Price
Popular brand named scooters can cost up to and over £2500, cheap scooters made by lesser known manufacturers cost around £699 brand new. Online prices are usually better for all

Result = cheap scooters win

Quality
According to reviews by customers of cheap scooters, the quality is very high. The quality of brand named scooters is also very high. Bran named scooter manufacturers often go the extra mile in terms of design and aerodynamics, but there really isn't any major difference between the two.

Result = draw

Reliability
Chinese scooters are very reliable as are popular brand name scooters, not much difference in terms of reliability. I personally had a Chinese motorcycle for about 6 months, during that time I experienced no mechanical problems with the motorcycle whatsoever.

Result = Draw

Warranty
Chinese scooters from Direct Bikes come with a 12 month warranty, brand new branded scooters have similar warranties.

Result = Draw

Parts
Spare parts for cheap scooters are widely available and are often sold by the same suppliers who sell branded parts.

Result = Draw

Running costs
Cheap scooters tend to be lighter in weight than the more expensive branded versions, meaning the running costs are often lower.

Result = Cheap scooters win

Insurance costs
As cheap scooters cost less, insurers realise that if you have an accident, the cost of repairing or replacing your scooter will be far less than the cost of replacing a branded scooter, which results in lower premiums for you.

Result = Cheap scooters win

As you can see above, there really isn't much difference between the branded scooters and the unbranded ones, apart from petrol costs, insurance costs and the actual price of the vehicle.

Something else to keep in mind is that you can buy cheap scooters online and have them delivered to your home address, which means you don't have to traipse around town for hours on end, looking for the best possible price. 

You may find that cheap scooters have a bad reputation, this reputation is based upon the older models and does not reflect the quality and longevity of the current models.
Some people believe that cheap scooters are more likely to breakdown than their more expensive counterparts, this simply isn't true, cheap scooters are just as reliable as the more expensive ones.

It's true that 10 years ago, cheap Chinese scooters were not the best quality, but in the last 5 years the Chinese stopped cutting corners and now make some of the highest quality, most reliable scooters on the planet.