After scouring the ads I managed to find a 2006 GT in Edinburgh that definitely needed a whole load of TLC and looked a likely candidate for the Ninemeister treatment. It was a one-owner black 125 which had suffered an unsuccessful theft attempt, & after smashing the lock off the column and failing to get past the immobiliser the yobs decided to throw the poor Vespa down an embankment into a river. Fortunately the bike did not manage to make it all the way and it ended up in the hands of the recovery driver.
It was also fortunate for me that the recovery guy (& his auto electrician friend) could also not get past said immobiliser to get it started, so following a brief (!) trip up the M6, I handed over £500 and the non-running GT was in the back of the van and on it's way back home for a whole lot of loving. Bargain!
⚠️ Last edited by Ninemeister on UTC; edited 3 times