Piaggio scooter with 152 miles on it - what to do??? (ride, moped)

[artimagination]

Right after my divorce I went out and purchased a brand new blue Piaggio L150. I also purchased two helmets AND the cool little compartment thing that locks and can be attached to the back of scooter. That was in 2003. It is now 2013 and I've never used that scooter. It has sat, covered, in my garage. I did uncover it and have my mechanic neighbor have a look at it and it needs a new battery. Other than that it should be fine. I'm in California and I've retired and I'm moving to Texas. I don't know how to unload this thing. I would keep it but I'm not into paying to have it transported to Texas. Any suggestions out there or anyone interested in buying it?

[Pilgrim21784]

Okay, not intending to diss your mechanic friend, but "just needing a new battery" is WAY out of line with conventional wisdom/experience for your scooter. I'm not an expert but offer you the following summary based on my knowledge. A ten year old scooter that sat unused will need:

1) New tires
2) New drive belt (even if it currently runs, I wouldn't trust it for 1/4 of a mile ride). They decline from use and AGE.
2) Replacement of ALL fluids
3) Replacement of all hoses/rubber gaskets/lines and filters
4) At a minimum, full fuel tank clean/scrub (quite possibly a new tank)
5) Complete and detailed lubrication (that can be a pain on units that have sat with no attention for a decade)

In other words, excluding use as a parts vehicle, it needs some serious attention before anyone would even think about riding it unless the rider is really an idiot. You also have the issue of it passing any inspection if required in your state.

KBB (Kelly Blue Book) shows a random Los Angels zip code value of under $1K trade-in and $1.4K for a dealer retail unit in excellent running condition. I would not put much faith in those numbers, they are much higher than its worth to an informed buyer, IMO.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it. The refurb costs (unless one does the work themselves) will exceed the ultimate value of the scooter in comparison to other much newer, more refined and properly cared for units.

I'd post on your local Craig's List with all the details as a Best Offer for quick sale and see if anyone bites. You could also consider donating it to a charity and take the tax deduction based off of KBB valuations. Just be sure and print a screen copy of the KBB numbers in case the IRS has issues with it. JMO

You can get better information from a wide range of experienced folks by posting on a scooter specific site. My favorite is the Battle Scooter forum at Adventure Rider (Battle scooters - ADVrider)
You can also try posting on the Modern Vespa forum (http://modernvespa.com/forum/) which has a number of Piaggio discussions.

[kygman]

Too bad you're not in Kentucky. I'd take care of making sure it ran OK for you. lol
I delivered a newspaper route on a moped for almost 2 years and always thought I'd like to move up to a scooter.

[de dee]

you could also donate to your local school for the mech. class