Vintage scooter prices have had their ups and downs in the last ten years, but one segment of the scooter market that has gone up, and stayed up, has been the 200cc Lambrettas. I could postulate several reasons why (they are fairly rare, the English are ga-ga for them, etc.), but I will simply observe that prices for these scooters are far out of line with that for similar Vespas, or even other Lambrettas.
The case we have before us here is a TV200, which is for sale right now on Ebay out of Santa Cruz, California. This scooter is still in its original paint, but clearly is well used and somewhat beat up. On the other hand, the TV200 is really the gold standard of Lambrettas, and is likely the most desirable model. They are fast and pretty, and their rather short production run means that there is a fairly limited supply.
This scooter was previously for sale on Ebay, but somehow didn't sell. I'm thinking the seller was just trying to gauge interest, either that, or the buyer bailed. In any case, it is back on now, and has an opening bid of $8500, and a buy it now of $9200. No doubt that the TV200 in general is worth a lot, and I've seen them change hands for $10,000 before. However, this one is just in really poor shape cosmetically. If the owner wants to get that kind of money, he should just take the 3 months and restore the thing. Otherwise, he needs to get real, and drop the price. Given the market that I have seen, I think this is probably a $5,000 scooter in this condition (original, complete, tatty, but running well). What he's aiming for is probably what it is worth when totally restored to a high standard. I guess we'll get to see if someone bites at this price, but my guess is there will be no takers.
Boy, this sure makes me regret selling my TV200 in similar condition for $2500 ten years ago!
