Opinions please

[The Dude]

Hi all. As some of you might remember, a car crashed into me in november last year doing £2,100 worth of damage to my 8 month old RS125. The shop kinda stuck the fairings all together and what not just to get me back on the road. The other driver is still saying that the accident was my fault and i'm sure it's all gonna go to court. I have no idea how long all this will go on for before it ends up in court but in the mean time i have lost the desire to look after the bike and it's getting worse by the month. The wind blew it over yesterday because the stand was damaged in the accident and it's sitting over at more of an angle on the stand. So the fairings have come loose again and the indicator was smashed when it hit the ground. I really don't have the money to get it fixed everytime this or something else happens and the bike is becoming worth less and less as time passes and probably wont be worth a hell of a lot in a years time when it all goes to court (if thats how long it takes). I had an idea today that maybe i would be better going to a shop and seeing if i can do a straight trade for a 4 stroke 125 cruiser or something before my bike ends up falling apart completely. What i'm wondering is. If i get rid of my damaged bike now, and then when my case goes to court and the other driver is found to be at fault, will his insurance company still pay out for damages to a bike that i no longer own? Do you guys think it would be a good idea to trade my bike in now if i can get a straight swap for something else? I know i'm going to end up loosing money either way but i'm just trying to cut my loses in the mean time and get something thats atleast in good condition.

[GOKU]

if he hit you! its his fault an the insurance company should see it that way..take pics lots an lots an lots of them! incase it does it goes to court

[The Dude]

The bike has already been assessed and a damaged quote has already been sorted out. The question really is, will they still pay for damages to a bike that i no longer own if i do trade it in now?

[Sadie]

Why not ring them, explain the situation, and ask their opinion?
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With experience comes age.

[GOKU]

i think in these cases it might pay off depends how good the insurance company is i think...phone yours or his company an ask..cant hurt i guess

[RealNinja]

I part ex'd my ZX6 in against my new ZX7 a few years ago and the insurance still paid out....

I agreed with my dealer that half the money that I got from the payout was his (to cover the cost of the damage) and half I would keep.

If the dealer is happy to accept the bike in the condition that it's in from you now, I don't see any reason to keep it.

How legal this is though, i'm not sure.....
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[Scotsman37]

Was the bike your only means of transport for travelinng to the work place which caused greater financial burden by having to travel by public transport & maybe taking days off work and, if so, then if does go to court then you could possibly get compensation for that.

Make a request for a greater compensation due to the mental stress it has caused you as you have lost the desire to maintain your bike through all these stressfull months of not knowing when you can afford to get the bike rebuilt.

If the Trading Standards say that you have rights under some sort of article and the Police can prove beyond a reasonable doubt maybe even witnessess' statements then you've got them over a barrel. They will settle with you before going to court because they will not want also pay out for lawyers and court fees on top of the loss of earnings, mental anguish and the rising rebuild costs!

Oh yes, do take plenty of photos of the bike and keep note of what the estimated cost repairs will be to your and if it's been quite a while since you got that quote then get newly revised quote to keep it up to date because you don't want to pay a shortfull due to increased costs.

If you do sell it, then they might give you the difference what shop paid for a damaged traded in bike to what the insurers estimated what the value of the bike would be in their eyes. Or they might not even pay out to get it repaired but rather give a valued estimate of how much a 2nd hand bike would be worth, because they will have the bike taken away to be scrapped if they do decide the bike's a write off depending if the repair costs are more than what the 2nd value of the bike would be if it was the fully working!

[The Dude]

I am doing all of that. I was out of work for 2 weeks and it has really messed me up. I have borrowed £800 from a few friends just to get bills payed. It's just totally screwed my life up at the moment. Thats why i'm thinking of trading the bike in for something else before it gets worse. I know i'm gonna lose money either way but it's all i can think of at the moment. If i atleast had a bike that wasn't damaged and didn't involve paying money to get it fixed all the time, that would atleast be something. The bike isn't a write off, but it's pretty close to it. The damage doesn't exceed the current value.

[Ste]

Speak to your insurance company, they should be dealing with the crash and claim rather than you having to do it. Ring them up and ask them about selling your bike and to ask about will your expenses for using other transport be covered if the other party is to blame, I've been told that they'll pay for taxis, trains and for when other people give you a lift with my insurance claim and have to keep record of everything and receipts from everything.

As long as the bike has been seen and assessed by them then I don't see why you can't sell it if you want to, it doesn't change the fact of however much damage was caused to it in the crash and so the amount they'd be liable for.

[The Dude]

Thanks guys. I just tried to call my insurance company on their 24 hour a day 365 days a year help line. The office is closed.lol