Totaled Bike

[powrful1]

Now what:

Insurance says they will pay me $2875 for the bike.  (this includes 500 off for deductable)

If I keep the bike, they will give me $1175.

The shop said worse case to get it back on the road is <$500.

I figure I keep the bike I get $675 cold hard cash and a cosmetically blimished bike, or grab the $2875 and run.

Opinions???

[vtlion]

2875 is a hefty downpayment on a new GS500F  

[Hi-T]

Are you still paying off the bike?  How much did you buy it for? what year was the bike?

If you don't owe on the bike- I'd say take the money and drop it into another bike.  You'll get a clear title and may have some options.  If you keep the bike, technically you just spent $1700 on a salvaged ride... If I were you, it would be all about the Benjamins, and if I wanted a fixer upper I know I could find one for less.

[octane]

Yeah, for $1700 you can buy a GS that hasn't been dropped! I paid $1900 for mine and it looked brand new - with only 5,000 miles on it.

[Rema1000]

That $600 to repair probably doesn't include fees to have it inspected.  Also, there's some extra leg-work for you to do to get the paperwork in order.  It'll have a salvage title forever; while that's still legal to register and ride, it will have a much lower resale.  I'd pay maybe $600-$900 for a salvage-title GS.  Above $1k, I'd look for a GS with a clear title.

So I'd say: take the money and buy a replacement with a clear title.  This would be pretty easy to do if you were buying new.  But if you're on a student's income (zero), then you'd have to shop around for a while, which could be inconvenient.

[The Buddha]

Salvage buy back is 15%... They pay you 2875... the value is that + your deductable... which is 3375. The savlage buy back... open to you first and then to anyone else that wants to buy it... is 15% of that... ~500. Ergo... $2375 and bike... someone is pulling your leg... and I have a good idea who... The insurance company... the shop will hit them for storage... unless they get the bike... so buy letting you have the bike the shop is making you pay for the storage... could be as high as $75 a day+. The insurance company should have looked at their paperwork before they signed the contract with that shop for insurance work... Shops I know... will hold the bikes for insurance companies free of charge... the insurance co gives them second dibs... after you... That's the law... you get first. I bought back my 89 after the crash in 97 for ~$220... Its book was 1475, and I got 1475 - 15% ~$1350... I kept it in my brothers apartment parking lot and he charged them for storage... 10 days at $25 and the bikes oil leak cost them $50 ... That more than paid for the bike... I also charged them for loss of use, tolls, gas in my truck and the depreciation... and oh yea I commuted on the savage and nitehawk... Someone is getting screwed... and at this point its you... get a lawyer and charge them his fees as well. Those MoFo's need a beating. BTW the shop is being very clever in this whole issue...
Cool.
Srinath.

[The Buddha]

And salvage title... ha dont make me laugh...
The insurance company wanted my title so they could send it to the DMV and make it salvage... I convienently lost it... In all th confusion of the accident etc... maybe its at my brothers place... I'll aks him... I dragged it along till they gave up. They'd ask if I was fixing it and I'd say I parted it out, the next week I'd say I have it, the third week I sold it and then again parting out... The insurance adjusters... I went through 4 in 1 year... went crazy... That was before the doctors bills and chiroprator bills and the lawsuit. hell they were relieved I went to court... cos that slowed down the progress I was making in pushing them to chapter 11.
Cool.
Srinath.

[Rema1000]

So, Srinath, it sounds like you're saying that:

If Insurance offers $2875 for the bike, and it has a $500 deductible, then they have valued the bike at $3375.  And there is a law somewhere (?) which says that the totalled bike, with a salvage title, is worth 15% of that, or $506 (which sounds about right to me).  So the insurance company SHOULD offer to let powrful1 keep the totalled bike, with salvage title, and pay him $2369.  So their offer of only $1175 is a low-ball offer (and possibly illegal)?

Also, it sounds like if powrful1 gets the insurance company to pony-up the full $2369, plus the totalled bike and the salvage title, then he may still have some DMV inspection fees and mechanic storage fees, which he will find out about later.

It seems like, by their low-ball salvage offer, the insurance company is either hoping that he is a sucker, or else is pushing him to accept the $2875 offer.  Maybe the insurance company prefers to sell the bike to the mechanic?

You mentioned that the mechanic is being very clever?  How, by not being up-front about the storage fees?

Say, Powrful1, did you try to collect insurance for damages to your riding gear?  I wear a Roadcrafter and a nice helmet, so I'd love it if they were insured too, but my agent says that my insurance company doesn't insure clothing.

[powrful1]

Insurance will only pay for my helmet.

I talked to the fiance, and I think I am just going to take the money and run.

I hate to let the bike go, fyi 2002 GS500 with 4500 miles.  I got it for $3200 last June.  It had less than 500 miles at the time and almost all are highway miles.

What makes me sick, is it would take handle bars, left front blinker, clutch handle, rubber grip, and cover for that side, bar ends, and mirrors to get it back in riding condition.

The shop isn't charging me storage, if I take partial money and bike.

Damn this is harder than buying the damn thing in the first place!

