Insurance write off

[welland99]

The following questions relate to a motorbike I had been interested in buying, but I assume they also relate to cars as well.

I just read the HPI report which showed the vehicle was an insurance write off due to damage (don't know which category or when - i got the cheap report). The current owner claims he did not know about this and he's owned the bike for about 2 years.

1) do any of the standard documents (V5, MOT, Insurance cert.) show if a vehicle has been written off?

2) If a vehicle has been written off, what evidence of the damage should be sought - something from DVLA?

3) Does the vehicle have to be inspected (something as well as an MOT) before being used again in the road - to prove roadworthiness. What evidence of this inspection should I seek?

4) Assuming that appropriate work has been done to repair the damage, and it has passed an inspection, then how could the impact on the value of the vehicle be estimated. Surely in these circumstances, the structural and mechanical quality of the vehicle would be the same as one not written off (perhaps better?)

I may still be interested in making the purchase at an appropriately reduced price.

 

[jonnyMercUK]

Would you really want to buy a motorbike that has been written off? At least with a car there is slightly more metal to save you if anything were to go wrong at high speed.

 

[welland99]

Would you really want to buy a motorbike that has been written off? At least with a car there is slightly more metal to save you if anything were to go wrong at high speed.

It depends upon what the damage was. If the damage was confined to non structural components and was inspected properly after repair, then yes, I probably would. Hence my questions.........

 

[Dieselman]

I rebuilt a written off motorbike after a frontal impact, new fork stanchions, exhaust and some other bits saw it done one night, including a break to go to the pub.

 

[martyz]

The v5 will show substantially repaired or words to that effect.
The vehicle/bike will have had a VOSA check to generate the v5
The VOSA check is more for identification.but if anything is glaringly wrong it will fail
having said that I have been amazed at some of the vehicles they pass.
at this point just needs MOT to put back on the road.

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

My son bought one (Motorbike) not knowing it had been written off, he only found out when he sold it to a dealer (dealer did a check) The bike, a Ducati looked perfect, handled like it should, and my son had no problems with it. It turns out it was only the fairing and one of the exhaust cans were damaged. Such was the cost of obtaining genuine parts, and the fitting costs it was cheaper to write the bike off.
There are (I think) several levels of damage category. You would have to check on this. The dealer did not buy the bike because it was for resale in his shop, he did however explain that there were lots of bikes written off and put back on the road with no problems.
Like everything else in the motoring world, give it a good coat of looking at.
Ride safe...Ride free.

 

[martyz]

If you write your own vehicle off then do a deal with the Insurance company to keep
it and repair yourself,you retain the clean logbook,you need a VOSA check to tax it in the future.When you sell the vehicle the new keeper gets the bad news on the new V5.

Many people caught this way,always best to HPI.

 

[welland99]

The v5 will show substantially repaired or words to that effect.

Which part of the V5 would show this. I didn't see it when I looked at the V5 (doesn't mean it's not mentioned )

If you write your own vehicle off then do a deal with the Insurance company to keep
it and repair yourself,you retain the clean logbook,you need a VOSA check to tax it in the future.When you sell the vehicle the new keeper gets the bad news on the new V5.

Current owner still maintains that he did not know.

 

[Benz270cdi]

What manufacturer's bike is it Honda , Suzuki etc?

 

[martyz]

*

Which part of the V5 would show this. I didn't see it when I looked at the V5 (doesn't mean it's not mentioned )
Current owner still maintains that he did not know.

On the front cover at the bottom of the page.
I think maybe he did, ignorance is bliss...uh humm.

 

[kit17]

Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, anything could of happened to it, absolutely anything. You've done the sensible thing by doing a history check, walk away there are plenty genuine bikes out there.

 

[welland99]

What manufacturer's bike is it Honda , Suzuki etc?

Honda varadero 125c

 

[welland99]

Thanks, all. Decided to blow it out of the water. Started looking again.

 

[neilrr]

Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, anything could of happened to it, absolutely anything. You've done the sensible thing by doing a history check, walk away there are plenty genuine bikes out there.

There are 4 categories of write off. While you are correct when you say anything could have happened, if it was serious it would have been a Cat A or B & would not be allowed back on the road.

Cat C & particularly Cat D Vehicles are sometimes written off for very little damage, especially on cheaper or older vehicles, & can be perfectly OK if they've been repaired properly. I've seen W124s written off for a scraped wing & a torn bumper rubber, less damage than many unwritten off cars still prowling the roads have.

 

[kit17]

There are 4 categories of write off. While you are correct when you say anything could have happened, if it was serious it would have been a Cat A or B & would not be allowed back on the road.

Cat C & particularly Cat D Vehicles are sometimes written off for very little damage, especially on cheaper or older vehicles, & can be perfectly OK if they've been repaired properly. I've seen W124s written off for a scraped wing & a torn bumper rubber, less damage than many unwritten off cars still prowling the roads have.

This isn't a w124 with a knackered wing though is it? This is a motorcycle which the current owner is claiming he didn't even know it was written off in the first place and finding out excatly what damage and in what circumstances the damage was done is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible.
Yes it could have fallen over in the wind, or it could have been dragged up and then dropped off a 4 foot verge backwards, like my w203, which was written off as a Cat C (Cat C can be structural BTW). My car was never repaired but who knows what other things they may have found once it went back on the road.
While I dont disagree with your logic on older cars, I think you are wrong to apply it to motorcycle's which are much more unforgiving than cars.