SuzukiSavage.com /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Motorcycle Title Question /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1310960518 Message started by mojo on 07/17/11 at 20:41:58

Title: Motorcycle Title Question Post by mojo on 07/17/11 at 20:41:58 Saw a couple bikes advertised on Craigslist with a salvage title (one was a dealer).  What are the pro's and con's of buying one with a salvage title? tks.............mojo

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/17/11 at 21:07:06 Look, you call them what you wanna call them, I call them motorcycles,, thats their title.. A salvage title says one thing,, Its been totaled ,  If you buy it, buy it cheap,. cuz youre gonna sell it for cheap. & check the frame real careful,

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by verslagen1 on 07/17/11 at 21:31:56 check with your insurance company, I think they will only insure for liability. some states will give you a hard time to register too.  so check them too.

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by AZSGT on 07/17/11 at 22:47:15 As posted above, Salvage Title only means the bike was totaled out and repaired. Doesn't mean it is not still worth owning. But plan on owning it because you will get less (considerably) on resale. As far as title or registration goes, here in AZ they will do an inspection to make sure the vehicle is safe for the road, other than that they don't give much trouble. Just be sure to give it a really good once over, or better yet have a mechanic do it, so at least you know it is good to go.

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by kimchris1 on 07/17/11 at 23:09:34 My bike title states rebuilt. You would never know it to look at her that she was ever in a wreck let alone considered to be a salvage bike. Oh she has a scrape here and there, yet that can be found on most bikes. She had to be inspected once she was repaired by the WSP..kim

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by Serowbot on 07/17/11 at 23:48:56 With the price of dealer replacement parts, a bike can be "legally" totaled very easily... just a dink in the tank, and the replacement can be $400 to $600 ... scuffed fender, $200, plastic doo-daa cover, $200... etc... + labor... and it's cheaper for the insurance to total it out... You need to be sure the frame is straight, and no stress fractures.  Ride it, see that it tracks straight, and look at the welds at the steering head, swingarm, and triangle joints... inspect engine cases... Should cost 60% or less of blue book,.. because resale will be low... I'd rather buy one that's not been fixed up,.. because you can mentally total up the visual damage, and see that it adds up to totaled... My Yamaha xt225 was a salvage title... I bought it for $1400, rode it 16k miles, and sold it for $1600... no problems... I totaled my Ninja myself,... brought it home before it was reported as crashed... fixed it up myself and sold it.  No salvage title... (I know,.. I'm bad)... but I know if it's sound or not.  (I told the buyer how it went down, what was repaired, and how)... That bike was still on the road 4 years later, 'cause I saw it.. Point is,.. buying used, is a pig in a poke... Treat every used bike you look at as if it's been crashed... ;)...

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by Boofer on 07/18/11 at 06:40:00 A Salvage Title scares some people away, so it is impossible to sell or hard to sale. And it will probably sell for less. My bike was wrecked and repaired before I bought it, but it had the regular title so Serowbot may not be all that bad. They told me and I bought it as is, which was pretty nice. Also, knowing Serowbot, it was probably better than when he got it. There may be legalities to follow that are different from state to state. I would be up front in selling it as I always do, and let them decide. The title has "Salvage" stamped on it. That's as up front as you can get, imo.

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by MrBrownTX on 07/18/11 at 06:54:18 I bought my savage a couple of months ago and it is a salvage title bike.  Its a 2006 bike with 8k miles but was apparently rebuilt on a 1986 frame so that's what its titled as, an 86.  I had seen it on CL for a while at $1500 and finally called.  The guy said he got lots of calls but no one would come to look when he said it was a salvage title.  I took a friend with me who has owned and worked on lots of bikes too look at it and he was impressed with it.  I offered the guy $1200 a few days later and he took it! I called the tag office first and they said as long as it has a blue title it was no different to tag.  The blue title meant it had been inspected and all the retitling fees had been paid.

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by adberns on 07/18/11 at 09:06:46 I believe in most states, a "salvaged" vehicle is one that had a certain amount of damage.  Usually the insurance company takes the vehicles when they are salvaged, but as noted by Serowbot, sometimes you can fix the vehicle yourself.  Technically, many states will still require you mark this on your title, making it a salvage.  As others said, doesn't take much to "salvage" a bike.  Besides lowering the resale, I wouldn't let it scare me away from buying a bike.  Just inspect thoroughly, as you should any bike.

Title: Re: Motorcycle Title Question Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/18/11 at 14:55:41 If you own a car & it gets totaled, you can buy it from the insurance company for what theyd get for it from the salvage yard.

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