Catergory C insurance write off would this put you off?

[Geordie Oldie]

Still looking for a bike, done a check on a bike I was interested in looking at, it has come back as a catergory C write off, would this put you off?

 

Does it significantly affect the insurance?

[Bender]

Breathing will affect the insurance, it takes very little to write a bike off, before and after pics if it's been repaired would be a good guide, but may not show everything, try a quote it's the only way you will find out re insurance 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

No idea about the insurance. I bought a bike that had been written off and it wasn't a problem. In that case it had been nicked and needed a new ignition barrel. That was it - otherwise the bike was perfect. 

[Pie man]

Yes, it would put me off. Cat C is now referred to as cat S, structural damage. Be weary, what was the damage and how was it repaired and by whom. 

 

My old new bike was a Cat N, nothing structural but cosmetically too costly to repair (or so the lying B@stards at 4th Dimension told me) Its now back on the road. But that's another story.  

[bonio]

4th Dimension. Ah, bless 'em.

[Geordie Oldie]

Did an HPI check and put the number in wrong the first time, so that's a tenner down the drain, decided against it. 

[Pie man]

A blessing in disguise 

[Shepherd]

4 hours ago, bonio said:

4th Dimension. Ah, bless 'em.

Yep, been there, done that 

[Gerontious]

I would happily buy a Cat C.  (I did, back in the day - a stolen/recovered)

 

Based on the old write-off categories. changes to the new system are always confusing.

 

I remember bikes being written off as a Cat C for simply falling off the side stand. that could be enough if the bike had a rare or unobtainium fairing. Bikes that were stolen and not recovered until long after the final payout were commonly written off as a Cat C too.

 

There was never any kind of hard and fast rule for this category. It was subjective. purely down to the opinion of the assessor. But, mostly based on money. how much it would cost to fully repair the damage with brand new parts. If brand new parts were no longer available (ie fairings) then a write-off was inevitable. and that could be a Cat C or D. flip a coin.

Could be crash damage too of course. A new front end could do it. - easily. New Forks aren't cheap. Insurers were never interested in the simple fix. have the forks straightened and re-chromed.  why spend a couple of £100 when you can buy new for a couple of £1000?

easiest to just write the thing off... never fear, we will get every penny back.

 

"So, you wrote your bike off? well done. - here's a percentage of its actual value and when you replace it we will be upping your premium for a few years until we get our money back - Kerching. - you are welcome!!"

 

 

The categories that were strict were A and B. do not touch.

 

But C. not so much. obviously Cat C bikes were always the sort that you need some experience to actually buy. I would never suggest anyone new to bikes immediately look at Cat C.

Insurance was never a real problem.. you might pay slightly more. but this was irrelevant as the bike was and would always be worth significantly less. once a bike was declared Cat C it - regardless of the reason. It would go into the private market. book value became irrelevant as no dealer would touch it. so it would be bought and sold privately. Insuring it fully comp would be completely pointless. but the insurers would never tell you that!!!

 

The Cat C bike I bought was stolen and recovered a year later. only damage it had was some slight scrapes on its one side where it had rubbed while bouncing about in the back of a van. I contacted the previous owner and he told me that when the insurance paid out, the bike was declared Cat C.  when the bike was found he was contacted, the insurers sent someone along to examine it once it was no longer being used as evidence. and it went off to an auction. and guess who bought it at that auction.

 

I insured it TPO. I bought it in 2002 and kept it until 2019.

 

When it came time to get rid... I gave it away. A few people on this forum knew that bike well. It was my second R1100GS. the white whale. Snoddy now has it.

 

 

And here it is after the crash in the Black Forest. minus its beak. and repaired.

 

Edited January 3, 2024 by Gerontious
added pretty pictures and came over all nostalgic.

[Shepherd]

The doer upper winter hack I got from (unknowingly) 4th Dimension was a Cat N - non structural write off.

1 fairing from the breakers and an ignition lock / immobiliser antenna from Aliexpress and all sorted, taxed and mot'd.

