Modern Vespa

Shiet. I'd be scuuurrred if I was the dealer. Perhaps the OP should go back to them and try and buy a new scooter....they maybe willing to give a SERIOUS discount....but then again, who wants to deal with that type of company.

Michael: In the USA, one of your legal responsibilities as a dealer of motor vehicles is to ensure and take all precautions that you are not dealing in stolen property. Since scooters have a VIN plate (this one was still attached) and since this specific dealer used a Post-It note as a receipt to show to the police, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are in serious trouble. My grandfather was a New & Used car dealer for many years and he kept meticulous records as well as several checks & balances to ensure that he didn't get caught in these types of schemes. People regularly go to prison for this offense in the U.S. and unless this dealer can lay the blame specifically on one of his employee's, the dealer (him/her-self) will be standing in a courtroom in short order.

I'm not saying that they are innocent in this, and I'm not saying that they are not.

Ok, what about this---the insurance company has been screwed by the dealership and i think we all know who pays when the insurance company gets screwed. if the scooter dealership would have done it's due diligence--the insurance company would have sold the scooter to partially cover their expenses and all of our premiums would reflect it one claim at a time.

MICHEAL your right about the employee and you can't as an owner monitor every little thing they do. But it does reflect back onto the dealership. The big problem is (so it seems by what the OP has posted) that the dealership didn't step up to the plate with apologizing or anything else for that matter. That's why i'm putting the blame on the dealership. They are the ones who should be getting to the root of the problem and keeping Whitty updated. I don't see that happening. Just my opinion.

So far what is certain is the OP had her scooter stolen. The OP received an insurance settlement for the theft and the OP was able to replace the scooter with a combination of her money and the insurance settlement. That is how things should work in the real world.

The owner has liability for an employee's actions under the legal theory of 'Respondeat Superior" or "Let the Master Answer" - This maxim means that a master is liable in certain cases for the wrongful acts of his servant, and a principal for those of his agent.

Black's Law Dictionary

Actually, what we know is that the scooter was stolen, and the dealer paid for and received stolen property. We also know it wasn't bought at a police auction, because the police would have had a record of it's being stolen, and would have turned it over to the owner or the insurance company. It also wasn't bought at an insurance auction, because at that point there would have been paperwork from an insurance auction, not a post-it note written by an employee.

Generally, "pain and suffering" requires some sort of injury of a physical nature. About 10 years ago, 2 guys who were best friends were working on the railroad. One of the them had a heart attack and was sort of dragged to the side and the supervisor told the crew to keep working. Needless to say, the friend was distraught over watching his buddy die. He sued the railroad and the case eventually wound up in the Supreme Court. No basis for a suit said the court, the guy suffered no physical injury in watching his friend die.

I had some problems getting a certificate of origin for a new Vespa from that dealer, but it was with a former owner in 2006.

He said he should have the case closed up by the end of the week.

Published: September 18, 2008

Moped sales have been brisk at Moto Virginia Vespa Charlottesville since the summer, said Priscilla Wilson.

Wilson, whose son owns the business on Preston Avenue, said high gas prices have prompted many young professionals and University of Virginia professors and graduate students to leave their SUVs in the driveways in place of mopeds, which can get 60 to 100 miles per gallon.

But there is a negative side to the rising sales: moped theft
Since January there have been 96 city cases involving mopeds, said Charlottesville police Sgt. Marc Brake. Because police records don't always specify what happened in every case, he could say for certain only that 35 of those incidents involved thefts, but he believes the number is much higher.

There have been 11 moped thefts in the city since Aug. 15.
Brake said some steal the mopeds for joy rides, while others take parts or sell the mopeds outright.
He said officers have been focusing more on moped thefts and have made arrests. He added that they plan some new initiatives to stem the rising moped thefts, but didn't want to elaborate.

Mostly, moped owners can use "common sense" to avoid having their ride stolen, Brake said.
Secure the mopeds, he said, and don't leave the keys in the ignition.

Hi all. I spoke with the detective yesterday. He said they are building a case against both the dealership and the guy they bought it from. He said it's looking good. Although he said that it wouldn't hurt the case to talk about it, I'm going to hold off going public with it (meaning notifying local media and the dmv) till he wraps up my case and has a chance to confer with other detectives on how many scooters Vespa Charlottesville has done this with. He didn't have an actual estimate yet but he did think it was a reoccuring problem.
I really appreciate all of your support. I could have just let this go but I really feel like if they weren't making the stolen scooter market profitable there might not have been 11 scooters stolen between Aug 15th and Sept 18th in Charlottesville and mine wouldn't have been one of them. (Am I reading that right from the article above? That's outrageous!)
The detective said he should have it finished up by the end of this week. The wheels are turning, albeit very slowly. I'll let you know when I hear more.