Modern Buddy

OK I know you can't buy them here, but could I buy one out of state and get it licensed here? I thought I was going to get a INT 150, then I went to a vespa dealer today and drove the LX 150 liked it. Love the stella styling. THERE' S GOT TO BE A WAY, I mean this is California land of the the Illegal.

You can register a Stella in CA if it's 3 model years old (as original run is now) or if it has more than 7500 miles on the odometer.

NICE, thanks for the info. I'm so indecisive wheather to go with a stella, buddy 150, or a LX150 they each have qualities that I want.

If you haven't read it yet, here's my stock Buddy vs. LX comparison:
topic4835.html

The Stella is such a different animal, though. Remember, also, that buying a used Stella means no warranty.

Also, how much of a hurry are you in?

I was fairly certain Stella would come to CA this year. I was probably wrong. But there are strong... uh... indications that there will be some form of Stella sold in CA next year. It may actually be a 4-stroke automatic with a 200cc or 250cc engine. That's the buzz, and this kind of buzz comes from somewhere...

skullydc wrote:OK I know you can't buy them here, but could I buy one out of state and get it licensed here? I thought I was going to get a INT 150, then I went to a vespa dealer today and drove the LX 150 liked it. Love the stella styling. THERE' S GOT TO BE A WAY, I mean this is California land of the the Illegal.

I understand some of the pro and cons of a Buddy 150 vs. an LX150. The Stella, on the other hand, is about as different from either one as a scooter can be. If you decided you like the LX 150, how does that lead you to the Stella? Before you jump through a lot of knotholes to figure out how to get a California legal used Stella, you really need to track one down and ride it. As an aside, if you are hunting all metal manual shift scoots with heritage design and appearance then the PX150 should also fill the bill. There are a number of them with low mileage around on the used market in other states and I assume importing the PX to CA would be just like importing a Stella.

A good condition, low-mileage PX150 can cost almost as much as a new Stella!

Sure, but so does an LX150. I think skullydc was more interested in concept and appearance than in price.

Just saw a red PX150. only 1600 miles. Louisiana plates.

(I've seen a few of them with out of state plates, which I guess is one more way to do it until you hit 7500...)

You can't buy a Stella in CA? Thank God I live in America!

PeterC wrote:You can't buy a Stella in CA? Thank God I live in America!

I was up at San Francisco Scooter Centre a couple weeks back and they had a used green Stella for sale out front. I forget the mileage and the price (maybe just over $3k?) but it was a beauty and "CA-legal"...

that is a hilarious advertisement!!!

could you take a drill to the spedometer and crask the mileage up?

MikieTaps wrote:could you take a drill to the spedometer and crask the mileage up?

It's not necessary. You can register an '05 Stella in CA regardless of mileage.

That would be illegal, anyways…

I'm finding tons of Px150's or P200's on scoot.net that have been restored or somehow rebuilt in certain areas that are located in california. Price ranges from 2000-2500 in most cases. Same bike, but the original made by vespa from 1970-1980's.

If you get a used stella, it wont have a warranty, so the only advantage of buying one compared to a used P is the fact the bike is much newer.

I'll throw my 2 cents into this discussion. I have heard the 3 year ruling bantered about for the last year or so. I just brought a Vespa PX 150 2005 model into Cali a few weeks ago. It was 3 years old and I figured I would try to get it registered with about 800 miles showing on the odometer. Well, 3 years meant nothing to the DMV inspector. He told me the scooter would not be allowed into California and would not be getting registered. Bummed, I went back to my garage and figured out another plan of attack. I went to another DMV a few days later and got it registered... with 7600 miles and some change showing on the odometer. No sweat...

So IF that 3 year ruling is on the Sacramento DMV books, someone should make it public so others can point it out to the DMV inspector when trying to get a non conforming scooter into our state. The DMV inspector told me 8 years is the rule... not 3.

Just adding it to your thread so nobody goes in thinking three years and it is a slam dunk.

That said... my PX is a blast to be driving in California and worth the headache of getting it here... legally!

Scoot on Garth!

Ted

I heard the 3 year rule from a dealer and have heard from people (on ModernVespa and elsewhere) who were able to register 49-state vehicles that were 3 years old. I just checked the DMV and CARB sites for info on this and couldn't locate anything other than the 7,500 mile exemption (so I didn't find the 8 year rule either!). I'll keep poking around and see what I can dig up.

