Modern Vespa

It is with a very heavy heart that I type this post. Yesterday our much-loved 300 GTS Supertech with only 800 miles on it, was parked at my wife's work in plain sight, and a raised up toyota tundra ran right into the rear of the Vespa...causing it to roll forward off of the kickstand and tumble over on the right side. The truck owner was honest and provided his insurance information, etc.

I will be working with the insurance company on getting the Vespa to a dealership for evaluation, and go from there. This just sucks....it's going to take months to get the Vespa repaired in the current economic climate. I was so angry that I had to go outside and stomp and kick and curse....took about 15 minutes for my blood pressure to come back down.

More information to follow....

Sad to hear, but look on the plus side, your wife wasn't on it.

That does suck. I hope it won't take too long to get it fixed.

Yes MATCHLESSMAN you are absolutely right - thankfully my wife wasn't on it, and thankfully the driver was an honest man and did the right thing. Now our battle begins, as we work with the guy's insurance company, to get the Vespa assessed and repaired. I'm sure they have no clue just how expensive this is going to get....

To make matters even more of a challenge, my wife has been using the Vespa as her daily driver to and from work, as her car is in the shop for repairs and we have no idea when it's going to be done. So when we take the Vespa up to Marietta for repairs, she will need a rental car. Plus I expect compensation for my time and fuel costs to transport the Vespa to the shop. I hope this all goes well but somehow I doubt it will....

Hi GROUPER....the dealer said the repairs would take anywhere from 60 to 120 days....

Get the insurance company to provide a hire scooter in the meantime.

Given my own misadventures last year, I totally get your anger and frustration (but will join others here with thankful relief that your beloved wasn't aboard the bike at that moment). Depending on how hard it got hit, it may be repairable or end up being totaled, so you'll want to be as prepared as possible to deal with either scenario.

Best of luck with this, and I hope things get resolved properly and swiftly, in that order.

So sorry to see this - it made my stomach turn. When I needed a fender for a 2020 GTS last summer, I was told "4 to 6 weeks"... it took 8 months. Not wanting to cause you any more concern - just presenting the reality. If the metal leg shield is damaged significantly, you may get back to being made whole faster if the bike is considered totaled.

Good luck with the process - hope it goes easy for you.

that sucks.

when I've dropped my scoots in the past I was able to continue riding it before it was fixed as it was only body damage (dent + paint) and replacing scratched mirrors and bar ends etc.

the insurance guy had come around pretty quickly to take photos and then riding was a non-issue as they knew all that mattered. next I rode to my mechanic and then the body shop (a bike and scooter specialist), got the quotes and submitted to the insurance. after insurance agreed to it all I then booked body shop. I was riding the whole time.

hope it'll be like this for you.

I got cut off a couple months ago and needed a replacement fender. I told my dealer, and he had a color-matched one waiting for me a couple days later. It took longer than that to schedule a day for him to pick it up/drop it off, but it was less than a day's work once I made it onto his service calendar. Hopefully, you won't have to wait long for parts.

The insurance company should offer your wife a rental car while it's in the shop. Unfortunately, State Farm didn't have any non-rental options for city dwellers. A rental car is useless in San Francisco, but a per diem for Lyfts/metro rides/scootershares would have been an appropriate alternative.

When they ask if it's safe to ride, if you say "no" or "I don't know," they will cover towing in one direction (from wherever it is now to the dealer). They'll expect you to pick it up from the dealer under your own volition. If you decline the rental car, you may be able to persuade the adjuster to cover both pickup and delivery of the repaired ride.

Thank You to ALL for being so supportive. We are trailering the Vespa to the dealer tomorrow, I think it is repairable, the leg shield area did not get damaged. Most of the damage is on the right side upper body panel, crushed in pretty good. The scooter still runs and rides okay.

Regarding the insurance company (Chubb Group) I have yet to talk to the advisor, despite me leaving several voice messages with my phone number, email, etc. Yet the she has called my wife a couple of times.

On a positive note - we will dropping off my wife's Vespa 300 GTS HPE Supertech, and picking up my new 300 GTS HPE Touring - which just arrived from across the pond. I told my wife she can ride the Touring as much as she wants while her Vespa is in the shop.

Glad to hear things are moving along (and congrats on the GTS Touring). As for your insurance person taking a while getting back to you: during both my incidents last year, my Geico adjuster (himself a rider) explained how overrun they've been handling claims - it's no secret how many more crashes have occurred over the last two years, or why - but he ultimately took care of things to my satisfaction. I'm betting this will be the case for you.

