Found my "written off" bike on Kijiji

slowbird

slowbird

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
So I was browsing Kijiji for fun and found my old bike that got written off in May this year.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-tourin...50/1190306693?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Would this person be selling this bike with a Salvaged title because it was written off? Or maybe trying to pull a fast one on someone?

Considering it hit the passenger side of a Kia at 50km/h I doubt the damage is only cosmetic.

I sent him a message asking about it since I'm curious.



...my poor bike :(
 
Last edited:
Depends upon how major the damage was and what your insurer did with the title. My bike had purely cosmetic damage when it went down in May. But due to the high cost of OEM parts, the insurer calculated that it was cheaper to write the bike off. It was NOT given a salvage title. They would have sent it to auction and someone likely picked it up for well under 50% of the bike value. They will throw on aftermarket parts etc, and have a nice riding bike or they will flip to someone else, (could be a dealer even picked it up).

Edit: Looked at pics on Kijiji, despite the poor quality, the insurer would NOT have switched the title to salvage, (they can get more for a bike without the salvage title). He likely picked the bike up at auction for $500 - $750.

slowbird said:
So I was browsing Kijiji for fun and found my old bike that got written off in May this year.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-tourin...50/1190306693?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Would this person be selling this bike with a Salvaged title because it was written off? Or maybe trying to pull a fast one on someone?

Considering it hit the passenger side of a Kia at 50km/h I doubt the damage is only cosmetic.

I sent him a message asking about it since I'm curious.



...my poor bike :(
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
hedo2002 said:
Depends upon how major the damage was and what your insurer did with the title. My bike had purely cosmetic damage when it went down in May. But due to the high cost of OEM parts, the insurer calculated that it was cheaper to write the bike off. It was NOT given a salvage title. They would have sent it to auction and someone likely picked it up for well under 50% of the bike value. They will throw on aftermarket parts etc, and have a nice riding bike or they will flip to someone else, (could be a dealer even picked it up).

Edit: Looked at pics on Kijiji, despite the poor quality, the insurer would NOT have switched the title to salvage, (they can get more for a bike without the salvage title). He likely picked the bike up at auction for $500 - $750.
Click to expand...


Very interesting. Thanks for the info.

Crazy how little it is going for and how much the insurance company gave me for it.

If I had the garage space (and confirming there is no salvage title) I'd pick it up and fix it. It was in amazing cosmetic and mechanical shape before the accident. I did a lot of work to it. Some obvious stuff and some stuff more subtle. :(
 
No such thing as a salvage title in ON. It's either fit or irreparable. Ins. probably didn't bother changing it if it was deemed cosmetic or just didn't bother. Plus less work/cost to just sell as is. They probably have it on their internal list to not insure it again unless fully fixed and in the case of one company, want a "frame safety"....which doesn't exist for bikes.
 
Last edited:
Riceburner said:
No such thing as a salvage title in ON. It's either fit or irreparable. Ins. probably didn't bother changing it if it was deemed cosmetic or just didn't bother. Plus less work/cost to just sell as is. They probably have it on their internal list to not insure it again unless fully fixed and in the case of one company, want a "frame safety"....which doesn't exist for bikes.
Click to expand...

This ^^

There is no salvage category for motorcycles.

Chances are someone fixed it up and accordingly is reselling it. Perhaps someone at the scrapyard it went to for that matter.

Long story along that line... but my VTX went down the same path - it was a cosmetic write-off because of what appears to have been an acid of some sort that left a few bleach spots in the saddlebags, one or two tiny bleach dots (about 2-3mm in diameter) on the seats, and a few bits of bubbled but otherwise intact paint right at the rear lips of both fenders - you probably wouldn't even notice any of them if I didn't point them out, but it appears the bike may have rode through something acidic on the road (or something splashed on it) and the original owner took issue with the results....repair cost apparently exceeded bike value, and the rest is history.