Less than £250 including the road tax and a bike back on the road for about 40% of it's true value.

Mind you, it is a Dullville.

[RideWithStyles]

Agree with Gero.

This is where doing your home work pays off and figuring if it works out better for you.

if you know the bike's history and what was wrong and who you trust to put it back together again with the right components and skill (money and time).
some good bargains can be had if you know where to look and be at the right time. The history will alway have a blip against it which will impact its value and cost long term for some its nothing to worry about.

 

i have a mechanic mate who buys them off insurances as a supply side line, most are very minor imperfections with cheap and quick turn rounds especially for him.

 

one that jumps out was a less than 6month old gsx750 super clean, off memory which that was why i asked about it. from a less than 20mph slide straight on one side that slightly scratched the exhaust tip, peg, handle bar weight and the tiny bit of upper side panel that looked no worse than quite rough cleaning to it but was still written off....i had to do a double take the damage to believe it.
The insurance wouldnt let the owner buy it back or owt aswell.
 

 

Edited January 4, 2024 by RideWithStyles

[Capt Sisko]

18 hours ago, Gerontious said:

 

 

 

 

You should see that view today. The road on both sides of the bridge is under about a metre of water and it'd take a properly equipped truck or 4x4 with a snorkel to get through.

Edited January 4, 2024 by Capt Sisko

[mealexme]

A category C would put me off, but not because it's been repaired. 

 

My issue would be the re-sale hassle.

 

The fact that you're asking on here, and the responses prove that a lot of people would be put off and I'd imagine when it inevitably becomes time to sell, it would be on the market a long time before someone comes along and tries to knock you down on the already low ball amount you've put it up for.

 

If it's something you're going to own for a long time, or something that's already cheap that you won't loose too much money on, then I'd consider it

[Gerontious]

1 hour ago, mealexme said:

A category C would put me off, but not because it's been repaired. 

 

My issue would be the re-sale hassle.

 

The fact that you're asking on here, and the responses prove that a lot of people would be put off and I'd imagine when it inevitably becomes time to sell, it would be on the market a long time before someone comes along and tries to knock you down on the already low ball amount you've put it up for.

 

If it's something you're going to own for a long time, or something that's already cheap that you won't loose too much money on, then I'd consider it

 

I would never consider a Cat C that was priced above 50% of book value. At the time I bought the second GS book value for the bike was circa £6000. I paid £2,600 and kept it for 17 years.

Oddly enough after a few years the CAT C designation went away. maybe the insurers knew about it, but it was never mentioned nor was I ever asked about it. It did not appear on the V5 when I got the new one, in fact there was nothing different about that, it even showed the previous keeper - despite him no longer owning it at the time it was sold. Maybe that was a slip-up at DVLA. who knows? They seemed far more concerned by the fact that it was an import. it was originally a German import that had been fully converted for the original owner. MPH clocks fitted from new. That never bothered me as it was such a bargain. my first GS which I bought new cost £9300 in 1997 and had the optional ABS which added £800 to the cost.  The second also had ABS. But of course this was just when the world was on the cusp of GS mania. And the invention of 'adventure bikes' that swiftly followed.

 

Im not sure why resale would be problematic. obviously you could not sell it to a dealership. or use it as a trade in, but Cat C bikes were a frequent sight on the various platforms and seemed to sell alright. there are always people who want a bargain. don't I know it.

Edited January 4, 2024 by Gerontious

[Geordie Oldie]

Thanks for all the input.

 

Today I bit the bullet and bought a 2002 Hornet, immaculate, 30 000 miles, 1500 quid which I am happy with. Never been catergory anything.

 

Nearly full MOT, dear god it's quick and the brakes are superb.

 

Insurance was £105! I paid more than that for a 250 in 1980.

 

Last bike I owned was a Honda SOHC 550/4 which used more oil than petrol.

 

Very happy bunny tonight.

[Simon Davey]

Awesome! 

Congratulations on your new ride. 

[mealexme]

Glad you found something. New bike day is always an exciting day!