| Author | Message | ||
     Mrcoffee |
And the dealership wants to total the bike. I don't think anything is majorly broken as I was able to limp home OK, but they're marking everything that's got a scratch as needing to be replaced. Service tech read off some of the bigger items and they marked the frame, swing arm, wheels, even the muffler. Any opinions on what I should do?Should I just go with what they say and call it into the insurance company or should I try and get them to just replace what I know needs fixing.(Bent handlebar and broken mirror, broken footpegs on the left side, broken shifter.) What happened is I hit some loose asphalt(or whatever they use to make those black lines on the roads) and then slid off onto the side of the road and the gravel. | ||
| Bueller69 |
Harley dealers & the Insurance Adjusters must be working out all sorts of kick-backs! I was just involved in an accident myself. The Harley dealer had $1800. worth of damage listed. When I went over it with the service manager, it turned out to be less than $500. A buddy bought a "salvaged" '05 XB12R for $1500. on Ebay. All it needed was minor repair. He ended up with a brand new bike with 1000 miles on it for under $2500. | ||
| Firebolteric_ma |
let the insurance company total it and buy it from them cheep. then just fix what needs fixing. you should end up pretty well off, i would think. i have no experties w/ this though... | ||
| Slaughter |
Don't be too disappointed, this is where track bikes are born. IF you have insurance and file a claim - it's out of your hands - the insurance company decides. Here's what you do - contact your insurance company and make them an offer to buy the bike on a salvage title. If say the bike is insured for $12000 and if there's say $10000 worth of damage (figuring replacement of EVERY dented and scratched component, part, nut and bolt at NEW retail costs) It doesn't take much damage to add up to huge bucks at retail prices. Most parts that are "totalled" are usable as-is - just polish out the scratches. If you offer your insurance company $3000, they'll total it and give you the title. You get a NEW bike AND a racebike for $3000. Think about it. If you don't want it, I'd bet there are a ton of vultures out there who might. (myself included) (Message edited by slaughter on April 06, 2006) | ||
| Mountainbiker90 |
it isn't quite that straightforward. i went thru it all myself. i only ended up with 6600 for an 04 xb9r w/2k miles on it and a race kit and some extras, plus a 500 deductible which was taken off of that. i bought it back for about 1500. the dealer said it needed about 6k or so of work done, but i had about 2k of parts into it by the time i was finished. it is in great shape once again- but remember it is still considered salvage and in some states titling is really difficult for that. | ||
| M1combat |
Too bad it's a CX... I'm looking for a salvage titled "R"  . Preferably something with bent forks... | ||
| Hippo888 |
If a bike has to be brought back to pre-accident condition, even minor cosmetic damage can total it. You may want to ask your insurance company if they have to bring the bike back to pre-accident condition cosmetically. As for dealerships wanting to total a bike, a dealership will make more money fixing the bike than totalling it (repairs and parts are a lot more profitable than giving it to the insurance company), so a profit-minded service manager will write-off as few bikes as possible. | ||
| Mrcoffee |
Well, called the insurance company today. The adjustor said he'd be able to get an appraiser to look it over Monday or Tuesday and call me back after. Guess I'll have to wait and see what they want to do for repairs. | ||
| Outrider |
From experience, I learned that the motorcycle insurance adjusters pad their estimates and retain some back pocket money to cover minor incidentals that aren't visible until the wrecked bike is disassembled. In my case, the four month old Concours was totaled by the adjuster unless I gave up claim to the saddlebags. Later I found out from the dealer that even though the bags were stock on the bike from the factory and were covered, the adjuster was trying to beat me out of them in case the fork needed replacement. The forks looked fine and the dealer claimed they were still in spec but that is the type of latitude the adjusters have to prevent going over budget on the unknown. In as much as I hated to see the bike go, I can understand where the insurance company was coming from.  | ||
| Xbman |
Working for a large insurance company I can just say that there is not too often a joint conspiracy with the dealers. Just a lack of trained appraisers on our end. The dealers do not repair, they replace. As a matter of fact if there is as much as a buff mark on a fork tube they replace the pair. But yes!!! Buy all you can for as little as you can. | ||
| Perry |
I low sided my bike last year. The insurance sent out a adjuster that THEY chose because she was supposed to know what she was doing. They wouldn't just let me take it in to the dealer. Her assessment went something like this: she: "That thing looks scraped. What is that called" me: "That's called the swing arm" she: Oh, maybe that pulley thing is scraped too. What do you call that? me: "Tensioner pulley" she: "And this broken thing is what you rest your feet on?" me: "yeah, the foot peg" etc. etc. In the end, the dealer gave a repair estimate that was TWICE the adjusters estimate. Yeah, lack of trained adjusters is an understatement. On a positive, the insurance company coughed up the extra money without too much hassle, but I am left wondering what the point was of sending her out instead of just letting me take it in to the dealer. | ||
| Gearhead |
If you want a track bike, you'd better buy it back because the days of a "Cheap" wrecked XB12R are gone!! Watch Ebay, totally trashed Buells are selling for crazy money since the chopper companies have come out with a frame for XB engines. I'm trying to buy a 12r for the track but at the current prices I'm better off prepping my street bike and buying a new one to ride on the street!! | ||
| Gearhead |
Here's the most recent example of what I'm talking about... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4627730908& sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT |
