The Economy of Motor Scooters

How to persuade spouse, or parents that you should have a motorscooter.

After about 5000 miles it will have paid for itself

Where scooters dominate, scooting in a suit is perfectly suitable.

(See our new Motorscooter Return On Investment Calculator)

-- With the payback point being what it is, a scooter is one of the most justifiable investments any driver with significant local traveling to do can possibly make. (Besides being a gas saver, it's also so much fun.)

Here's how to explain it to your spouse, parents (or children):

Each mile in an SUV costs in gas PPG/MPG where PPG is the price per gallon and MPG is the mileage of your vehicle. If the price per gallon is $3.00 and your vehicle gets 12 miles per gallon, 3/12 = a cost of $0.25 per mile.

Now calculate cost/mile for a scooter, guzzling gas by the teaspoon and getting 85 MPG (I calculated that my Tank sporty 150 gets 90mpg): 3/85 = about $0.035 – about three and a half cents a mile.

With these figures, it is simple to see that each mile on a scooter costs $0.215 less than it would in an SUV.

A Modern Vespa -- like no other.
See Vespa Motorscooters

Thus, you can see your savings on your scooter's odometer. When it reaches 5000 miles, you will have saved 5000 * $0.215 or $1075.00. It is clear that, if you have purchased a cheap scooter (see Best Motorscooter Deals), before your scooter registers 10,000 miles, it will have paid for the cost of the scooter and insurance, and be keeping significant savings in your pocket – even if your car gets a good deal better than 12 MPG. See our Motorscooter Return on Investment calculator. A similar analysis to this one, using different MPG assumptions appears in this MSNBC article by Denise Ono. Fuel savings can be further improved through Fuel Efficient Driving. Insurance for motorscooters is also much less than for a car. See Motorscooter Insurance.

Do you have a parent or spouse who needs persuading? Send them an email with this form; we've already done the persuading for you.

Enter e-mail address to send to:

Your e-mail (so your parent/spouse knows it's not spam):

Your name:

Please modify the following as needed:
Dear Dad, Mom, Algernon, Prudence (please adjust as appropriate), I need to get a motorscooter. It will save us a lot of money in the long run. With the payback point being what it is, a scooter is one of the best investments we could make. It will pay for itself in no time. Here's why: Each mile in an SUV costs in gas PPG/MPG where PPG is the price per gallon and MPG is the mileage of your vehicle. If the price per gallon is $3.00 and your vehicle gets 12 miles per gallon, 3/12 = a cost of $0.25 per mile. Now we calculate cost/mile for a scooter at 85 MPG: 3/85 = about $0.035 – about three and a half cents a mile. With these figures, it is simple to see that each mile on a scooter costs $0.215 less than it would in an SUV. Thus, when it reaches 5000 miles, the scooter will have saved us 5000 * $0.215 or $1075.00! -- just about the price of an inexpensive Motorscooter. This website tells all about them and where to get good inexpensive ones: http://motorscootermuse.com/ If we get one, I'll even clean my room/wash the car/invite your mother to tea/fix the vacuum cleaner/tell you what that thing in the backyard really is. (please modify) Yours, Sincerely, Love, Fond Regards, In Solidarity, Namaste, (Your Name)