Those who did a buy-back from insurance comp on totaled bike

[siobhan]

How does it work when the insurance company totals your bike? You get the payout, and then how do you do the buy-back? How much does it typically cost to buy it back? If you've done this with a scoot or m/c, can you tell me how it worked? Thanks!

[jijifer]

PM N2Tattoos. He just did.

[terrapin]

I'm a former claims manager for a large insurance company and can tell you it's pretty easy to do:

1. The insurance company values your scoot at ACV plus tax, tag & title (we'll use a rounded figure of 3 grand for the purposes of this explanation).

2. They deduct your deductible from the AVC (let's say five-hundred).

3. They then deduct the salvage value of the scoot (we'll call it four-hundred); salvage value meaning "how much" they would get if they sent it to salvage auction. This figure varies greatly based upon extent of damage as well as year, make & model but it's rarely more than 15-20% of ACV.

$3,000.00 ACV
-$500.00 Deductible
-$400.00 Salvage Value
= You get $2,100.00 and keep the wrecked scoot.

Catch 22: In most states, the title will be automatically branded as a salvage thus losing virtually any potential resale value in the future. Furthermore, you still have to fix the thing. In my experience, retaining salvage only works for people that have a "friend in the business" or a "hook up" of some sort for parts, labor, paint, etc.

Hope that helps.

[n2tattoos]

^^^^terrapin is correct.

my totaled buddy was valued at $480. i actually bought mine back for the dealer to keep. the damage was to the front end only, everything behind the step through is in good condition. the engine alone has got to be worth double the value. plus, they get extra panels and parts. they just gave me a credit on the invoice for the new scoot.

of course, i could have made money by selling the parts on eBay, but who has time time for that? much better to give it to the dealer. they're likely to give me pretty good discounts now.

[siobhan]

terrapin, thanks so much for the clear write-up.

Thanks to both you and n2tattoos for helping out! Just what I needed to know.

[jmkjr72]

when my stella was totaled by the ins company of the guy that hit me

they gave me 2 offers

one in which i kept the scoot and the other they kept the scoot

i decided to keep the scoot as the demage wasnt all that bad

now if you are issued a salvage title you will need to ahve the scoot inspected before you can renew the registation

i got lucky when mine was totaled they just asked for a copy of the title and gave me a check

when i check dmv and other databases my title comes up clean

it will depend upon what your plans for the scoot are if its worth it
how extensive is the damage remember it doesnt take much damage to get to the point that ins companies consider a scooter totaled as they are a low dollar item

are you going to use it for parts or are you going to rebuild it
hor handy are you plays a role in both decsions
the other is does your dealer realy want or need those used parts around some do and some dont

also if you have a bent bike shop in your area you might be able to get parts even cheaper for the rebuild there just like rebuilding a wrecked car from junkyard parts

[michelle_7728]

When my 2009 Buddy 125 was "totalled" last year, I bought it back from the insurance company...I'm thinking for around $450 to $500 if I'm remembering correctly. Yes, it now has a salvaged title.

I had the mechanic where I bought the scooter check it out and he said the frame was not bent. He was able to give me an itemized list of what it needed, and it wasn't too terribly extensive.

I spent another $500 or so buying parts (from the dealer), then fixing it back up (mostly by myself): new handlebars, brake levers, headlight, headlight ring, plastic that goes over the handlebar and around the speedometer, plastic that goes under the speedo area, front plastic, windshield and mirrors. If the repairs had not been ones I could do myself (minimally mechanically inclined) with a little help from my husband, it would have been a different story.

I've put another 1,500 miles on it (would have been more, but I've been dividing the mileage between 3 scooters) and in my case have not noticed any difference in performance, whether on the freeway at 62mph (actual) or on a 320 mile road trip with varying speeds.

So buying your scooter back can be a good thing as long as the frame isn't bent, and as long as the damage isn't so severe that you would be spending way more $$ to get it up to snuff than it's worth.

I still have a couple of panels with scratches on them, but for the $$ I have in it, I'm not complaining. "Little Bit" is back on the road again!