I really wasn't interested in scooters until I met my girlfriend two years ago, who owned a TNG Milano 150 (yes, a Chinese Scoot). She bought it from the local scooter store who has since stopped carrying them because they're a nightmare company to deal with, as expected. She still has it and it's running well, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Anyway... I was very interested in hers and we stopped by the scooter shop (
www.goscootover.com/) on a routine basis for me to drool. They carried Modern Buddy and Kymco and I was starting to save up to get a MB Rattler 110. Then, as I was perusing the local Craigslist, I came across this guy selling a 2002 Kymco Bet & Win 250 with only 2000 miles on it. I was instantly sold!
We went and looked at it that evening and I fell in love. Unfortunately, the cheap price was due to it having a salvage title. Apparently the first owner rear-ended (at low speed) a pickup truck with it's tailgate down. The owner was unhurt but all the plastics on the front end and windshield were smashed, as well as some scrapes on the right side when she dumped it after colliding. So it was considered a total loss, even though the body was straight, etc.
The 2nd owner bought it as is at an auction, fixed it up with all new plastics, and that's when I bought it. It still has the scrapes on the right side (very minor) and he never purchased the outside temperature sensor but I don't really care about that. So that's how I got my B&W 250. I use it to commute 13-miles each way to work 3-5 days a week and just love it.
I already added some driving lights to the lower turn signal pods for better visability, and I'd like to add some performance upgrades after new tires.
And here is the local scooter group (of all makes/models) at a run up Mt Lemmon. Mine is on the far left: