Modern Vespa

I'm due for my 6k mile service. I'm curious what people are spending for the service.

I spent less than $50 to replace the oil filter and oil change cause that was all I needed. Depends on your riding habits, it will be hard to determine whether you will need to replace the belt, rollers, and spark plug as recommended by Piaggio's for this maintenance schedule. However, if you are religious about following their recommendation, prepare to dish out between $300 - $400.
Belt + labor = $130
Rollers + labor = $100
Oil Filter + Oil change + labor = $70
Spark Plug + labor = $25
Front Brake Pads + labor = $65
Rear Brake Pads + labor = $40

Where are you getting these prices?

Belt + labor = $130 A belt is about $120, your getting it installed for $10?

Rollers + labor = $100 Rollers cost around $35-40, Why is it $60 to install rollers when the procedure is the same as the belt?

Oil Filter + Oil change + labor = $70 Sounds about right

Spark Plug + labor = $25 Sounds low to me usually half hour min charge on service

Front Brake Pads + labor = $65 Pads are $18.66 per side, so $39 and only $25 labor sounds low.

Rear Brake Pads + labor = $40 Thought you had to pull rear wheel to do rear brakes. Will cost much more than price quoted.

Wayne B

I hate going into a dealer blind, which is why I asked. I did asked the dealer up front, but the answer was rather open ended, and I don't know about you, but my wallet isn't open ended, so I prefer to be prepared for such expenses rather than willy-nilly.

The 500 is mt primary transportation, and I would not say I am a gentle rider. I am on the expressway more than side streets and occasionally deal with stop and go traffic because I live in the heart of the city.

I'm headed to the dealer for the service after this post. When I return I'll report my painful/painless experience, as it may help those who may have the same concern.

iinspect the brakes your self. just pull the fronts wheels and you can see how much pad there is. 6k you should need pads yet unless your dragging your brakes alot or doing alot of stoppies. normally the fronts will go before the rears.

Hi Wayne - Please note that the price quotes I listed are considered conservative figures. I mentioned in my other postings that if you know of good suppliers, you can save a lot of money by ordering the parts yourself online rather than having the dealer supplying them for you.
For example, I purchased my Belt for $82.33 with no shipping cost because I bought over $150 worth of other parts from them. See link:http://www.athensscooterco.com/eshopprod_cat_4650-47920_product_630224.VespaPiaggio_Drive_Belts_from.htm
I purchased 2 pair of Front Brake Pads for about $25 @ Scooter Assassins. My dealer charged me $40 for labor to installed both pairs. See link: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/scooter-assassins__brake-mp3-400_W0QQ_kwZbrakeQQ_kwZmp3QQ_kwZ400QQ_ckwZpadsQQ_sidZ54837729?_trksid=p4634.m104.l1201
I purchased Dr. Pulley Sliders for $50 [again, no shipping charge @ ScooterTrap and my dealer charged me $54 for labor]
I purchased the Champion RG6YC Spark Plug @ Procycledepot for only $4.95 and the dealer charged $20 for labor.
Finally, my dealer quoted me $20 for the Rear Brake Pads + $20 for labor but at 9,000 miles, they told me that my rear pads are still in good condition and did not need to be replaced yet.
As you can see, I am only providing you folks my expenses so they may or may not agree with everyone because we all use different suppliers and dealers and prices definitely vary between yours and mine. On a side note, I like shopping around online to find the best deals whenever I can. And if you folks out there who like to leave the purchasing power to your local dealers and have them charge you extras, that is your choice. You want to help them stay in business that is also your choice. But know this, if your dealers have a choice [meaning that if the current economy were going strong as it was before Y2K], I bet you most of them would jack up their prices and wouldn't even think twice about giving you a break. So my question to you Wayne is, "Would you rather buy a belt @ $82 on your own or let your dealer supplying it for you @ $120? We all have our own preference and I rather use the $40 difference to buy my 5 years old son a nice toy or take my wife out for a nice dinner.
I also want to add another comment and that is check with your dealers to see when they have promotions for discount on parts & services. I got a $25 discount on changing my rear tire recently, which was why I allowed my dealer to supply it for me @ $105.26. Otherwise, I would have gotten the same exact tire online for less than $80.00. Again, if you take the time to shop around online, you will save a lot of money over the long run.

Why do people buy parts to have their dealer or anyone else install but yourself??? You loose any warranty on labor for replacing the part if it is defective. So you pay $100 to have a part replaced. The part turns out to be defective, then you pay $100 again to have the defective part replaced. Where if the shop that does the work also supply the parts, they will cover the labor for the replacement of a defective part. Do people not understand this??

Either way you should still be supporting your local shop by buying your parts from them.

Wayne B

just saving a nickel now to pay a dime later

By and large, the prices I pay my dealer for parts are no more than I'd have to pay online. Plus the parts get to me sooner (if not on the spot), I can turn them away if they are the wrong ones (often with the right part number on!) or faulty, with no problem.

I'd rather my dealer got any middle-man money than some anonymous third party.

Also turning up in person every few weeks builds a personal relationship that works both ways. I get to pass on any new info or problems found by forums such as this, they pass on to me any tips or gotchas they have heard via other grapevines. Win-win.

Support the dealer so they can remain in business - one day you might really need them!

Ask you dealership what the typical charge is with them.

I hope you trust the dealership enough to accept their answer. Otherwise, oops, should have bought somewhere else...

Ride safely and Have Fun....cheers...jacq

[Why do people buy parts to have their dealer or anyone else install but yourself???]
To answer your question, I bought all the parts and planned to installed them myself but since my dealer was having a promotion, I decided to let them change my rear tire and more. Otherwise, I would have changed the rollers, belts, and front brake pads myself. God knows I spent enough money on toolings to do the work [variator holding tool, torque wrench, socket, etc]. Sometimes when we express our opinions, we leave out little details here and there so please don't draw any conclusions unless you have the whole picture.
By the way, I know my dealer has been around for decades so they are not going out of business any time soon. Worst scenario, they may have to reduce headcounts like everyone else when the economy is slow and rehire when business picks up.
I thought this forum was for everyone to express their opinions without being criticized. Shit! I guess I was wrong. I will keep my own opinions to myself from now on.

Please, don't take me wrong, I am just stressing the advantage of getting the parts from the dealer if the dealer is installing them.

I see your situation and why you did what you did now.

Remember we're trying to talk to everyone when replying.

Wayne B

Exactly. Yepper.

dan have you asked your dealer to match prices on items you found online?

My dealer has been good enough to give me advice on where to buy third party upgrades. For example he said they pay the same price as me for a J-costa and would have to mark it up so advised me to buy on line for them to install. On the other hand they carry Leo Vince exhausts and I bought it from them. As a regular customer they do discount some items for me.

Not all dealers are good, but mine is and building a relationship over the last 16 months has helped in many ways.

Must have been quite a wait...

Whatever the market will bear.

I've paid $CDN 29.95 for an oil filter at one dealer, and $CDN 12.95 for the same filter at another dealer.

Like I said, whatever the market will bear.

BTW, the $29.95 dealer is no longer in business.