Vespa Miami

I always wanted to love this place. I tried. I even spent a lot of money here; bought a rather expensive 150cc Vespa. But the owners/​staff just never seemed like they could be bothered to help or give a sh.t. I have to say that the service department has always done what they said they would do, and that’s the reason I give them two stars and not one.
In this day and age we sort of know that bad salespeople and bad attitudes and unhelpful staff will doom a business to failure. Apparently this has not occurred to the owners and management of Miami Beach Vespa.

I went to Vespa Miami to look and get prices on a scooter, I walked out 45 minutes later and bought a scooter.
Javier was amazing, he answered all my questions, and was so patient with me while I making my decision .
Great customer service, would highly recommend anyone who is looking for a scooter to go there.

Vespa~The Ferrari of Scooters, thank you-​Tony, Joe, Javier & Martín. For providing Sobe over the years Excellent Innovations, promotions & of course doing ur jobs & them some. Kudos… Team work makes the dream work;)

If you’re familiar with Vespa Miami, over the years you might not have been pleased with the sales and service department. Many friends had issues of misinformation from sales to being told the scooter in service would be ready and it was not.
However, if you’ve been to Vespa Miami in the last six months (give or take) the experience has improved drastically for the better. Javier and Ed are honest, respectful and very knowledgeable. I recently had a scooter serviced and was thinking about purchasing new. Javier arranged to have a scooter brought down from another one of their locations so I can test drive it. It was beautiful but I decided a few days later I wanted something else. He understood and arranged again for a totally different scooter to be brought to the shop, was going to give me a decent trade on current (wound up selling on my own). I purchased the new scooter and had it ready on time as promised and all the paper work was exactly what we discussed regarding numbers.
If you have not been to the dealership lately, give them a try! Great guys!

I bought my scooter with them in september, brand new. It died so i call them because it was under warranty. They said it was the battery and they change it and also cleaned the carburetor. Lies! When i start using it again it was worse than before, i take it to another place and the scooter just needed a valve to be replaced and to… Clean up the carburetor!!! They lie to me and i think they did something on purpose so i have to take it back with them so they can get some money from me. They’re scammers.

PLEASE READ THE UPDATE BELOW !!!
I’m only giving this place 2 stars now but I may revise this review after my next visit. So far I’m on the fence. Last week I stopped by to buy some parts and was convinced by the attendant’s expertise to bring the bike in for service. I recently bought a used LX150 from a friend and to start from scratch I will start w a service call and will follow up w them if they prove themselves. I had an independent mech come to my house and charge me $ 80 for a carb clean job that was half done. Two other craiglist mech guys were totally unprofessional and gave me a bad vibe. I’m willing to spend the extra money for the right service. It’s a Vespa so I figured I’d pay more to maintain it.
My low rating is based on a couple of things. I bought an item that the same attendant wasn’t sure would fit so he guessed one out of three parts. He was wrong. It didn’t fit so I’m returning it. The other issue I have w them is kind of a perception thing. I asked about a key I needed duplicated. Was told by the same person that I needed to spend $ 800 to get a master key which I could then use to make duplicate clones with. End of story. My friend who sold me the bike sez he was charged $ 40 for a duplicate key which didn’t work. He claims he asked about it and was told it would work. Now, either the attendant didn’t know what options are available or just wanted to charge the $ 800. I say this because I did a little online searching and found a California store that makes copies off a clone key with the security code for $ 37.50. I send my clone key to them last Tuesday overnight and they overnighted back to me 2 copies for $ 75. Guess what, they actually work and the bike starts. So from a potential $ 800 to a $ 75 fix. Again, the Vespa store guy may not know about this. Or he knows and is not telling customers. Maybe he assumes all Vespa owners are affluent. Maybe he’s ignorant. Either way, it makes me wonder.
That said, I will bring my bike in for service and I assume everything will be fine. I was told I can drop it off in the morning and I will be able to pick it up in the afternoon. We shall see.
And like I said, I might come back and add a star or two to my review or take one off. It’s up to them.
PR
UPDATE:
After receiving service on my LX150 from these guys I’ve upgraded them to 5 stars.
Simply said, they were fabulous. I dropped my bike off for service. The stated quote was close to $ 500. When I picked up my bike I ended up just paying $ 150. They didn’t do stuff that wasn’t needed. Bike was dropped off the day before it was scheduled for service because I couldn’t bring it the actual day. It was ready for pick up before noon. I can’t say enough about the great service I received and they took the time to explain Vespa stuff to me. This is my 1^st one so I’m learning the workings of the bike. Even the mechanic happened to be at the front counter and he explained a few mechanical things to me. I appreciate that. As far as the clone key issue I mentioned goes, I finally realized that as an authorized Vespa dealership they just can’t offer 3^rd party services. They totally knew about the California place that made me copies but didn’t tell me about it. Imagine if I go there and I have a terrible experience or my one key is lost by the California place. I then can come back and bitch the Vespa guys out for «recommending» I used the California place. Makes sense to me. Back to my service call; they figured the air filter that was placed in my bike and the spark plug were not the right ones. The spark was too big and the filter was a home made cut out piece of foam. The budget mech who worked on the bike when it was owned by the former owner basically fixes lawn mowers and blowers. He ain’t a Vespa mechanic. You get what you pay for I guess.
From now on this is the ONLY place that will touch my bike. Period.
Thank you Vespa Miami !

