Modern Vespa

Hello everyone. Looking at buying a second hand 2010 model. Paint work seems good. About 33000km on the clock. At a decent price.

OR should I go for a 2019 model. Double the price. 2000km on the clock.

I guess my question is, will I be happy with the 2010? Or is it not a smart buy. The 2019 is much newer, but of course at a much higher price tag.

If the 2010 with 33,000 km has good and recent service history, I'd say go for it. This model is pre-ABS and pre-ASR, which means there is much less to go wrong. Be sure to pull out the seat bucket and inspect everything under there carefully. Wiring and hoses can /will deteriorate with age. If the service records are not available or not recent, I would probably walk away.

The 2019 will have ABS and ASR, both of which are nice to have if you ride a lot on poor road surfaces and/or in bad weather. But you're paying a premium for a newer bike with more features. Given the low mileage, the 2019 is likely on factory brake and coolant fluids (and maybe oil), tires and belt; so you would want to replace all of that - perhaps a bargaining position on the price.

Good luck and Caveat Emptor.

Unless you have deep pockets, spend some time looking at the maintenance intervals and potential problems of each bike. The HPE wants you to do a belt and valve check every 6,000 miles. You're likely adding a rear tire, oil change etc... at this point. Do you do your own work? Look at problems with the ABS module and what it costs to fix this. My preference is Non-HPE, Non-ABS.

A well maintained 2010 GTS300 with 33000km at a fair price is a good buy. Such a scooter is not new but 33000km is not a big deal.

I think it depends on your scooter history and your age and your wallet to decide what is the better choice.

If this is to be your first scooter, and you have limited experience with driving a motorcycle, then I would go for the 2010, if in good technical condition.

If you like driving it you still can drive it for years. If you do not like it you can sell it for roughly the same price you bought it for.

If you are a more experienced scooter driver and you can spend the extra money I think the 2019 is the better choice. With its low mileage it has its full lifespan potential and it has the ABS ASR functions that can prove in practice to be very useful.

I've had both. My 2009 got to about 30000km when I sold it to buy the 2019 HPE. My HPE is now at 64000km and loving it - so much better. More power and the ABS does help me a lot - especially on the bad roads I ride a lot, I could feel the ABS doing it's job a lot yesterday while braking on gravel. Don't be scared of comments by ABS naysayers. Double the price ... depends what the bike will mean to you as an individual - commuting or more.