Joeman Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 A mate from work had a car pull across in front of him knocking him off and smashing his bike up. He reckons he wasn't going fast (15-20mph tops) and he walked away just a bit bruised. The estimate for repair has come back at over £8k so obviously the insurance company have written the bike off.The insurance have values the bike with a scrap value of £400.the bike is a 2010 Kawasaki Z750, one owner from new.I've seen the repair quotation and there is loads of little bits on there with big price tags, but i wonder how much of it actually needs to be replaced given that the bike already had a couple of dinks from living in London and general wear and tear?? Also my skeptical mind wonders if the accident management company deliberately over price the repair costs so that they get to keep the cheap bike, as thats what they were pushing for, claiming they would "try to reclaim the £400 scrap value" for him...So, ive taken a bit of a gamble. Ive told my told my mate, that rather than let the accident management company keep the bike and "possibly reclaim his 400quid", i would just pay him 400quid for the bike (without seeing it!) and see what i can do with it... am i crazy?Even if the front end of the bike is mashed and not repairable, i reckon there are enough parts on the back end of the bike for me to break the bike and ebay the parts for more than £400 easily... rear wheel+tyre, rear shock, swingarm, seat, tank, etc etc..For £400 i reckon its worth the gamble for a 2010 bike... what you think lads?? Im just waiting for confirmation from the accident management company that they will deliver the bike to my house... fingers crossed, we could have a build thread!! Quote
megawatt Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 Sounds like a good buy to me, as long as no major engine damage and possibly the ignition in good condition. I know R1s need a new wiring loom and ECU if the ignition is damaged. Why not put it back on the road if you can get the V5? Quote
Tango Posted October 26, 2012 Posted October 26, 2012 I guess a lot depends on the category of the write-off....C or D and you should be OK......can't be an A otherwise they'd have to crush it.....so you should be OK.Good luck with it mate......I think for £400 you can't go far wrong..... Quote
Joeman Posted October 26, 2012 Author Posted October 26, 2012 Cheers guys, yes putting it back on the road is the preferred option, but if it is too mangled i'll break it for parts.From what my mate has said about the crash it was low speed, and the bike pretty much stopped and toppled over when it hit the car as he bounced across the bonnet! So it didnt go sliding down the road to scrape up the engine cases etc, even though both engine cases are on the repair estimate!?All sorts of little bits on the estimate which would have taken ages to compile, which makes me wonder if they dont just have a computer program where they enter the make & model of the bike and type of accident and it predicts all the typical parts that break. im fully expecting most of the "broken" parts to be fine! Quote
oslin06 Posted October 28, 2012 Posted October 28, 2012 Go for it these companys are a rip off and why the insurance companys do not investergate them for fraud I do not know, My wife had a Corsa and got bumped in the back breaking the plastic bumper the coachworks quoted £1000 to fix it, the insurance company wrote it off, but I claimed salvage on it, I got a cheque for £500 and the car, I went down the scrap yard and bought a new bumper for £25 and fitted it, I then had to re MOT it and all was fine but it remained a cat C for the rest of its life, Oh and I sold it a year later for £1600 Keith Quote
Joeman Posted October 28, 2012 Author Posted October 28, 2012 Go for it these companys are a rip off and why the insurance companys do not investergate them for fraud I do not know, My wife had a Corsa and got bumped in the back breaking the plastic bumper the coachworks quoted £1000 to fix it, the insurance company wrote it off, but I claimed salvage on it, I got a cheque for £500 and the car, I went down the scrap yard and bought a new bumper for £25 and fitted it, I then had to re MOT it and all was fine but it remained a cat C for the rest of its life, Oh and I sold it a year later for £1600 Keith yep, that's what im thinking too.. i've not see the bike so can only go on what my mate has said, and even he didnt get a chance to see the bike as the paramedics were on the scene in seconds and he was too busy stopping them from cutting his leathers off LOL.Slow speed impact then toppled over. i dont think the damage can be that bad - like you said, a few second hand parts and it could be back on the road for just a few quid. Quote
Joeman Posted October 30, 2012 Author Posted October 30, 2012 Bike being delivered on Saturday morning I wonder what condition it will be in!??If i do decide to break for spare, does anyone need any bits for a 2010 Kawasaki Z750?? Quote
eastanglianbiker Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 did you find out what cat it is on the insurance as the only one i cant see mentioned is a cat B which means it has to be broken up for parts (or rebuilt into another frame )as that frame and reg number are removed from the dvla data base Quote
Joeman Posted October 30, 2012 Author Posted October 30, 2012 did you find out what cat it is on the insurance as the only one i cant see mentioned is a cat B which means it has to be broken up for parts (or rebuilt into another frame )as that frame and reg number are removed from the dvla data base Nope, i know nothing... So long as its not "Cat-A" im ok, but ideally its "un-recorded" ... its a bit like a £400 lottery ticket!!Description of the categories here:http://www.insurancewriteoff.co.uk/ Quote
klingelton Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 i personally think you're onto a winner here. looking forward to seeing some parts on ebay - or a nice new ride for £400! Quote
Tango Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 We are obviously expecting to see pics....and then follow the rebuild thread..... Quote
eastanglianbiker Posted October 30, 2012 Posted October 30, 2012 think un-recordedis being just a bit to hopefull as he has claimed on the insurance for it but good luck with it and i cant see you losing money on it Quote
Joeman Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 Really disappointing... I contacted the accident management company and they have declared it as Cat-B (Must never be used again - only suitable for breaking for parts) It was only a low speed impact, so if it was really that badly damaged, why did they provide a list of parts required to put it back on the road?? and why did the list not mention a new frame and include wording like as "Straighten forks" and "Repair front wheel"??? the bike is clearly repairablePersonally I think its all a big scam. Because they know the bike is coming to me (and not the owner) they have decided to spoil it for everyone. Since they dont get to keep the bike for themselves, they've record it as Category-B to make sure that nobody else is allowed to put it back on the road! Con artists... Anyway, since there is no chance of it going back on the road the project is cancelled.. Sorry folks However, ive been looking on eBay at all the "damaged-repairable" needing some TLC, and am quite tempted to buy one to fix up..... maybe a nice winter project?? Quote
eastanglianbiker Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 is it not worth you looking around for a frame and v5 for it ? and reason it will be cat b is due to frame being damaged and insurance repairs dont repair any parts they are all quoted new at RRP without any discounts Quote
techno Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I don't see it as a con, I'm sure they don't do it to "spoil it for others!" personally id rather they classed it as B rather than it scrape a c cat so some unscrupulous person can't just badly repair it and sell it on. Quote
Joeman Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 is it not worth you looking around for a frame and v5 for it ? and reason it will be cat b is due to frame being damaged and insurance repairs dont repair any parts they are all quoted new at RRP without any discounts I've not seen the bike so i have no way to know the true extent of the damage. All i have is a very long list of parts and a quotation to fix the bike. The parts list if very comprehensive including individual nuts and bolts, so if it really was a Cat-B, i would expect one of the items on the quotation to be "New Frame" but its not on there Also, for the impact to have been heavy enough to warrant Cat-B i would not expect one of the items on the list to be "Straighten Forks" (on the list for £70) or "Paint front wheel" (also on the list). I would expect the forks and front wheel to have been mangled... I would also probably expect the header pipes and radiator to be in the list but they're not...From what i've been told about the impact (very low speed) things just don't add up. Either the bike is a total wreck, or the accident management company are pulling a fast one and want to keep the bike for themselves.Since there is no chance of the bike being put back on the road, my mate advised that it wasnt worth my time, so i pulled out and the accident management company are going to "try to recover some of the 400quid" for my mate..... in other words, they will break the bike, sell the parts for a couple of grand and give him a cheque for possibly 400quid if hes lucky... Quote
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