I was staying in Key West and the drive belt on my Vespa broke. The nearest dealer was Vespa Miami — 180 miles away. I called to explain my situation, he made sure he had the parts, and I headed out early one stormy morning. Miami Beach, and the shop was flooded, but without even blinking, he directed me to their separate repair shop (the streets were flooded there, too) where they lifted my bike off my rack, keeping it out of the floodwaters. Knowing how far I had come, I was grateful they could still see my scooter. It was fixed in a few hours and I was on my way. Very reasonable cost, and fixed perfectly! I can’t thank them enough.

These guys are great and totally hooked me up. They really worked with me to find the perfect Vespa! I love my new scooter :)

I purchesed a Piaggio Thypoon 125 2012 used with only 850 miles, the 2^nd day I used it died on me and was towed to the Vespa dealer on monday morning. I called in the morning to let them know that is my scooter and they told me that they know me (as they tougth was the previous owner) and I needed to clean the carburator and was not under warranty. I explained that I am a new owner and they recorded my info in the system. When I called on tuesday a guy named Eddy was annoyed and rude in providing any information. IThey called me on thursday and they said: the bike needs to be changed the ignitor and you have to pay 1^st service to keep the warranty active. My bike was maybe gone be ready tonight or tomorrow. Then I called on friday morning and they told me is ready come pick it up and call us 1 hr before you come. Ok i complied to their requests and when I go there at 5:30 p.m. I wait 40 minutes before I am able to pay for the 1^st service of $ 146 dollars! To my disbelief the bike is dented and scratched on the left side and is dirthy. I show it to Tony and he admits that the bike came in the towing truck laying on left side, so evidently was dropped. We takes some pics of the damages i write a letter and send it to the Alpine towing co. and Roadside Assistance Road America Motor Club to get some compensation for the damages. They don’ t want to talk to me and after a week they send me a letter saying that the Vespa Dealer stated the bike was already scratched (wich it wasn’ t on that side) and they are not able to compensate for any damages. AT THE END OF THE STORY THE BIKE WAS NOT REPAIRED (i would have to leave for maybe 2 weeks to solve the problem!!) IT KEPT GIVING ME PROBLEMS (would stop and dye if was not well warmed up) SO I SOLD IT TO A DEALER AFTER 3 WEEKS OF OWNING IT TO BUY A NEW KYMCO 50 CC. The Vespa dealer lyed to quickly solve a problem and gave poor customer service. I believe they are not capable of solving simple mechanical problems, they offer poor customer service STAY AWAY FOLKS !!!

