"Hey buddy! Wanna buy a scooter?"
last updated 6/7/2008
How can I make this page more helpful to you? Click this: mhall@maxmatic.com.
New, 10/22/2007: an update on Vietnamese restorations and some link clean-up, stuff like that.
New, 10/30/2007: WSJ article from Oct 27, 2007.
New 6/7/2008: thoughts on gas prices.
"I'm not gonna pay a lot for this muffler!"
(Remember the Midas Muffler ads?)
Since I started this page years ago, classic scooters have become a whole lot more expensive. Now I say you shouldn't
have to pay more than $1000 for a working scooter, nor more than $250 for a clunker. I still hear about amazing
deals ("this guy had it in his garage, and he needed room, so he sold it to me for $125"), there are
lucky finds. But they are rare. And anyway, luck is out of your control, but your effort isn't. Number one rule:
PERSISTENCE PAYS.
If you want a restored, beautiful classic, expect to pay from $2000 to.. well… to too high! Fix it up yer damn
self. It's more fun. Nudge.
Note, too, that since I started this page years ago, gasoline has become more expensive... by a HUGE amount. Part of the reason scooters took off in post-war Europe and are still so popular in Asia and other places where gas is expensive (and the weather is favorable) is because of their efficiency. Well, not only is Vespa back in business in America, but Genuine Scooters are selling classically-styled scooters as part of Scooterworks in Chicago (see below), and further I read today that Fiat is looking for an American partner to build and sell their new version of the iconic "cinquecento" (five-hundred"). What's old is new again... since oil hit $137/bbl and gas is at $4.00/gal and shows no signs of slowing. It's the 70s all over again! Scoot carefully. And scoot to save money.
John Stafford at the Baltimore Bombers SC page has some good advice on buying scooters: Baltimore
Bombers Home Page
The Den of the Lambretta has some good advice on buying
scooters. Visit them for some tips and some 4Sale listings.
"And they'll tell two friends…"
(Remember the Faberge Organics ads?)
Ask around. Most of the scooters I have purchased I have learned about by word-of-mouth. Put the word out there,
by email and so forth, that you want to own your own scoot. You'll get one.
Dead-tree listings
Every week around your town there's an auto deals magazine, right? I know there is, wherever you are in North
America, because it is an American rule: Auto-Hunter, the Want-Advertiser, Auto Sales Weekly, you make up a name,
there is one out there. And there is always a Scooters and Mopeds listing, or at least scooters to be found in
the motorcycles section. Use it. (My bet is that this rule applies in other countries as well.)
One that I can recommend: If you like NSU, BMW, Heinkel, Zundapp, or other German scoots or motorcycles., you
might be interested in contacting Deutches Motorrad Register, managed by W. Conway Link of 8663 Grover Place, Shreveport,
LA 71115. His quarterly newsletter is interesting, fun, and useful. Classified ads offer great bikes and best of
all, parts for our German two-wheelers.
The web and other e-media
The biggest favor I can do is to point you toward some good existing listings of 4sale and 2buy (rather than
try to maintain yet another one!) so here are a few:
- eBay! Since I started this page years ago, ebay has both come into existence
and become a powerhouse for scooter sales.
- Craig's List. And since just last year, Craig's List has become a
convenient medium for the purchase and sale of scoots. Check it out.
- Scooter Trader maintained by John Stafford. Sophisticated web work!
- Scooter Classifieds.com maintained by Michael Frankovich. Link no longer works, 10/20/2007
- International Scooter BBS (chaotic but informative, good discussions
about repair, restoration, safety, and some good sarcastic chatter. register to get in.)
- Quepo Corporation, containerloads only,
which does business in Italy, and sells not just Lammy and Vespa scoots, but Fiats and three-wheelers, too. This site seems to be defunct, 10/20/2007
- Golden Scoots in India. They contacted mel I don't know anything
about them. (Let me know?)
If you are new to scooters, find someone with experience to consult
with. It's easy to go wrong, just as with any vehicle purchase,
especially if you are new to the whole business. Which brings me to...
A note on Vietnamese and other Asian restorations
In the last couple of years, a lot of scooters
have turned up for sale on eBay and Craig's List... from Vietnam. There
are millions of Italian scoots in SE Asia, and a pretty big
business in restoration has grown up around Saigon. Some of them even
look pretty spiffy! But, my gawd, the
horror stories about these restorations! Home-made parts, kilos of
Bondo-like filler, even dangerous things (cracked welds, bad brakes,
undersized or
parted cables, painted-over or hidden casting failures). WATCH OUT.
