Is It Time to Buy a Scooter?

OK, raise your hand if up until now you’ve only noticed scooters when you’ve been stuck behind one as they puttered along local streets, forcing you to keep to the 25 mph speed limit? (In the interest of this article, scooters—synonymous with mopeds—are defined as: a 2-wheeled vehicle with a saddle-like seat mounted on the footboard, propelled by a motor.)

Way back in the summer of 2008, when gas was hitting around $4 a gallon, I remember reading about the whopping increase in scooter sales all over the country. Today, with gas prices increasing by the minute—admit it, it DOES seem that way—and well on its way to $5 a gallon by summer time they say, more than a few of us may be thinking of investing in a scooter for those short, around town jaunts.

In fact we had a conversation about it at home last night. I commute to San Jose daily so the safety issue of driving Highway 17 and Hecker Pass place buying a scooter in the “not-an-option” category for me, but the retired guy I live with is thinking about it.

Now the boring part (and I’m not a math wizard), so bear with me. Let's just say for argument’s sake, that your car gets 20 MPG, the scooter you buy gets 80 MPG, and gas costs $4 a gallon. Every mile on the car costs $0.20 in gas ($4 per gallon / 20 miles per gallon = $0.20), and every mile on the scooter costs $0.05 in gas ($4 per gallon / 80 miles per gallon = $0.05). So every time you ride your scooter instead of driving your car you save $0.15 ($0.20 - $0.05 = $0.15). Thats 15 cents per mile savings.

But there are other financial considerations: finance costs if you aren’t paying cash (and who has that kind of cash these days?), depreciation, insurance, tax, title, dealer prep, repair and maintenance, not to mention a good helmet and other required safety gear. And speaking of safety, it’s a fact that two-wheeled vehicles are less safe than cars or trucks. You may believe that puttering around at 20 mph isn’t dangerous but what if you blow a tire or a bad driver in a car changes lanes without seeing you? With drivers in Watsonville plowing down pedestrians all over town, imagine your chances on a scooter or moped!

I’m not trying to talk anyone out of buying a scooter, they are fun as well as a convenient way of getting around, but saving gas isn’t necessarily the best reason to plunk down your hard-earned money on one.