The scrapyard it went to obviously wasn't about to crush a bike in otherwise beautiful shape with such low mileage....so it went back on the market at a very, very good prices, especially considering the riding season was coming to a close. The title is clear, I was perfectly OK with what was basically almost entirely concealed or unnoticeable "damage", it was never dropped or anything, and 2 insurance companies now never batted an eye at anything related to the VIN.
 
Probably bought it at auction and is flipping it for a quick buck. No fixes, probably just changed the ownership, if that.
 
Riceburner said:
Probably bought it at auction and is flipping it for a quick buck. No fixes, probably just changed the ownership, if that.
Click to expand...

This is most likely the case.

Judging from the pictures it hasn't been fixed at all. You can see that they didn't even bother to bend the rear brake pedal straight again.

Riceburner said:
They probably have it on their internal list to not insure it again unless fully fixed and in the case of one company, want a "frame safety"....which doesn't exist for bikes.
Click to expand...

Good point. If I did end up picking it up there's a possibility my insurance wouldn't insure it again or would make me jump through a bunch of hoops before they did.
 
Last edited:
When I got rear ended on my Katana, I was told that there were two write-off results; due to uneconomical and due to unsafe. Any frame damage is a guaranteed unsafe. Uneconomical is due to the cost of fairings, new engine block, whatever, exceeds the value of the bike.

My Katana was only "uneconomical", so insurance gave me the book value of the bike, and I was given the option to buy it back for 1/3rd of the book value.

I figure if you can argue that there's no frame damage, buying bikes back from insurance companies could be lucrative.
 
sadrik said:
When I got rear ended on my Katana, I was told that there were two write-off results; due to uneconomical and due to unsafe. Any frame damage is a guaranteed unsafe. Uneconomical is due to the cost of fairings, new engine block, whatever, exceeds the value of the bike.

My Katana was only "uneconomical", so insurance gave me the book value of the bike, and I was given the option to buy it back for 1/3rd of the book value.

I figure if you can argue that there's no frame damage, buying bikes back from insurance companies could be lucrative.
Click to expand...

Exactly my experience with TDMM. They told me I'd not be able to buy the bike back if there was any frame damage, due to liability reasons. They won't insure or allow a buy-back if they know that the bike is toasted.
 
My brother lives two blocks from this guy. I should have him go take a look.

A UVIP would tell the story. Wouldn't it?

Why did they write the bike off. Looks like rear sub frame could be bent as well.
Any dent in the frame makes it a write off as well.
 
Low rider said:
Why did they write the bike off. Looks like rear sub frame could be bent as well.
Any dent in the frame makes it a write off as well.
Click to expand...

They said it would be too expensive to repair. they didn't list what was broken.

There shouldn't be any rear damage unless it got more damage after I left it at the yard.

I basically hit the passenger-side of the car at a 45 degree angle when it cut infront of me doing an unsafe lane change. Both me and the bike went down hard on our right-side and slid up onto the sidewalk.

It ran fine before I left it at the yard.

I'd love for it to go to a new home. I did so much work to it. Has brand new tires on it too. Like 1,000kms
 
Had a write off due to cosmetic reasons, but the ins. co. still wanted a "frame safety" to re-insure....which didn't exist for bikes. Easy fix, changed companies and got a better rate to boot. :)
 
I've bought two bikes from ins. auction that had been written off. Both had clean titles, one I rode for a bit then sold...the other is one of my race bikes:)
 
hedo2002 said:
Depends upon how major the damage was and what your insurer did with the title. My bike had purely cosmetic damage when it went down in May. But due to the high cost of OEM parts, the insurer calculated that it was cheaper to write the bike off. It was NOT given a salvage title.
Click to expand...

Exactly what happened with mine, all cosmetic damage but cheaper to write it off. I ended up buying it back from the insurance company for $1500 and fixing it myself.
 
STR said:
I've bought two bikes from ins. auction that had been written off. Both had clean titles, one I rode for a bit then sold...the other is one of my race bikes:)
Click to expand...
How can one get in on these insurance auctions? Not only interested in bikes but cars too.
 
Seller finally replied to me. When I asked if it was in an accident he said the bike was "dropped".

Shady bugger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom