It was a combination of the £4,995 price tag and the headline of a ‘1965 Vespa PX 150’ that caught our eye… and set alarm bells ringing!
Of course having ridden Lambrettas and Vespas consistently since the 1980s and being what some may describe as ‘scooter anoraks’, these alarm bells may ring more easily for us than others, so here’s a little more detail;
Piaggio didn’t launch the PX until 1977, so the first clue is that somebody doesn’t know their Vespas. Presumably that includes whoever age-related this combination for its first registration in September 2014, and DVLA.
The big claim however is in the seller’s description that reads, “This has come from a collection that has been stored away from brand new in 1965.”
To us that sounds like the seller is claiming this Vespa sidecar outfit could very well in original, unridden condition. If true, then what a nice thing to own, right? But what if it’s not?
Elsewhere in the sellers description they state that this Vespa outfit has only done “11 miles from new” which they proudly show with a photograph of the speedometer that not only counts in kilometres, but looks like a cheap modern repro item too.
It also says it has “all documents and a variety of spares” and the photos show a packet of leftover gaskets with a photocopy of a something perpetrating to be a workshop manual!
And that’s before our anorak eyes reach the obviously cheap aftermarket seats and budget light switch, the latter not even having all of its buttons in the same colour, let alone the correct colour!
If you want to find out more, here it is on ebay here. But before you go, we’d like to say we often see eBay reposts on the internet forums, blogs and social media sites, but please remember, just because it may attract plenty of cooing from some quarters, or its shiny looking, that doesn’t mean it ain’t a lemon. Sadly, the old adage of ‘buy from a local dealer’ can’t always safeguard you either (as seen here), so all we can advice is to do plenty of research before parting with your hard-earned cash.
As for this ‘beauty’, in our opinion we reckon it’s an Indian scooter, a Bajaj manufactured Vespa VBB 150 from 1965 (and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long a you know what you’re buying in advance), probably fitted with what appears to be a Cozy sidecar and restored in India before being sent over in this condition to sell in the UK.
As we said, it may not be a bad bike, but we’re pretty sure it’s not what it’s advertised as and as such in our opinion it is way overpriced.