Horrible place they have no idea what they are talking about ! I bought a tire for my Stella and they said it would fit even though I questioned it, I have him the model the tire measurements and he said it would def fit, after I purchased it it of course did not fit at all, I should have followed my instincts than go with this place whom has no idea about Vespa, complete waste of a day driving back and forth to return it and when I came back a few hours later to return it he questioned me saying it should have fit, and then saying wrong measurements to me, honestly I will never go back, why would I willingly inflict people’s stupidity on to myself on my only day off work, oh and the blonde girl who works there, if she does any more than clean the counter I would be scared to ever purchase anything there, she’s a bigger idiot than the guy behind the counter, knows nothing about bikes, any way it took one Saturday to enforce that I will never go back ! And I hope people read some of the bad reviews posted here on Unilocal so they don’t waste a beautiful day in Miami dealing with complete morons

I have been doing business with this shop for over 2 years. They overhauled the transmission on my MP3 after the previous owner sold it to me without fluid. They did a perfect job at a very fair price.
Also helped me on several occasions with great advise and saved us from sure accident by alerting me about low tire pressure on my wife’s Vespa. If your looking for great sales and service this is your place!!!

I recently came into possession of a 2001 Vespa ET4 150 that had been sitting around collecting dust for years with only 300 miles on it. I tried to get it back to being roadworthy first through these guys, as being the closest dealership, they were the obvious choice. Their original quote was over $ 1200. I figured with this much work being done, they’d be willing to negotiate a bit. Try as I might, they wouldn’t budge much. They were going to take back the measly 10% parts discount I’d talked them into if I brought in my own pair of replacement tires (identical ones that Amazon was charging $ 109 for shipped versus Vespa Miami’s $ 186 quote). At this point, I figured I should have a friendly chat with the owner to try to understand what his reasoning was. The manager, Eddie, flat out refused to let me speak with the owner, telling me he didn’t want to speak with me. At this point, I no longer wanted to give them my business.
I found Beach Scooter through a
forum post. I called and spoke with Sagi (the owner?) and he was very pleasant. I told him all the work that needed to be done and he quoted me $ 900. He used original Piaggio parts (like the dealership would have) and I have no complaints about the workmanship. She runs like a champ.
Maybe these guys have great mechanics and they certainly must have lots of Vespa experience, but personally, I’d rather patronize a place with less of an obvious feeling of entitlement to your business that feels more like they need to earn your appreciation instead of just deserving it.
Today, a couple weeks after I got the scooter back from Beach Scooter, the engine died with no warning while I was out. Sagi answered the phone and had me bring her in. I walked her over there and left it for a couple hours. It was determined that the ignition coil had died. This wasn’t even part of the original repair, but they replaced it for no charge. I was back on the road a couple hours later :) I’d be highly surprised if Vespa Miami would have extended the same courtesy.
Bottom line: there’s at least one other place on the beach that will likely treat you better.

All these bad reviews made me not want to go there. I am thinking of selling my car and getting a vespa. Its 2 blocks from my house. I finally walked up in there and they were great. The left me alone to browse but when I had questions they were very knowledgable and helpful.
These other visitors must have been a bit off.
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I just bought a new Vespa S50. Eddie was awesome. Perfect customer service. He was very helpful and taught me to drive a scooter and all the particulars of operation. Recommended for sure!

