So, one day I was browsing Ebay for something unrelated and stumbled across this great looking Vespa for a decent price. I started looking at all the Vespas available and there were quite a few good looking machines. Then I noticed most of them were from Vietnam or other Asian countries. So I thought to myself this made sense and it was not a problem except for shipping since there are a great number of Vespas in Asia.
Two things stopped me from bidding right then. Second hand items coming from another country (especially Asian countries) are subject to fraud. Then there was the fact I did not have enough money to bid at the time, but I was expecting extra cash the next month.
So I spent the next few days looking at the models available and ran across an Ebay item boldly stating it was not a Vietnam restoration. I found the guides in Ebay explaining the problems with Vietnam restorations, and then I found the Scooterbbs forums. So I was pretty much warned off importing a scooter.
So I started looking more locally for a Vespa. I did find scootrs.com and decided if I did not find a suitable scooter by the end of August I would order one from them. Though they are from Vietnam, they were the only Asian restorations that had decent marks.
Per advice already posted on the scooterbbs, I started looking for a P or PX series Vespa. I wanted the classic style and an older machine, these were recommended for a first time buyer. I thought I had found one at a shop in Portland, Oregon, but it turns out it was already sold some time ago and they had not updated their webpage in several months.
I found the scoot.net classifieds and inquired on a couple there, but they also were already sold. I posted there I was looking for a P-Series Vespa and received one reply, but the scooter had way too much chrome for my taste. (I'm a minimalist when it come to chrome.)
I was also looking in the west coast Craigslist classifieds. There I saw a couple prospects for a good price on the SF Craigslist, but by the time I was heading to look at them, they were already sold. I started checking the SF Craigslist and Scoot.net classifieds every 20 to 30 minutes everyday.
During this time I continued to research Vespas and bought several books for reference.
Then I saw a VLB Sprint 1966 for $2k in the SF Craigslist and immediately replied to the ad asking to inspect the scooter as soon as possible. I got a reply saying the sellers were going out of town and would let me see it when they returned. I also was heading out of town coming back a day later that the sellers. I asked (begged) them to let me see it first, explaining I had several scooters sold before I could see them. They agreed and we set up an appointment for the day after I returned.
The sellers got several emails inquiring about the scooter and one offering $300 more. The sellers contacted me asking if I was still interested and told me about the higher offer. I told them I was still interested and would match the offer if I decided to buy it after inspection. They were very nice and agreed to let me have first refusal.
When I saw the scooter, it I was able to recognize it had a few non standard body parts, but it ran fine after a few kicks. They mentioned that the spark plug needed to be replaced often and sometime was hard to start on a cold engine with an older plug. The engine seemed to be quite powerful once started and the body was in decent shape, so I put down a deposit. The sellers wanted to keep it until the end of the month, since they used it as a daily commuter.
I decided to buy this one instead of the newer P models due to frustration of not finding a good P and I knew I should be able to care for this one from my experience of working on cars earlier in my life. I also have a co-worker/friend who offered a space in his barn to work on the scooter.
I will be picking up the scooter the last sunday in July from the sellers. They seemed very honest and were very nice in working with me to let me have first dibs. They loved the scooter and wanted to see it go to a good home.
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