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Cruiser
Posts: 143
Birmingham, AL 08 MC Tour Premium 2012 Bronze Mist | Minor accident caused my bike to be considered a total loss (08 Tour Premium) by the insurance company.
Geico hasn't impressed me at all with their claims process. It's been three weeks and they have yet initiated contact with me. Each time I have to call them to find out anything.
Supposedly they will have arrive at a value they can offer me on the 26th.
Here's my question for the experienced folks here, once Geico has paid me off, should I buy it back and fix it or maybe part it out?
The local Victory dealer's estimate for repair was $9,600, Geico's estimate was initially only $3,400.
I did a tally of the extra's I've added over 5 years and it's around $5k, some of which I can reuse on the 2012 I just bought.
Whaddaya think
Oh and Merry Christmas!!
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | If there aren't any 'HARD PARTS' bent or busted, I'd buy it back and start stalikng the 'net looking for folks selling parts, or peel it down, sell your parts on line and create the first 'chopped' Tour premium. Picture it bare bones with a 6 over rake turning a 21 inch laced wheel- |
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | Makes me want to cry .... (sob)
I DEFINITELY would buy it back - at the right price. |
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Tourer
Posts: 500
| Man what a shame...Hopefully you are okay and in good spirits...Remember it could have been worse!!! Good Luck with whatever you decide and I hope Geico steps up to the plate and makes it right for you...Having never wrecked a bike (hope it never happens) I don't know what is best, but it looks like it might be repairable...If your looking to up-grade then perhaps it is best to take the $ and buy a newer bike??? In any event try to have a Merry Christmas and I hope the New Year is better for you and yours......Regards.... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 103
Duanesburg N.Y. | $3,400 dqamage???? shit when my bike flipped off the bike lift there was $4,000 damage and it wasnt even moving. Hell if they can fix it for $3,400 tell to have at it but dont count on it. me i would sell off everything that wasnt needed to go down the road and make a rat bike out of it. i saw a stripped vision at a demo ride and have visions of stripping a vision down to nothing but a naked solo ride. i thought it looked hot.
But in actual life if you really like the bike start looking in the web for parts used. new will shock you at what plastic costs.
Eric |
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Visionary
Posts: 1365
Central Maryland | I wonder about GEICO. We have had Progressive for our auto's and have had a few incidents (not our fault. They have been very responsive.
...the Lizard on the other hand... has led me to doubt.. I currently have kept all three of my bikes under their coverage but that soon may change, good luck with your claim with them. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 78
| That sure is a LOT of depreciation for a 2008. Maybe they are using the accelerated cost basis to afford the lizard's high salary,,,,,,May have to reconsider my insurance carrier. |
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Tourer
Posts: 367
Cottage Grove, Mn | I would. It appears all the damage is cosmetic. Also as long as you buy it back from them you won't have a salvaged title either. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 277
Apopka, FL | FIRST THINGS FIRST!!! I have a patient who is a claims adjuster for Geico. He says it is his job to get a check into your greedy little hands as quickly as possible. He told me to NEVER NEVER NEVER accept their first offer! He works for the insurance company and it is his job to save them money. He says they will ALWAYS pony up more $$$, but most stupid people accept the golden check he has in his hands and once you do that, your claim is closed! Do due diligence and find out what your bike is worth on the net, so you can bump up their offer. I would also part out your '08 parts to transfer to your new '12.
Merry Christmas--my advice is my present to you! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 277
Apopka, FL | FIRST THINGS FIRST!!! I have a patient who is a claims adjuster for Geico. He says it is his job to get a check into your greedy little hands as quickly as possible. He told me to NEVER NEVER NEVER accept their first offer! He works for the insurance company and it is his job to save them money. He says they will ALWAYS pony up more $$$, but most stupid people accept the golden check he has in his hands and once you do that, your claim is closed! Do due diligence and find out what your bike is worth on the net, so you can bump up their offer. I would also part out your '08 parts to transfer to your new '12.
Merry Christmas--my advice is my present to you! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | Ok...as already mentioned....everything is negotiable.
First thing you HAVE to know is what your bike is worth. If you happen to owe a bank loan nevermind what you owe, this has nothing to do with the value. The best way to establish the value is to get values from as many sources as you can and then add up these values and divide by the number of sources. You can use NADA.com and KBB.com and Ebay.com and also call a few Victory dealers in your region. The more sources you use the more difficult it is for the ins adjuster to argue with you. Keep in mind that he is using just one source for a value. He will say that his source is an average value, however your counter-arguement is that you are using 4 or 5 or more average values to arrive at your final value.
Most or perhaps all of your add-ons are going to be depreciated. Probably on a 5 year scale of 20% per year. And if you are dealing with your own insurance company there is a chance you might not get anything for your add-ons unless you have a accessory type rider on your policy. And if they pay for an add-on they will probably require that it stays with the bike. Meaning you can't get paid for something like a custom seat and then remove it before the bike goes to salvage and then install it on a new bike, or even sell it. Because then you are double-dipping. Fo example... wreck and total the new bike with all of these add-ons that you switched over, then the ins co would pay for the add-ons again.
As far as buying the bike back I will be a little bit surprised if you are even allowed to. Many states have laws that prevent consumers from doing this. Basically these laws are anti chop shop laws. For example....here in Illinois in order to purchase any licensed vehicle that is totalled and is nine calendar years old or newer you MUST be a licensed rebuilder or salvage facility. But if you are allowed to buy it back....its probably going to be a bit more expensive than you think it should be. Due to contracts the ins co has with salvage yards the buyback could be 50% or more of the value. But your core question is whether you should buy it back or not.....well.....based on 30 years of experience in the collision industry.....my short answer is NO. The replacement parts are going to be fairly difficult to find used and fairly expensive to buy new. As far as parting it out you have a couple sources such as here and the other Vic boards and also Ebay. But you are only going to get about .25 cents on the dollar.....if your are lucky. And its going to take a while to sell everything.