Last edited by amateriat on Tue, 24 May 2022 01:19:05 +0000; edited 1 time

I would expect a replacement Vespa from the offending driver.
He can keep the one he stuffed up.

does the dealer have a new one? trade that wrecked one in and have the insurance pick up the difference.

nooooo. im sorry. and at the start of the season. awful. when you do get her back and start riding it will be that much more enjoyable now. hopefully soon

Well the dealer now has my wife's Vespa, his initial estimate of the damage is around $2,000 but could be more after they do a full assessment. If there are no surprises, they figure it will take 6 to 8 weeks to finish up the repairs.

We brought back our new 300 GTS Touring - what a stunning bike. So begins the break-in period, etc.

Pictures!!!

Here's the new 300 GTS-Touring HPE....


300 GTS-Touring HPE

I feel for you guys, that's a bummer. Kicking and cursing won't do anything though. Trust me, I had my first scooter stolen when I was a teenager. Better just to keep your cool.

Cooler heads may have push for the dealer to have it written off, rather than pushing for it to be fixed sooner. You might get a new scoot a lot faster like that, rather than miss out on this season.

Good luck, best wishes, and hope it all works out for the best however the cards fall.

Very nice!, hopefully she'll get joined by your repaired Supertech fairly soon. Any thoughts on crash bars? Not sure if they would have saved your Supertech, but they can be a life saver for low speed tip-overs.

Nice Scoot, nice driveway

Yes I am giving crash bars some serious thought....

For a tip over or slow speed drop crash bars do wonders and can save you a lot of coin and time in the body shop. While the unibody construction is brilliant it makes repairing something like a cowl much more difficult than simply getting a new panel or removing it and banging out the dents.

Big congrats on the new ride and it seems things are moving along well. I totally get the frustration as getting your parked scoot run over is not a great thing.

Happened to me once when 4 of us had our parked bikes knocked over by a car when parked. My Vespa was ok and just required a new windscreen and a few other bits. Yes the crash bars saves me a lot of damage and they were even just fine. The Ducati and Triumph were not so lucky.

I lost my beautiful GTV last year when it got run over by an Uber driver. The worst part was this time I was on it and nether her nor I faired very well. She was written off and I bought a racing 60s Vespa. I was not written off and have some lovely permanent bruising and loose skin around my knee and from a hematoma on my upper thigh to remind me of the event

Sorry to hear, glad your wife wasn't on the scooter. Good luck with the insurance.
Beautiful new scooter
E.

A quick thought - when the bike was pushed over, was it in a parking slot, and if so, was it near the kerb or at the open end of the slot? I keep seeing bikes parked fully into parking slots - not a good idea, as people roaming the car park looking for an empty slot often won't see the bike until it's too late. Leave the bike's rear end level with the end markings of the slot, in line with the rear ends of neighbouring cars.

Thanks JIMC for the tip. I've also thought about temporarily clipping on a bright colored flag to the rear rack (like dune buggys, etc.) - just something to draw attention to the Vespa before the unthinkable happens again.

Maybe a small racing cone or collapsible traffic cone at the top of the parking spot could help too

Glad nobody got hurt, the Vespa will be made whole one way or the other. Yes there is discomfort and there is sadness, but it could all be really bad and it isn't. For that you can say thanks to the universe, your karmic bank balance was/is in good standing...

Update June 9, 2022:

Hi Vespa Gang....you won't believe what we've been going through, trying to get the guys insurance company to authorize repairs on my wife's Vespa. I've done all of the leg work so far:

1) Detailed Incident Report, with all facts & info from both parties involved
2) Detailed Pictures of all damage
3) Receipts for trailer rental & mileage costs to transport to the Vespa Dealer
4) NADA Vespa values for reference
5) Vespa Dealer's official repair estimate

The worst part of all this is getting the insurance company contact to provide written acknowledgement. I've kept a correspondence log of dates, times, who I attempted to contact, etc. After 9 attempts to reach somebody over 17 days and escalating things up to the adjuster's supervisor - I did finally get a call back from the adjuster apologizing and that things would be taken care of, and a check would be cut that day. I said no problem just respond to me in writing please. Then for the next 4 days I didn't hear anything. So I escalated things up to the supervisor's supervisor. I got another call back that day, again apologizing and assuring me things would be taken care of, and they asked that I send them all of the documentation I had.

Here it is...another 3 days later and the ONLY thing that's happened is that the insurance company contacted the Vespa dealer and asked for more pictures. They have not authorized any repairs to start, or informed me that payment is in the mail....nothing. Even our insurance company has contacted them several times, trying to move things along without success.

I told the insurance company that have taken so much time, that now they need to reimburse me for the loan payment and insurance premium on the Vespa since we have not had it for a month now.

I guess my next step is to go see a lawyer....or at least contact the state attorney general's office and lodge a complaint. This is just ridiculous....horrible customer service.

Sorry to Rant....and thanks for listening!
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Fully understood, and again, I totally get what you're dealing with, given my having to go through the same thing, twice last year. My claims adjuster ultimately got things done, but it took a ton of phone calls/texts/e-mails back-and-forth. I don't get the need for additional photos as it sounds like you've done your proverbial due diligence, but it isn't an unknown annoyance. Keep us apprised, and wishing for a fast(er), proper outcome.

If my insurance company was jerking somebody around like this I would want to know about it. You should let the insured know what's going on just as an FYI. After all, he is the one paying for this bad service.

Hi Grouper - yes we did let the guy know what is going on. He said if we don't get any action to call him and let him know. I'm not sure ethically what to do here...it's not his fault that the insurance company is stone-walling...

This sad. Every state has an Insurance regulatory agency that overlooks how Insurance companies operate in their jurisdiction. I would suggest that before you contact any lawyer (having to spend monies etc) contact the state agency and file a complaint against the insurance company not providing adequate service as per their own statements.
You should file a claim for not just the damages to the vehicle but for the lost time dealing with the issue beyond what would be considered legitimate.
We all know and can accept that "shit happens" but when businesses don't do the "right" thing then you have to the state charge them on our behalf. If you were going to be late on your payments even 12 hours past the due date, you would have to pay penalties and maybe even higher insurance premiums.
Oh man I feel your pain, dont want to get started and go down the hole....

I appreciate everyone's understand.

What really grinds my beans is the fact that none of this was our fault. If the insurance company has issues with this case, they need to work them out with the person that actually cause this whole mess to begin with....not the "victim". My wife and I have lost a whole month of ride time, etc. But the guy who did this is living his normal life without a second thought. Total BS.

He is living his normal life yes, he is expecting that his insurance company will do the right thing when it comes to paying out claims. He has been paying premiums just for such a situation to be covered.
What is more likely to happen is they delay payments, but in no time raised his premiums.
Thats how f'ed up our world has become, businesses can do no wrong whereas you and I can and be penalized.

Curious to hear Bob's take. (He works in insurance.)

One option is to file it as a claim against your own insurance, and let your insurance company deal with that guy's insurance company. Not sure if there's any risk to your future premiums if you go that route though.

Curious what insurance company it is that is giving you the runaround...

And what is your insurance company doing all this time? Your insurance owes you repair or replacement of your scooter, not the other guys insurance. It should be up to your insurance company to deal with them - especially in the advent of a dispute. All you should be out if there is a delay on the part of the other fellows insurance, is your deductable - until the despite is resolved. And your insurance company should handle any legal fees required in resolving a dispute.

Yes DOOGLAS...you are right. If we went through our insurance we would have to pay the deductible - my wife says "no" to that course of action. So I have taken it upon myself to do everything I can to assist the guy's insurance company in getting this case moving, making it as easy as possible for them by doing all of the leg work.

Last night I sent a personal email to the Adjuster's Supervisor's Supervisor (3rd level up). I explained our situation and my feelings about this case. While the Vespa is important to us, there are other personal and emotional matters involved in this - and I need to get things resolved as quickly as possible.

I asked for the actual reasons for the delay, is it just the "system"? Is it that they don't agree with the estimate? What is the reason exactly? Just tell me the plain truth....

She said she would push for a response today, and if I do not hear anything, to give her a call. Based on their history...I don't believe anything they tell me.

Hopefully everything is documented to this point.
If it was me, I'd be thinking about hiring an attorney and have them send a letter to the insurance company.

I had a similar situation when someone rear-ended my wife's car. The other company was slow, so my company paid to fix the car and they recovered the entire repair cost plus my deductible. In the end, it didn't cost me a thing.