A colleague bought a brand new Vespa scooter a few weeks ago... Funny, as we are in Japan, and the best scooters are probably made here.
He discussed a lot (one month?) to get the best one, he got it, he talked a lot about it, and eventually was able to ride 106 km.

The facts:

1. When he got it, he had to replace one wheel, which was not straight (!!).
2. When he rode, some bolts wanted to leave the scooter (!!).
3. When he rode, the retrovisors prefered to change their positions randomly, probably in order to make riding in Tokyo a more challenging experience.
4. After 106 km, the scooter would'nt start anymore, and the repairman came to his place to pick it up. Game over.

With a MDBF (Mean Distance Between Failures) of 26.5 km, this Vespa was surely a good bargain (maybe oil accounted for half of its price?).
Also, as my colleague lives 4 kilometers from the office, he could (reasonably) be able to use the scooter 3 days per week (24 kilometers), and use a taxi the 2 other days. The week-end would of course be needed to repair the "scooter".

As a matter of taxi cost-cutting, he could prefer to use the Vespa like a Celerifere or a Draisienne the 2 usual failure days. This will be possible when the engine is down, but only if the wheels are still fine (and of course if enough bolts are still in place!).