Would you buy a Cat D writeoff?

[Red Herring]

I'd rather buy a CAT C or D that is declared as such and hasn't been "fixed", than just a bike with an unknown history, especially if it has aftermarket parts on it. Bent forks and trashed bodywork etc is easy to spot and assess, but if someone has replaced the forks and replaced the panels how do you know if the impact was bad enough to have twisted the frame, especially if they don't even tell you about it. Plenty of people on here have fixed up their bike without involving an insurance company.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

do people even bother getting background checks done? I know I don't.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I'd rather buy a CAT C or D that is declared as such and hasn't been "fixed", than just a bike with an unknown history

But you don't do checks so surely you don't know the history of any of your bikes, declared or otherwise?

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by Fallout

Yeah but you have to admit there is a higher chance of a crashed bike (with record of it being crashed) of having damage that is hard to see than one that doesn't claim to have been crashed. I doubt Clive is going to find someone who'll be expert enough to come along and tell him if anything is bent. Most likely he'll just go along himself and check it out and look for things he does know about (normal consumables and signs of damage).

I think you wrote a very clever bit in that paragraph that encompasses the whole deal:

Originally Posted by Fallout

one that doesn't claim to have been crashed.

There's no shortage of bikes that are TPFT, they get crashed and repaired and no one records that anywhere, the machine in question at least has a heads-up before you even set out.
Add to this that Clive undoubtedly knows someone that could view a machine if he wished to buy it.

And stop intimating that I know what I'm talking about - I ain't ever had a clue and I'm not about to start now!

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by dkid

But you don't do checks so surely you don't know the history of any of your bikes, declared or otherwise?

Four out of the last five bikes I've bought have come from people I know one way or the other, so I have a rough idea of how long they have had the bike and what they have done with it (or to it). I guess that's one of the advantages of belonging to several bike clubs and organizations.

The SV was the one I bought from a salvage dealer, it was a CAT D and only had 4k on it, one owner from new.

[Mauler]

I'd go for it; my old 2.8i Capri was written off after someone rear-ended me into a brand new Mondeo. The damage meant that I needed to replace both bumpers, the front grille and both off-side headlamps but with a £500 bill for parts and labour (inc straightening out the bumper brackets that I couldn't do myself) the insurance wrote it off even though I considered it fairly easily fixed once the brackets were straightned and £500 was about a third of the cost of the vehicle's worth.

My mate crashed and rebuilt his cbr (without going through insurance). Its running better now than it did before he crashed.

Granted he reduced everything to the frame and went over with a fine tooth comb.

Yeah, Fallout articulated my concerns very well. I am reasonably mechanically minded, but I have only been riding bike for a bit over a year. Even taking it for a test ride, I have only ever ridden a YBR, an XJ6 and my SV. The first two being the bike school's. My SV was a bit of a punt, but I was happy with that given the amount I spent, and it had so few warrented miles. In buying vehicles I have walked away form one where I have seen evidence of a crash, as I cannot tell if it has been repaired correctly or not.

Also this is a more expensive bike that's pretty new without fairings or other obvious non-structural but expensive bits.

Just thinking is it likely to be able to see the insurance assessment?

probably - I got a copy for the Cat C SV I bought. The owner may have a copy of he's bought it back (as in my case). Or contact the insurer that wrote it off (if they can tell you who that was).

All good questions to ask that will add to your knowledge about its history and how genuine the seller is (or isn't).

I've had loads of bikes and the worst of them was a low mileage, "never been dropped or crashed or used on a track" example that was NOT a write-off and looked/sounded/felt otherwise fine (lesson learned!). Inspect it. If you can tell it's largely OK, or have someone who can tell you that, in comparison to others of its ilk, and can accept whatever damage it has - then I don't personally think it's any more risky than a non-write off.

MICK..

Just to add my ten pennerth. We recently had to refund a customer all of their money when they discovered that the bike we financed was cat C write off. It wasn't recorded when the dealer bought or sold it but showed up almost three years later when he tried to sell it on. It had taken Aviva almost three years to record the claim that was made on the bike when it was only three months old. So even if it comes up clean on a search there are no guarantees! This customer was lucky that he financed it as he had somewhere to go to get his money back.