Hi. A colleague of mine is leaving Taiwan and has offered me his Vespa for NT$30,000. It’s the old kind with gears. It is in pretty good condition and rides well with plenty of vroom. He says it’s at least 20 years old.
Does anybody know if 30k is too much? He’s a nice guy, but he certainly won’t be doing me any favors, so I’m guessing the price is slightly inflated.
Thanks for any feedback.
Madness! He’s either trying to gouge you, or the bike’s pretty much completely restored, or he has a vastly inflated sense of what it’s worth. Is he one of those “but I recently just spent 5,000 on new XXXX for it!” idiots?
Bottom line: its at least 20 years old. Unless its totally restored to as-new condition then the price should reflect that.
Case in point: I was recently offered one for NT$45,000. It was WAY past showroom condition – even the engine under the cowlings had been chromed! This thing was like something you’d see in a custom bike magazine.
There’s a Piaggio mechanic on Roosevelt Road, just south of the Keelung Rd intersection before you get to Alan’s bike shop. He usually has a few old Vespas lying around. Check him out and get a feel for used Vespa prices.
$30k for a scooter that’s 20 years old?! That’s insane. Maybe he meant $3 k and misplaced the decimal.
No, there’s a niche market here for old Vespas – people who buy one and than pump a bunch of money and love into them – the one I was offered had had around 80k put into it, the seller reckoned.
If the OPs friend is serious about getting serious coin for it, those are the people he should be targeting.
For a run-of-the-mill daily driver, it’s just an old oily scooter.
It’s worthless in my opinion. These scooters are very heavy, and unsafe. The shifting is awkward and the rear break is right-foot operated. Repairs are expensive and mechanics who work on these scooters are scarce. Does it get any worse than that?
You’d have to pay me to ride this junk every day.
marboulette.
unless you’re a Vespa fanatic, don’t do it. Tell him to sell it to someone who cares.
It’s a bit like my old Ducati, or the even older one I sold before that: gears upside down on the wrong side, no parts, cost a fortune to fix, and only one or two people competent to fix it. not to mention being complettely outclassed in terms of both performance and reliability by much newer machines costing a fraction of the price. But that’s not why you own them.
Everyone here is right, that is nonsense. Also is it a true Vespa or a piaggio vespa? The Piaggio’s were made in the south of Taiwan, they are not true Vespa’s. I was given a piaggio Vespa last year, and I got it running. It was fun to ride, but also the biggest pain in the ass too. Do not buy that thing for $30K. If you want a Vespa, you can find one at a way better price.
Piaggio is the name of the Italian company that make them. Vespa is the brand. Piaggio made Vespas in many places around the world during their heyday, including Taiwan. They’re just as much Vespas as any other – they ARE Vespas.
Double psot
OWNED!! 
Nah, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that – the Piaggio history IS pretty interesting, though.
It is cool, I really dont know much about Vespa’s, they are not my thing at all. I was kinda comparing it to Kymco and Honda. Kymco is Taiwanese and in my personal opinion the quality is not the same as Honda. 10-20 years ago, Honda and Kymco were a lot different in quality, so I felt that might have been the same for the Vespa’s that were made here as well.
I seem to remember that getting new parts for these are a nightmare (and thus more expensive) because the company had had enough of Taiwan and pulled their operations out a few years ago.
Another relevant site…Taiwan Golden Bee
Umm 30k for an old Vespa is a pretty reasonable price depending on the condition, model, and the year. Parts are readily available depending on the model, however, used parts are mostly cheaper and easier to source. I myself have a PX 150 that i picked up for 18k 5 years ago and it has served me well ever since. Restoration can start from about 15-20k and go up from there. The fact that it’s old doesn’t mean it should be cheap, it may actually have the inverse effect! I would recommend having an interest in Vespas if you choose to purchase one as they can require a bit of TLC. They can be a very enjoyable ride for the right person. Don’t be dissuaded by thoughts of oil leaks and toxic exhaust emissions, it doesn’t have to be so. There are actually more than a few mechanics around town that specialize in Vespas. The post that contained the Vespa club link would be a great place to find info. Most folks at the clubs are super friendly and will offer decent practical advice.
there was an indian copy too if memory serves me right. BAjaj something.
Also not to mention Vespa had the Lambretta for competition. Lambretta was made in Taiwan by YueLoong for the TAiwan market.
I looked at Vespas a while back and they go from NT9000 (for really bad, rusty bodies) to NT150 000! It all depends on how much work has been put into it.
Buying a Vespa is like buying a VW Beetle…amazingly cute and special…but what do you want to use it for?
For driving around in Taipei it is fine…although heavy on gas. But most of them are 90cc…(some are 125 if I remember correctly) But doing mountain drives without restoring it will be a big no no. Same with a Beetle:)
What I didn’t like about them is that their tires are SO thin…Struggling with gears in Taipei traffic isn’t much fun either. Have you ever had anything with gears? Also, there usually isn’t a practical space by your feet because the area isn’t flat…so you can’t easily transport things like boxes or shopping bags.
I went to the bidding site on yahoo but it is down till 4.30 today. Later you can check www.yahoo.com.tw and find the little hammer (what do you call that hammer a judge uses?) on the right. Click on that…then type in Vespa. It will give you many pictures and prices of second hand Vespas and parts. Just to get an idea. The nice things about Vespas are that once restored, you do have something very special and unique and there is money to be made off it. (granted, you will put money into it over a period of time…but then you get it back in one go:)
Another small Vespa repair shop is at the junction of Bade Rd./Civic Boulevard. I stop at the red light there almost every day and look at the old and new “wasps” on display. One is a pretty decent-looking old black model. I’d ask what that bike costs.