Shopping for a sporty scooter or moped at a price you can afford? You'll want to jumpstart your search for the right scooter by considering models from the best-known manufacturers, including Honda, Razor, Schwinn, Suzuki, Vespa, and Yamaha. A good scooter can be surprisingly cheap, too - used gas scooters are available for under $1000, and small electric models can be even more affordable.

While there is a wide range of new scooter makes and models available, you may also want to consider the classic scooters of the past.

By looking around a site like eBay you can often find vintage scooters from makers like Vespa, Lambretta, and Cushman that will let you get around town in style. These older models are coveted by collectors, so be prepared to find yourself in a bidding war with a devotee of classic scooters. And who knows, your first old scooter may be the first acquisition in a vintage moped collection.

Which brings us to the question, what's the difference between a scooter and moped? The simple answer is, not much. The two categories overlap substantially, though not completely.

By most definitions, many scooters are a type of moped. However, not all moped are scooters. Mopeds are usually defined as a small powered vehicle, usually with two wheels but sometimes with three, with a gas engine of 50 CCs (cubic centimeters) or less, and a top speed of around 30 mph or 50 km/hour. However, in some places vehicles with larger engines and higher speeds also qualify as mopeds.

Mopeds can include small motorcycles, motorbikes, and motor powered bicycles, vehicles most riders would not consider scooters. (In fact, the term "moped" is a combination of the words "motor" and "pedal," since the earliest models combined bicycle-style pedaling with a small engine.) On the other hand, many scooters have larger engines and higher top speeds than the strictest moped definition allows. So before this gets any more confusing, let's just conclude by saying that most scooters are mopeds, and some mopeds are scooters. But some aren't.

If you're looking for a powered scooter, you can choose between gas and electric models. Gas-powered scooters run off a small two-stroke engine generally not larger than 150 CCs in capacity. All the classic scooter models you'd recognize from movies and TV are gas scooters, and they're still the most popular choice for commuters and recreational riders. While they get great mileage, their engines are more polluting than their electric counterparts, an important consideration for some green-minded consumers.

Electric scooters have a motor you that runs off rechargeable batteries that can usually be plugged into a standard household outlet. They are a lot cheaper to run than a gas scooter, are very quiet, and produce no polluting exhaust. They can also be ridden inside a building, which you'd never want to do with a gas scooter. Electric scooters also have substantially lower maintenance costs over the long term. However, they can take a while to charge up, they're not as fast, and they have a much shorter range than gas scooters.

If you're just looking for a fun way to get around your neighborhood, you may not need a motor scooter at all - a foot-powered kick scooter may be the perfect option. They're nowhere near as expensive, you'll get more exercise from your ride, and best of all you'll feel like a kid again. One of the leading makers of kick scooters is Razor, which offers a variety of models for both children and adults, not to mention a line of small electric scooters.

Once you've done your research and decided on the scooter that's right for you, you should have no trouble finding a great deal at shopping sites like Amazon and eBay. With plenty of experienced online merchants to choose from, your new scooter or moped is just a few clicks away!