I own several Vespa’s that are ridden @least 100 – 150 miles a week. With the exception of a minor electrical parts issue on x2 of them in 6yrs. I have no quality complaint issues.
As far as service issues go… I have to laugh @ all these people who bitch about the service aspect. From buying a Vespa to getting one serviced, to getting one repaired!
Buying a vespa: let’s see where do I start? Most people when they walk in are expecting (rent me scooter prices) on IMPORT bikes! Really people! Really? If you did your homework you would know that MSRP, is just that a «suggested price» these are import bikes and more than likely any «wiggle room» will be on older models, that’s why manufacturers have «promotions» that dealers either participate in or not! I don’t understand why someone would walk into a dealership looking to «purchase» and then get sticker shock ’cause the scooter they «dream» about cost 3−5K more than a bottom feeder version (meaning the brand, not the people who buy them for those of you looking for a fight). Bottom line «don’t be a douche when buying a Vespa and you won’t get treated like one» imagine the surprise the «sales guy» gets when yet another «serious buyer» walks in with his head up his ass, showing off his wealth, ya he’s never seen that before on south beach!
Getting a vespa serviced: The number one reason people bring their Vespa in for service is because they DON’T use it! For those of us who use our bikes daily we know the cost associated with maintaining a Vespa. I agree their prices seem high, hell its only a scooter right? NOT! It’s an IMPORT! And as anyone who has ever driven and import can tell you maintenance is expensive… My suggestion «buy something you can afford to take care of» for the rest of us keep in mind more people buy bikes they don’t take care of, hence the backlog in their service dept. I have witnessed this 1^st hand as people bring their vespa in because they have not started it for x4 months and then wonders why the «battery» is dead… Lmao!
Repairing a Vespa: ok I have to agree with one of the reviews about the x3 week thing! But… It’s not the dealers fault, really! Piaggio is notorious for parts delays because really what dealer would want to tie money up in inventory for a part that most likely will sit on their shelves for 16 months?! Your Vespa will sit around until the part arrives, even if it’s cosmetic, ’cause its really not. They remove all the old emblems and those parts are not always «lying around» and your bike will remain in the bay «as is» so they wont have to risk «loosing a screw» taking your bike apart. As much as waiting x3 weeks sucks and not having your «daily commute» sucks more. There really is a reason for this, they (Vespa & Body shop) won’t know how extensive the damage is until they get in there! Just like a dr. Won’t be able to tell you how big a mass in until it’s out. They can guess, but that’s why they have ESTIMATES!
Now for those of you who say «this guy must work them» or «he’s the owner», I am not. What I am is a someone who owns more than x5 of their Vespa’s and has been doing my service with them for x6 years. Hell! If you ask me, they guys they have in their now are better than the manager they had before (the short guy).
Vespa’s are an «elitist» brand (as one reviewer stated. But that’s why you pay more for a brand, reliability. I am sure if I had the time to rebuild my engine, or the actual desire or space, I would. But the bottom line is don’t get pissed off and write a negative review of a place based on the fact that you could not «show off» properly to your GF.
LOYAL CUSTOMER

We have stopped into this store on more than one occasion and the quality of service has improved vastly from 6 months ago. Eddie, store manager and Tony, owner, were both in the store on our last visit to take a more serious look at purchasing an LX50. The store is very busy and yet Eddie is capable of assisting more than one client at a time. He has a sense of humor and makes the experience a bit less stressful. Both went out of their way to answer any questions, allow us to drive one and check incoming units for the color we want. We were there for probably an hour and weren’t rushed or bullied into buying one. We will certainly buy one from this location when we find the one we want. The prices are pretty firm since the demand is so high for the 50cc models, unfortunately.

