Write off or not?
Discussion
I got sideswiped by a car while out on my GS 1200.
I went directly to the third party's insurance who admitted liability and instructed me to find a repairer.
Unfortunately the estimate is more than the value of the bike and it will probably be written off.
My question is if a payout is made by a third party without involving my own insurance co who the bike is insured with will the bike still be registered with DVLA as a write off?
Obvious questions :-
1. It's probably going to be Cat C and depending on what it will cost could be well worth me buying the salvage even if it has a marker against it. It will just affect the resale price.
2. Yes I've told my own insurance company 'for information only'
Drawweight said:
I got sideswiped by a car while out on my GS 1200.
I went directly to the third party's insurance who admitted liability and instructed me to find a repairer.
Unfortunately the estimate is more than the value of the bike and it will probably be written off.
My question is if a payout is made by a third party without involving my own insurance co who the bike is insured with will the bike still be registered with DVLA as a write off?
Obvious questions :-
1. It's probably going to be Cat C and depending on what it will cost could be well worth me buying the salvage even if it has a marker against it. It will just affect the resale price.
2. Yes I've told my own insurance company 'for information only'
Bear in mind it will usually be more expensive to insure again if it has been recorded as a total lossI went directly to the third party's insurance who admitted liability and instructed me to find a repairer.
Unfortunately the estimate is more than the value of the bike and it will probably be written off.
My question is if a payout is made by a third party without involving my own insurance co who the bike is insured with will the bike still be registered with DVLA as a write off?
Obvious questions :-
1. It's probably going to be Cat C and depending on what it will cost could be well worth me buying the salvage even if it has a marker against it. It will just affect the resale price.
2. Yes I've told my own insurance company 'for information only'
BertBert said:
martinbiz said:
Bear in mind it will usually be more expensive to insure again if it has been recorded as a total loss
Are you sure?I didn’t notice any particular rise in cost but what it does do is cut down the number of companies that will quote as quite a lot won’t insure write offs.
When I put my Fiat Panda back on the road after it was written off for minor panel damage the insurance co. I had been with wouldn’t quote for it again.
So the answer is it might and it might not.
Wish said:
It won’t be a CAT C. Being a bike it can only be a CAT N or CAT B
unless it’s minimal damage it will likely be a CAT B
You’re correct I’m a few years out of date with my write off categories.unless it’s minimal damage it will likely be a CAT B
A – Scrap only
B – Break for parts
S – Structurally damaged but repairable
N – Not structurally damaged but repairable
I’m hoping for N but it’ll probably be S depending if the engineer classes a bolt on subframe as ‘structural damage’ or not.
You can ask for a payment in lieu of repair. Unsure if they still do them but we had it a few years ago.
My dad had an 8 year old C2 Vtr, somebody went into the back of him, £1600 repair from insurance, you couldn't see any damage unless you looked up close, it was the hire car and new parts that made it expensive.
We argued it could be repaired cheaper ourselves, they offered us £1500 to settle. We accepted, went down the scrap yard and got a new rear crash bar, didnt have a bumper so we left the original on (some slight cracks) - walked away with £1450 in our pockets, until 3-4 weeks later when the engine decided to be a 3 cylinder
My dad had an 8 year old C2 Vtr, somebody went into the back of him, £1600 repair from insurance, you couldn't see any damage unless you looked up close, it was the hire car and new parts that made it expensive.
We argued it could be repaired cheaper ourselves, they offered us £1500 to settle. We accepted, went down the scrap yard and got a new rear crash bar, didnt have a bumper so we left the original on (some slight cracks) - walked away with £1450 in our pockets, until 3-4 weeks later when the engine decided to be a 3 cylinder
Wish said:
Bikes don’t get an S category.
It will either be a CAT N or CAT B
You've said that twice but the industry seems to disagree with you.It will either be a CAT N or CAT B
https://www.carolenash.com/tips-guides/biking-tips...
strain said:
You can ask for a payment in lieu of repair. Unsure if they still do them but we had it a few years ago.
My dad had an 8 year old C2 Vtr, somebody went into the back of him, £1600 repair from insurance, you couldn't see any damage unless you looked up close, it was the hire car and new parts that made it expensive.
