Used or New ?

The original 2-stroke Genuine scooter and its 4-stroke manual and automatic offspring

Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff

Post Reply
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Used or New ?

Post by murmur »

Alright. It's like this. I have been wanting a Stella for some time now, but it has taken me a little while to save up the cash for one. Now that I have the funds I found an '04 GB 150 with 12XX miles. It is number 26. I cant decide if I should drop the $2800 for this one or get a brand now one. I realise that the new one will come with a warranty, but that only lasts a year and the GB is pretty sweet looking. Does anyone have any advise for me?
User avatar
ericalm
Site Admin
Posts: 16842
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Re: Used or New ?

Post by ericalm »

murmur wrote:Alright. It's like this. I have been wanting a Stella for some time now, but it has taken me a little while to save up the cash for one. Now that I have the funds I found an '04 GB 150 with 12XX miles. It is number 26. I cant decide if I should drop the $2800 for this one or get a brand now one. I realise that the new one will come with a warranty, but that only lasts a year and the GB is pretty sweet looking. Does anyone have any advise for me?
If the GB has been well maintained and is in good shape, I say get that.

The mileage is SO low that it may have some issues common to scoots which have been sitting around not getting ridden—gunked up carb, bad fuel lines, etc. Maybe bad tires, rust in the tank. So, if it's possible to have a mechanic check it out, that might help. I'd definitely ask the seller how it was stored.

You're saving more than a grand compared to OTD on a new Stella. I doubt you'd have $1,000+ in repairs on a scoot with 12xx miles. And I love the GBs.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Post by murmur »

That's a good point. I am going to check it out this afternoon and take it for a spin if there is no snow. Any pointers on some stuff I shold look out for? The current owner says that it looks brand new.
User avatar
ericalm
Site Admin
Posts: 16842
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

Post by ericalm »

From the outside, about the only thing you'd be able to visually check is the tires. If you've test ridden a new Stella, then riding this one or even starting it up may give you a few clues about the rest. Since you're in CO, how and where it was stored is even more important due to higher chances of condensation in the tank and the cold effecting other parts which weren't being used.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
User avatar
Rippinyarn
Member
Posts: 652
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:35 pm
Location: Royal Oak, Michigan
Contact:

Post by Rippinyarn »

That's a fair price and if he is willing to come off it a tiny bit, it's a no-brainer. Cash works best as a convincer. I know that if I had the same opportunity, I would snag a fair-priced and not-beat-to-hell GB in a Detroit second. Take pics and post 'em up here if you buy it!
Rovers SC
Check out the latest at scooterfile.com
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Post by murmur »

I went to pick her up and the guy did not have the title. As it was never regestered, I am going to wait until he has the title in hand.
User avatar
jfrost2
Member
Posts: 4782
Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:32 am
Location: Somewhere in Ohio, Maybe.

Post by jfrost2 »

I dunno, he might have stolen the bike, the bike has miles so it was ridden some.

If it is clean and everything is fine, I'd say get it, it's a special edition bike, so it might have better resale value someday too. Plus if you like the green go for it, they dont call it special edition for no reason!

Another thing you might wanna consider to do if you purchase this is get the halogen headlight upgraded. The headlight on the older stellas are the same headlights used in the 70's and 80's. The newer stellas have a conversion which are more modern and brighter, I've seen a few people on scoot.net mention in their listings they got their dealer to replace the entire headlight unit for the new one.
User avatar
gearhead
Member
Posts: 1174
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:39 pm

Post by gearhead »

used used used
User avatar
monza
Member
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:05 am
Location: Kansas City

Post by monza »

A good freind of mine just rolled 20,000 miles on his stella. Only failure has been cruciform and normal maintenance stuff. A GB with 1200 miles is like new in my book.

http://forum.madtoto.com/viewtopic.php? ... ilit=miles
-Paul O.
63 VNB "125 Super"
62 Mini Cooper 1100
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Post by murmur »

Thanks for the help. I picked up the bike over a month ago. I'm not sure how this became active again.
P.S. The GB is the shizzle
User avatar
gearhead
Member
Posts: 1174
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:39 pm

Post by gearhead »

sorry it was me. but we'd like to see some pics man!
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Post by murmur »

I'll try to post one later today.
User avatar
gearhead
Member
Posts: 1174
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:39 pm

Post by gearhead »

niceee.. have you done any mods to it yet?
murmur
Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:08 am
Location: Colorado

Post by murmur »

So far it has a Sito+ pipe, deblued airfilter for performance. For looks it has a rear rack and a mirror on the left leg shield. I removed the handle bar mirrors and all reflectors and stickers. I need more speed though.
User avatar
gearhead
Member
Posts: 1174
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:39 pm

Post by gearhead »

very nice. post up those pics soon :D
Post Reply