Edited by Lotzafun 2012-12-25 9:14 AM
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Cruiser
Posts: 143
Birmingham, AL 08 MC Tour Premium 2012 Bronze Mist | Many thanks for the quick replies.
Blackjack that's invaluable info that it shouldn't have a salvage title if I buy back and
DrDecay, I've been waiting for someone with insurance connections to say exactly what you did, confirming what I suspected.
Lotzafun, good advice, I will document several sources for values. Not sure about Alabama laws concerning buy back. I guess a lot will depend on what I can settle with them for and then what they'll want for the bike.
For now all I can do is wait. I've got a broken collar bone so I just go in the garage, crank up the replacement, listen to the radio and dream of what it will be like riding again.
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | I had a Pontiac Fiero totalled out a few years ago (worth $4000 and got sideswiped while parked on the street). The insurance company gave me $4000, I bought it back for 10% ($400), fixed the minor cosmetic damage (about $500 in parts) and sold the car for $3500 a month later. I even told the insurance company what I planned to do. They said they didn't care. Their only job was to pay me what my policy said they were supposed to. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | Excelboy --- I've got the twin to that in my garage. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 143
Birmingham, AL 08 MC Tour Premium 2012 Bronze Mist | Monkeyman, you (we) have good taste  , but I do miss my 08. I had her just the way I wanted, cams, vfc, trailer hitch, etc, etc, etc,.....
Time to start over!
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Tourer
Posts: 499
Chattanooga, TN | Don't but it back expecting to repair it and ride it. It doesn't sound like that is what you want to do, just letting you know why so if that thought ever pops into your head, you know you have been warned. Some people do this. I have a friend who totaled his bike with less damage than yours appears to have. All it appeared to do was damage the skins. He bought it back from the insurance company, repaired it and drove it. The steering head was cracked. Had to remove everything and have it welded. Put it back together and rode it. Same thing happened again. Had it welded again. Then it happened again. I don't know why, but it is just about impossible to fix anything for long if it involves the neck. I can only guess the stress of the bike on that part just makes it impossible unless fresh steel is formed specifically for this. Looking at the bike, it didn't appear to be a big repair issue, but it just could not be fixed. Good luck! |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Not going to tell what to do or not do about the bike.
I would get 3 estimates for cost to repair the bike and get quotes on the value of the bike before the accident. Insurance companies are not out to make you happy just the stockholders and/or big bosses....
Glad it wasn't worse for you. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 803
Perry Hall, MD | I went down the same road in the past with a couple of salvaged cars. I learned a lot about the mechanics of each car, which was great, but there was always something that I wasn't quite satisfied with, and I ended up selling them off. Not something I would take on again.
Glad you're able to refer to it as a "minor accident" and will be riding again. |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | Boy, that looks familiar. Very similar to the wreck I treated myself to Oct 6, 2012. I only had liability insurance, but broke all the plastic parts in front much like you did. I don't think anything serious is damaged up front, but looked all over ebay and craigslist and didn't see much for parts. As you know, the front of the bike almost always gets to the accident first. And with only 4 years under it's belt, there's not much out there in any case. I quit counting when the dealers parts list prices exceeded $3,000.00. At least they come painted the right color. But I'm seriously considering buying some fiberglass and forming a proper Bozo nose for it, since it resembles the ol' boy anyway. |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| NO NO NO NO NO NO
hard to get insurance hard to get straight title parts are not cheap and hard to find
PLEASE DON"T BUY BACK |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | Insurance is easy to get. Comp/Collision is a bit tougher but not impossible. Not even difficult although you may pay a slightly higher premium. You may or may not end up with a salvage title. I've bought vehicles back after being totaled. Sometimes, I ended up with a salvage title and sometimes I didn't. Parts ARE expensive and sometimes difficult to find but it might be worth it if you have the time/money to spend parting it out. (Someone, somewhere needs the parts that are still good. Maybe not today or next week, but eventually.) |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Look in the mirror. If you walked up to any bike and the guy said it has a reconstruct tittle would you buy it.
No dealer will ever take one in on trade. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1066
Peru, IN | Of course you would buy it if the price was right and there was proof (receipts?) of the proper fixes. My '12 Vision was $20k (OTD), brand new with 1 mile and a clean title. If someone had the same bike with a rebuilt title and could prove it had cosmetic only damage that was fixed properly (maybe it fell off a truck?) and they wanted $15k, I probably would have bought it.
Dealers will take salvage/reconstructed bikes but they won't give you as much as they would with a clean title, even if the bike was in perfect condition. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 143
Birmingham, AL 08 MC Tour Premium 2012 Bronze Mist | Well, here's an update for those of you interested....
Geico gave me $13,777 for the bike.
They told me I could buy it back for $4,500 but the title would go back to the state. It would have to be re-titled as salvage if I rebuilt it.
They gave me the name of the insurance auction company that would sell it and told me I'd have to have a dealer's license to bid.
I'm going to strip what I can off of it tomorrow before it's towed from the local Victory dealership.
It's all good. I'll heal up and be riding my 2012 before it gets warm in Alabama!
Be safe and look out for liquid slim left by garbage trucks..... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 935
Rockford, IL | Did you do the "math homework" that I suggested? If so, how close was the ins co to your figures?
As I already mentioned.....need to be careful with removing anything from the bike. While it is rare I have seen a few folks actually be sued by the ins co for removing things. Basically when they pay you off the property then becomes theirs and removing items equals theft in their eyes. The risk is fairly small but is there and I wanted to make sure you are aware of it.
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Should I buy it back from the insurance company?
