1999 Vespa Millennium T5

Number 110 of only 400 ever produced, this wonderfully original Vespa T5 ‘Millennium’ has only 64 miles on the clock. In storage for the past 20 years, the vendor inherited it from his Vespa-enthusiast brother in 2003 and kept it safely dry stored for the 15 years it took him to figure out what to do with it.

He eventually settled on having it lightly recommissioned, MoT’d and road registered in late 2018, so it is showing just the one previous keeper on the V5 registration document.

As you can see from the comprehensive photo album, it is still in showroom condition and would make the ideal centrepiece in an enthusiast’s collection – or for anyone looking to relive their youth on one of the Scooter world’s most iconic models.

The factory paint and panels are still as good as you’d expect given the scooter’s history and mileage. So, you’ll find straight, dent-free panels, very good alignment, and a decent shine to the finish.

The rubber running strips on the leg shields and the footrests are all fabulous but then they were replaced as part of the scooter’s recommissioning.

The badging and decals are original, unmarked and as they should be. There is an addition in the form of a sticker from vesparados.co.uk but this could be removed easily. The all-important plaque confirming its status as #110/400 is present and correct.

What little chrome there is is very good bar a small dent in the front mudguard, and the wheels are straight and clean. They’re shod with good tyres, albeit ones that are now time-expired; still, they’re original and we can’t imagine the new owner is going to rack up any kind of serious mileage on it.

Problems? Well, some of the aluminium parts are a little corroded and there is the odd rusty clip too, but these are all cosmetic in nature, superficial in appearance, and could be remedied very easily.

Other than that, there is some very light rust inside a couple of the seams, and some light marks near the numbered plaque and on the front mudguard. However, while these have been lightly touched-up the underlying and surrounding paint is still the original, so it would be up to the new owner to decide how/if they want to refurbish it, and to what extent.

The brown leatherette saddle was replaced when the scooter was refurbished. The replacement is unmarked and free of any creasing much less rips, tears, or other damage. The stitching is neat and even and free of discolouration or any fraying or easing.

The hand grips and other controls are also in fine fettle, and the only marks we can see are some very, very minor ones to the left-hand grip.

The tool kit, which lives under the seat, is complete and unused.

The recommissioning work included shotblasting and powdercoating the kickstart, flywheel cover, stand, carburettor cover, wheels, fork leg, rear hub backing plate, suspension spring, and the rear brake pedal. Other work included shotblasting and painting the front hub and exhaust.

The engine was stripped and rebuilt with new seals and gaskets, so that should have taken care of any perishing, drying out and shrinkage.

It was also fitted with a few new bits and bobs including the rear mudflap, both mirrors, various bits of rubber trim, and the brake and clutch levers.

Many of the old parts have been retained and will come with the scooter. Please see the photos for details of what is included in the final hammer price.

The Vespa’s paperwork includes a V5 registration document, some road tax paperwork, and the bill for the recommissioning.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this scooter has been refurbished to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the Vespa prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

How do you price something like this? Well, we started by looking at the price good examples have been sold for over the years. Advertised for around £2,000 in a well-used (and usually modified) condition, we think the lowest estimate for this highly original and barely used exemplar must start at twice that.

As for the upper limit, well, who knows? Scooters like this come up once-in-a-lifetime and we can see it might well end up reaching five figures, especially if two enthusiasts end up battling to own what is almost certainly the lowest mileage example still available.

And, of course, storing a scooter is considerably easier than keeping and maintaining a classic car – and it’s certainly small enough and clean enough to be kept in the house where it would make a terrific talking piece.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular scooter is located with the seller near Belfast; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.