We decided that while we were out this evening grabbing an early dinner we would stop by at the vespa shop because I have been planning on picking up a GTS300 Super for my girlfriend for the past 4 months.
Now, all I wanted to do was take a look at what they had in their showroom section with the hope that they might have a GTS or GTV 300 we could look at without being bothered. I’m reinforcing my purchase plan before I pick it up next month.
We walked in, looked around, were greeted. but then the guy working the counter starts asking all kinds of questions. He asked if we were from the area, etc. Of course, I have lived in miami for quite some time now!
Shop dude: «Do you guys know where the beach is? You’re very pale»
Me: Yeah we know where the beach is but we don’t go much at all. I have a job and spend most of my time working on projects at home when I am not at work.
Shop dude: «Do you currently have a scooter?»
Me: Yes, I have a couple, we rode my Aprilia SR50 over here.
Shop dude: «Oh man, is it a ditech?» Yes.
Shop dude: «You better watch out with that one. You are going to be sorry.»
Me: Why would I be sorry?
Shop dude: «Once they blow up they are gone.»
Me: I don’t know about that. I talk to about 100 people with SR50’s weekly. I work on mine all the time and have it all hopped up. I have never heard of one blowing up. But in the event that it did, I could hone it and rebuild for under $ 300.
This just shows that the dude we were dealing with knows absolutely jack about scooters or the mechanics of an engine. Not only that. but he had to be the worst salesman I ever came across.
After discussing the GTS300’s that they had available, he told me that he could drop the price on last years model by maybe $ 400 off of the $ 7400 price tag. $ 7400? Let’s see. the MSRP on a GTS300 Super is $ 6199. Where is this $ 1200 from?
TIME TO LEAVE!
I can understand that Vespas have become synonymous with the clueless douchebag crowd much like apple products. but man, what an idiot they hired to work at this store.

The only reason why this review earned 2 stars was because of how much I love the Vespa brand and their adorable scooters. I have a baby blue one and recently had to bring it in for repairs after a truck had backed into it. They told me it would take 3 weeks to be fixed which I thought was outragous but even more so was how many times the manager told me not to call and check up on them??? I felt that I should be able to call or stop to check up on MY scooter when ever I felt necessary but I didn’t want to be a pest, so I let them do their thing. 3 weeks went by and I heard nothing from them. I called to check up and the bike hadn’t been touched yet. I was pissed to not have my scooter for 3 weeks and to learn that it was just sitting in their workshop. My repairs were cosmetic so I could have been using the bike all that time. Another week and a half went by before finally being finished. The manager had no feelings about it taking so long; no apology or explanation… just «it is what it is» attitude. It also cost me an arm and a leg so needless to say I will be going elsewhere from now on.
The shop does have a bunch of cute scooters but don’t expect any kind of deal on the prices because they don’t negotiate.

I was at the Vespa dealer today, looking to test drive and potentially buy. I’m a bicycle rider mostly, haven’t owned a car in 2 years – I want a scooter for when I need to get to Midtown or North Miami Beach, but I’m hesitant b/​c I don’t really want to increase my carbon footprint, and scooters are a little scary.
Especially because even the smallest Vespa is bigger than I thought it was.
So I’m nervous, like very obviously nervous. You’d think the people working there would want to put me at ease, right? You know, be at least NICE to me, I mean they want me to BUY, right? Well, apparently not.
I got a less than 2-​minute lesson on how to control the Vespa (mind you, they know I’ve RIDDEN on a scooter before, but that I’ve NEVER DRIVEN one), was handed a helmet, and told to climb on. Right there. On 17^th and Alton. With cars coming in every direction.
Umm. Hell no?
I told the guy thanks but no thanks, and I walked home.
I’ll be taking my scooter business elsewhere. First of all, I’ll be getting something smaller (and less name-​brandy, just saying). And I’ll be buying from someone who will be willing to give me a real lesson. You know, like in a parking lot instead of on a main road.
I’m sure that Vespas are awesome, they certainly are cute. But the people working at Vespa in Miami Beach – well, they made me not want to buy one, and they also made me want to write my first negative Unilocal review.
So there,

Reminiscing back on my trip to Europe a few summers back, I had to step foot inside Vespa Miami Beach. This store is located on the corner of Alton Rd. and 17^th right before hitting Dade Blvd. I only stopped in for a moment and the attendant was clearly assisting someone who really was purchasing a Vespa so I just basically window shopped. I love the classic appeal brought into their newer models, but the older ones are just as great. All colors and styles, these scooters are really something to fall in love with. Especially if you live on the beach. Commodity and gas mileage is a major plus. Now I can see why this ride is all the rage in Europe. I would love to go back and inquire about prices. Who knows, I just might purchase one. A girl can dream!