This is not to say that there are no good restorations coming
out of Vietnam, but the overwhelming majority seems to be crap. (The
name
for them in the scootin' community is "viet-bodge.") I have heard good
things about a guy named Randall at ScootRS, for instance; and on Oct
27, 2007, the Wall Street Journal profiled Saigon Scooter Centre at
which British ex-pat Patrick Joynt is doing the same kind of work as
ScootRS.
India may yet become a player in the restored scooter game. I have been
contacted by at least two firms who seek to establish a market presence
in the U.S. I wish them well, and hope that they lead with quality and
let hundreds of buyers make them successful.
As I wrote above, it is in your best interest, if you are new to scootin', to find someone with experience to help you buy!
Last suggestion: consider a NEW bike, too: the Stella, a Vespa PX-clone
from India, built for Genuine Scooters (Chicago, Ill) or the Bajaj
(also Indian built, with various dealers in the U.S.). These
have older, though not exactly classic, styling, with modern
reliability and better safety. The Stella has had a rough couple of
years becuase of labor action at the LML factory, but at the time of
this writing (June 2008), they are selling once again.
Shop List… (see below)
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My Scooters
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Other People's Scooters
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Quotations and Poems about Scooters
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Three-Wheelers
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People-Powered Vehicles
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Scooter and Odd Car Organizations
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Help in finding scooters and parts
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Links
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Bumperstickers
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Send Max email
Shop List. (Items may be out of date… email me and I'll fix 'em.)
NOTE: these are shops I have, personally, done business with, and like; unless otherwise noted.
- Atomic Scooters
- Contact: Gator or Naomi
- Address: 10805 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood, CA 91602
- Phone: (818) 752-8136
- Specialty: Vespa
- Boston Scoot
759 Boston Road
Billerica, MA 01821
phone: 978-663-7450
fax: 978-670-9800
toll free: 877-37-SCOOT
email: bostonscoot@rcn.com
www: http://www.bostonscoot.com/
owner: Jason Ciolfi
Specialty: Vespa, Lambretta
Casa Lambretta
Casa Lambretta USA, Inc.
2403 N.E. 2nd Ave #B
Miami, FL 33137
1-866-Lambretta
Fax: (305) 576-2806
http://www.casalambrettausa.com/
Specialty: Lambretta
I can personally attest to the quality of their service.
Domi Racer Distributors, Inc.
Accessory Mart, Inc.
P.O. Box 30439
Cincinnati, Ohio 45230
phone: (513) 871-1678
fax: (513) 871-6684
email: domiracer@fuse.net
www: http://www.domiracer.com/
Specialty: European and British
Boston scootist Eric P. reminded me I didn't have these guys. Silly moi, and thanks, Eric.
- Garner's Classic Scooters
- Contact: Randolph Garner
- Address: P.O. Box 234, Cleburne, Texas 76033
- Phone: (817) 645-3478
- FAX: (817) 645-1319
- Specialty: Vespa, Lambretta, Cushman, Mustang
- Greg Clauss Studios
Contact: Greg Clauss
www.claussstudios.com
Specialty: Reproduction parts for rare scoots
Clauss Studios & Manufacturing
JavaSpeed
- Contact: Woody Woodbury
Address: 1284 North Main St. Providence RI. 02904
E-Mail: woody@javaspeed.net
Phone: 401-270-9485 (same for fax; repeat call until they flip fax on)
E-mail: woody@javaspeed.net
WWW: www.javaspeed.net
Specialty: Good coffee! Bajaj, Malaguti dealership.
- Scooters Originali
Contact: Gene Merideth
- Address: P.O. Box 105, Montclair, NJ 07042-0105
- Phone: (201) 783-3573
- FAX: (201) 783-8610
- E-mail: innocenti@delphi.com
- WWW: scootersoriginali.com/
- Speciality: Lambretta, Vespa
- Scooterworks USA
5410 N. Damen
Chicago, IL 60625
info@scooterworks.com
www.scooterworks.com
Specialty: Vespa parts, Vintage Vespas, Accessories, Lifestyle items and new
Stella scooters
Vespa Classics*
- Contact: Sam, et alia.
- Phone:
- E-mail: info@vespaclassics.com
- WWW: http://www.vespaclassics.com/
- Specialty: Vespa
*I have no personal experience with this company.
Lambretta Works*
- Contact:
- Address: 6244 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92115
- Phone: (619) 229-0201
- FAX: (619) 229-9157
- WWW: www.lambretta.net/
- Specialty: Lambretta, Lambretta Performance
*fomerly West Coast Lambretta Works. Under new ownership as of summer '07.
Weston Scooter Parts
- Contact: Nigel Cox
- Address: Weston-Super-Mare, UK
- Phone: +44 (0) 1934 614614
- FAX:
- WWWl: http://www.lambretta.net/
- Specialty: Lambretta, Lambretta Performance, History