We argued it could be repaired cheaper ourselves, they offered us £1500 to settle. We accepted, went down the scrap yard and got a new rear crash bar, didnt have a bumper so we left the original on (some slight cracks) - walked away with £1450 in our pockets, until 3-4 weeks later when the engine decided to be a 3 cylinder
Something similar for me. 11-year-old Focus Estate in excellent condition for a car half its age. Someone drove into my front n/s wing, damaging it and the front bumper. Cost of repair deemed too high. Asked them to go with s/h parts. They agreed. No marker on the log book. The insurance assessor seemed only too willing to help. Pleasant chap. My dad had an 8 year old C2 Vtr, somebody went into the back of him, £1600 repair from insurance, you couldn't see any damage unless you looked up close, it was the hire car and new parts that made it expensive.
We argued it could be repaired cheaper ourselves, they offered us £1500 to settle. We accepted, went down the scrap yard and got a new rear crash bar, didnt have a bumper so we left the original on (some slight cracks) - walked away with £1450 in our pockets, until 3-4 weeks later when the engine decided to be a 3 cylinder
Wish said:
I am a qualified engineer with the appropriate qualifications to categorise salvage.
Below is the section you are looking for.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CATEGORISATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE SALVAGE
NOVEMBER 2019
That’s interesting.Below is the section you are looking for.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CATEGORISATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE SALVAGE
NOVEMBER 2019
Edited by Wish on Wednesday 29th September 20:58
When the dealer examined my BMW GS1200 and assessed it amongst other things it had a twisted subframe (must have been minor as it wasn’t visible when I looked)
This I am assuming is what made it cat B when the insurance’s engineer looked at it but the subframe is purely bolt on and obviously can be safely replaced.
I think he’s been over cautious and it could be safely fixed very easily, bearing in mind the rest of the damage was minor.
I’ve looked here https://www.motorbikehistorycheck.co.uk/write-off-... and can’t see the justification for not repairing it.
Do you think he was wrong or do the regs not give him a choice?
Wish said:
I am a qualified engineer with the appropriate qualifications to categorise salvage.
Below is the section you are looking for.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CATEGORISATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE SALVAGE
NOVEMBER 2019
Thanks for that, very interesting reading.Below is the section you are looking for.
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CATEGORISATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE SALVAGE
NOVEMBER 2019
Edited by Wish on Wednesday 29th September 20:58
Without seeing images of the bike it’s impossible for me to comment.
However what I will say is that with the old system of A,B, C and D it was very easy as it was worked out on a values vs cost of repairs.
Now the System is S or N it come down to the repair methods of what you are allowed to repair and what can’t be repaired vs safety.
You see so many times people saying that not an S that’s an N …. Man on the street think they can work it out, but there is so much to it now.
Things like the material the panels are made of, how they are fitted, can it be a safe repair. Will the manufacture methods allow the repair.
It’s a mind field, and it has to be right to cover the Engineer that is qualified to make the decision.
The value vs cost have been taken out of the equation, it costs the insurance industry more money, some things that are B or S would make your eyes water.
High strength steels, carbon fibre used in construction have really changed the game over the last 10 years and contained to change all the time.
The categories needed to change with the times. If buying repaired salvage nowadays you really need to know your stuff because there are cars for sale that are not seeing manufacture methods being used and old techniques being used to repair that are just dangerous to the end user and the passengers they carry.
However what I will say is that with the old system of A,B, C and D it was very easy as it was worked out on a values vs cost of repairs.
Now the System is S or N it come down to the repair methods of what you are allowed to repair and what can’t be repaired vs safety.
You see so many times people saying that not an S that’s an N …. Man on the street think they can work it out, but there is so much to it now.
Things like the material the panels are made of, how they are fitted, can it be a safe repair. Will the manufacture methods allow the repair.
It’s a mind field, and it has to be right to cover the Engineer that is qualified to make the decision.
The value vs cost have been taken out of the equation, it costs the insurance industry more money, some things that are B or S would make your eyes water.
High strength steels, carbon fibre used in construction have really changed the game over the last 10 years and contained to change all the time.
The categories needed to change with the times. If buying repaired salvage nowadays you really need to know your stuff because there are cars for sale that are not seeing manufacture methods being used and old techniques being used to repair that are just dangerous to the end user and the passengers they carry.
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