and year. How many miles?

thanks for all the comments on GTS250 scoots, i have now got a 2008 model in Silver with 12000 miles, now done 500miles on it and what a great bike it is, no rust or salt damage.
It had 11 service stamps in the book...New belt on the last service. Happy days.

Wow, someone who actually got the service book stamped! Well found, have fun.

I would pay $2,000 maximum. There's going to be a lot of work to be done.

Are they known for not aging gracefully? What should one look out for versus any other bike?

Max presumably replied to the OP, with the bashed-up bike. A necro-post.

250's wear just as well as any other Piaggio bike.

Ah, I thought we had moved on to spannerman.

I'm a huge fan of the small frame platform, everything but the braking when riding two up... Am considering a GTS250 for the low cost and better braking while still maintaining a (relative to my motorcycles) small size for squeezing through tight spaces in the city... We'll see!