Keep it, or dump it?

Hi folks,

A couple of weeks ago, I grabbed a bit too much brake in the rain, and rear-ended a cargo van. The result: bent forks, and wheel, broken mirrors and minor plastic damage. Pictures at:

http://weak.org/gallery/objects/vfr/

The insurance company is calling it a total loss, and has presented me with the options: keep it or dump it. The buy-back price is about $1500 after taxes and title work.

So, should I buy it back? I could probably get a fair bit more than $1500 if I part it out; it's a 1999 with about 24000 miles on it, and everything aft of the forks (including the engine) is in good shape...

-Jon

 

Wow - $1500 buy back seems a little steep. I had a totaled car and the buyback wasn't that much. What are they saying the value of the bike is? When my car was totaled, I was told that if I kept it, they would deduct the amount they would get from a salvage company. I kept the car with the intent of fixing it, but after closer inspection, and no place to do the work, I ended up seeling it for what the insurance company deducted, which I think was $800. That was back around 1998 on an 87 Shelby GLHS Dodge Charger (#200/1000).

Kelly Blue Book shows Trade-In value at $3500 and retail at around $5000. NADA shows the low retail at $3540 and the average retail at $4655. Ask what they are valueing the the bike at and make your decision based on how much of the work you can do yourself, if you even want to attempt it. Of course, you could always take the total amount, let them have the bike, and either buy another used VFR or try to find a new one either a left over 05/06 or put a down payment on an 07.

 

Yeah. That's including the taxes and title fees. The actual estimated auction price is around $1000 or so.

At this point, I'm leaning towards just getting a new bike; that seems to be the quickest way to get me back on the road...

-Jon

 

You can sell the parts for more than that on EBay if you want to take the time to part it out. I've made more than $3K parting out a crashed R75 and the buyers have been most grateful!:biggrin:

It's been time consuming, but fun!

 

I'd keep it. The damage doesn't look that bad to me. I'm not sure how much the fork tubes are,but thats an easy fix. As for the mirrors, you need to upgrade to y2k ones anyway:smile:

 

I'm going to dump it...

Well, I've decided to just get a new bike. I need to get back on the road sooner rather than later, and the last thing I need is another hobby/money pit.

The bike is in the Seattle, WA area; if anyone wants it for the buy-back price, let me know by tomorrow morning.

-Jon

 

I agree with reg71. I Assume you weren't hurt. So Get the new bike and ride on, bro. But Be more careful. Motorcycle riding, Aviation, are, like the sea. There is inherent danger and they are all most unforgiving of mistakes

 

The buy back does seem high, the last car I wrecked I bought back for $100 & sold it for $1000 the next day.