[The Buddha]

Total loss value I believe is just a convention... 10 % if 10+ years old, and 15 percent if newer... else they will attempt to fix it. You can actually force them to fix it... They will refuse saying damage is too high and at that point you say you want to fix it and they should pay you what they will to fix it... and with a lot of reluctance they will pay up... I am telling you the only reason the insurance company is doing this... is if they dont give the bike to the shop the shop will screw them... That is however not your problem... the insurance co must read docs before signing it with dealers... they cant assume every totalled bike will be given to them... OK now insurance companies have deals with dealers, so they dont have to pay them if they dont get the bike... they get second dibs on it... For that privelege they are willing to forego the few that dont come their way... That is the standard I have seen... It doesn't cost them any cash in reality... cos the dealer agreements are like that. But in this case the stupid ins co has over committed to the dealer... who stands to gain big $$$ in either case. The ins co... wants the bike to go to dealer... or Powrful1 to pay the storage... neither of which is right... Reality is they hate to pay cash money... and I had trouble ... but within 2 days I asked the insurance company to take it to any shop they prefered and have the appraiser look at it there... I even sent them an address and details by fax asking them to collect it... they told me to leave it there... and paid me $25 for each day it was there... cos I told them I will charge them that much... maybe they didn't have an agreement with any local place so they didn't in my case... They should have asked powrful to pick it up and store it in his house... cos its still his bike... unless he is paid off and he signs off on it. The storage $$$ should come from them... and it should be a fair price on a bike that is washed as a total loss. and Total loss valued at $1700 is a little extreme... The mechanic was being clever by just wiritng up the contract with the ins co where he stands to gain big no matter what... which is really not his fault at all... who asked the insurance co to do it that way...
Cool.
Srinath.

[powrful1]

Oh I do own it outright, and the way the insurance company talked....
If I keep the bike and get the partial cash...that is all that will happen and the title won't change from normal to salvage.

Still I don't think it is worth it, and will probably take the money...but thanks for all your input so far....I will be reading posts on here for a couple of days before I make my final decision.

[The Buddha]

Look at it this way... If you take the bike and you have first dibs on it... you should get 2300+.
Cool.
Srinath.

[yamahonkawazuki]

ahhhhh, oh wise guru'ish one  

[The Buddha]

You might be better off talking to the shop... see what he wants for the bike if the insurance co sells to him... and then buy it from him... so take 2875 from ins co, and but it form him for say 1000... or less... and you have 800 more $$$. But honestly you should get 2300 and bike... Just if I was dealing with the stupid company... What if you take the $$$ and say lose the title...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Rema1000]

I think the title must have been stored inside the left-front blinker housing... which is now missing... yeah, that's the ticket!

I like Srinath's suggestion: take the cash, let the bike go to the mechanic, buy the bike WITH REPAIRS from the mechanic for <$1k.  The mechanic will be happy, as long as he does the fix-up work.

You mentioned that if you kept the bike, they'd let you keep the original title; but it would be illegal for them to "total" the bike, but not try to change the title to a salvage title.   It sounds fishy.

In fact, the whole thing sounds fishy, which is one reason to take the money: money is clean.

[powrful1]

I say totalled...but it probably isn't the correct terminology.  I haven't ever had to deal with this sort of situation.  It would just cost more to get the bike back to perfect condition from where it is now.

Hell I dunno....I have decided to take the money and talk to the shop.....who knows maybe I can get her back!

[jriff]

I was talking to my boss about your situation---- You can force the insurance co to pay you for what it costs to replace your bike considering milage and throw the book price out the window--seems like your ins co is screwing you one way or both ways,, if you are not happy about what you hear from them about replacing your bike,contact an attorney,tell them the situation and see what they say--my best friend sued allstate ins and one--true story--no bs almost a simular story,If your not shure contact an attorney most of them wont charge to hear what you have to say!!!!

[The Buddha]

Suing an insurance company is easy... Sue them... and they'll run for cover... They'll bend over backwards to please you... Suing over material hard facts will make them bankrupt in no time if 10% of their claimants did it... This is simply cut and dry... In medical issues they get to say the boob job wasn't neccesary because in the accident your boobs weren't damaged ... etc etc so that makes it sorta worth while... and pain and suffering... outrageous numbers for pain and suffering are thrown out by judges. I'd have sued the Mofo's when they told me 1100 and bike. But I guess you are trying to avoid more work... and are opting for the other way... BTW the bike from mechanic should be very cheap...
Cool.
Srinath.

[powrful1]

Final update on this thread:
The insurance company isn't budging....I just got a check for $2984 (3484-500) for the bike.
They are not allowing the shop to buy it any lower.  In fact, a motorcyle auction place is coming to pick up the bike from the shop tomorrow.
All and all, if you don't subtract the deductable, they are paying me more than what I paid for the bike and helmet. Those are the only things I am able to claim.

So I am no longer a GSr.....I will still be around the board, and when Suzuki makes a partial fairing or none again I will be looking for a new one, that or try and find another 2002 before next riding season.  

Thanks for all the support, information, and comradery!

Remember keep the dirty side down!