Sorry for being late to the convo-

I just wondering, the Stella is not sold in Cali due to emissions?

nuckaman wrote:Sorry for being late to the convo-

I just wondering, the Stella is not sold in Cali due to emissions?

Yup. When the Stella was introduced, CA had much stricter emissions laws than the rest of the country. Now the EPA and other states have caught up; the new Stellas pass emissions tests and would likely pass the CA tests as well. Unfortunately, though, for a vehicle to be sold in CA it has to meet other criteria such as an evap (vapor recovery) system and other design stipulations. So these things are installed in most vehicles coming into the US just to meet the CA standard. The Stella is still old-school, though the current ones are much cleaner than the original Stella engines.

Genuine probably has something up their sleeves as far as a CA-legal version, but I've heard (from other sources) that making changes via the manufacturer at LML is slow going.

Thanks for the confirmation...emissions is what I figured.

Even without hearing about rumors and such, just from a business standpoint, not attempting to bring some version of the Stella into California would simply be poor decision making from the top.
I'm sure it truely disappoints California dealers and Genuine as a company, not being able to sell the Stella in California. The market potential is just too great to ignore.

I will be waiting patiently to see what they bring in. Just a matter of time.

nuckaman wrote:Thanks for the confirmation...emissions is what I figured.

Even without hearing about rumors and such, just from a business standpoint, not attempting to bring some version of the Stella into California would simply be poor decision making from the top.
I'm sure it truely disappoints California dealers and Genuine as a company, not being able to sell the Stella in California. The market potential is just too great to ignore.

I will be waiting patiently to see what they bring in. Just a matter of time.

Well, it's been this way since the Stella was introduced. I'm sure Genuine would like to have some for of Stella to sell here, but there is some question about what form that can take and once transformed if the "new stella" would have the same appeal.

Fact is, without having the Stella in CA, Genuine's sales have risen steadily, more than doubling this year from the last. The huge bulk of that is Buddys, which have become the bread and butter of Genuine, the scooter they're most identified with by the public. Should the Stella come to CA, sales would still be small compared to the cheaper Buddy which has a much wider appeal outside the traditional scooter market.

Steady Teddy wrote:Maybe ya can't get a BRAND new one, but you can get one that looks and drives like brand new in San Diego NOW!

Teddy, I removed your post because we don't allow selling outside of the for sale/wanted area. If someone's looking to buy, that's where they'll look.

Sorry Eric... forgot the rules for a moment. Thanks for setting it all straight, and thanks for this site. The Pink Stella scoot has been sold and I am delivering it tomorrow to the new owners. Gonna miss it...

Ted

Congrats on the sale. I showed the pix to my daughter. She loved it! It looked like ZERO miles on it! How many were there? Is it staying in SD? Such a sweet scoot!

Glad your daughter dug the pics. The scoot had only a tad over 300 miles on the odometer, so it was like brand new!

It went to an extremely nice couple up in Redondo Beach. As an early Xmas present for his g/f, I think he is now hooked on the "shifty" scooter concept, as he keeps emailing me with questions about the 4 speed Vespa/Stella concept. My guess is he'll be getting one of his own very soon!

ericalm wrote:You can register a Stella in CA if it's 3 model years old (as original run is now) or if it has more than 7500 miles on the odometer.

you are very knowledgeable

gearhead wrote:

ericalm wrote:You can register a Stella in CA if it's 3 model years old (as original run is now) or if it has more than 7500 miles on the odometer.

you are very knowledgeable

Don't overdo it. I don't see that anyone has been able to confirm the 3 model year business. Everything I have read, confirms the 7,500 mile rule.

Dooglas wrote:

gearhead wrote:

ericalm wrote:You can register a Stella in CA if it's 3 model years old (as original run is now) or if it has more than 7500 miles on the odometer.

you are very knowledgeable

Don't overdo it. I don't see that anyone has been able to confirm the 3 model year business. Everything I have read, confirms the 7,500 mile rule.

Yeah, I even said myself in a later post that I have been unable to confirm this. What I do know: people have been able to register Stellas and Vespa later PX150s with less than 7500 miles. Those I know who've done this cite the 3-year rule. I just haven't been able to find the exact code or any official documentation of this rule.

Well lookee here!
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