So guys and gals, my three year old (69) BMW GSA TE with 2800 miles on the clock has now been declared uneconomical to repair. Yep, a write off! Estimator told me the total was running at £11000 for repairs and I think I’m getting my pants pulled down here. Just to recap it was stolen and recovered within four hours and the only damage I could see was a cut front disc, broken steering lock, damaged seat unit, destroyed rear seat pad and a few broken plastics (fluid cover, battery cover etc.). It now turns out both wheels are damaged (front I can understand as they missed with the grinder), there are deep scratches all over, the engine covers and a lot of the plastics are damaged and much much more. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m being stitched up as there really did not seem that much damage when I saw it and I know that the company dealing with it has dropped the ball a few times. They did not know who I was insured with for a long time and they left the bike in storage way longer than necessary. What do you think I should do? They have offered to partially repair to keep costs under the threshold but then I’m riding round on a beat up, scratched up POS. Also, if I go with a total loss who is then responsible for the cost of excess storage etc.? Will they really offer me pre-theft condition (mint) or will that be a kick in the nuts? I paid 16k for this bike and they are still going for that online and with more mileage so I won’t accept a stupid offer. HELP as really confused!!
What companies are involved.
If it was stolen and you had theft cover you would report to your insurance company and they should deal with everything.
Bemoto was broker, AXA insured. Then a company called 4th dimension got involved. Reported it to Bemoto and they didn’t even know who i was insured with. Just been a complete fk up from the off!
The quote sounds about right because everything will be replaced with new parts. If the steering lock has been forced that ballses up a load of stuff that is time consuming to replace. You could decide to live with it if you did it yourself but insurance companies don’t work like that.
It was a while ago now but the Jetstreams immaculate Triumph was in a relatively minor carpark accident. Some idiot drove into it while it was parked up. That was written off.
Some berk in an Uber rear ended my car at low speed. The dealership told me if we went through insurance that’s a grand for a new bumper. Which would have probably written the car off.
I think you should cut and run. The bike will never be the same again and it will bother you.
I’ve recently had my old, cheap as chips 125cc written off and this is my experience.
If you’re claiming on your own insurance and they lowball you on the pre accident value, you can complain to the financial ombudsman as a contract exists between you and your insurer. On the other hand if you’re claiming on a third party’s insurance, you may well get lowballed on the pre accident value and legal action is your only recourse (mine was a no fault, got lowballed by third party)
The company that stored my bike did cause further damage to it (and admitted to this) but refused to compensate me in any way as the settlement paid by the third party apparently covered all damage to the bike (being a total loss.)
I ended up fixing the bike myself for around £200 of used ebay parts and a weekend off with a spanner. I worked out that after the cost of keeping the salvage plus the cost of repairing it, the amount left over more than covered the reduction in value for being a write off. YMMV but it may be worth going through the numbers as you may even come out on top (although it must be said my bike’s only for commuting and I’m not precious about it, and the values I was playing with were far lower)
I think it’s your decision at the end, as you already know the pros and cons you need to consider if you want to keep a bike with those records against it, or take the money but not been able to get another due to high insurance premium.
If you’re not happy with the estimate you should request more info from the insurance, you can’t argue without proof of preexisting conditions thought.
You might also want to discuss with your insurance what would actually happen to your premium should you choose to repair and keep.
Wait and see what the offer is before you decide anything.
Did you get to take any pictures when you saw it after recovery? (Do they show items not damaged then are damaged now)
Do you have any recent pre theft pictures to show how mint it was?
You will have to pay your excess but insurers should pay everything else.
If you are not getting any joy contact Axa directly expressing your dissatisfaction. Don’t forget if you feel they are not being fair you can always go to the FOS (Financial Ombudsmsn Service)
5 years ago, my bike was knocked over whilst parked. The driver did the decent thing and left his company details so it all went through insurance.
4th Dimension collected the bike and delivered me a Honda NC700x, they had the bike for months before they even asssessed the repairs, they seemed to be in no rush at all, presumably they were coining it in hire charges from the insurance company.
Even just being knocked over at low speed, my bike was a borderline write off.
Once they started work, 4th Dimension were perfectly decent to deal with but the whole thing was very slow.
The thing with a theft claim is there is no third party to claim from so no benefit in a company dragging things out.
Ok so a bit of an update. Spoke to 4D this morning and had a few questions answered but still wanted a day to decide repair or write off. Within an hour they called me back and said they’ve managed to get the threshold raised and can now fully repair (hmmm). They gave me a list as long as your arm including both wheels, front discs/pads/calipers, full seat, cylinder head covers and on and on. Do i have to agree to this or can i still write it off? I’m concerned that the bike will not be 100% and it’s going to grate on me that it’s not perfect. Also, I’m seriously thinking of knocking bikes on the head. What’s the point of going through all this stress just because some little cnt wanted what I’ve worked hard for!
I think they will have the final say, but if you want it written off make sure you get a valuation first then tell them the bike was immaculate before the theft so you won’t accept it back unless it’s immaculate after repairs.
Basically make it as diffucult as possible for them if they don’t do what you prefer.
I know that if the keyless stearing lock is broken on BMWs, they tend to write the bikes off as in can damage the frame
one reason i never use the steering lock
Given the list provided i think they’re going to repair every single nick and scrape including handguards, mirrors, heel plates etc. I can’t shake the feeling though that someone had their eye on my bike and if I’d have said yes on the spot that would be it. Someone would’ve got a very cheap, repairable GSA. And yes on the list is steering lock, ignition and frame repair. Question, is this going to be a cat whatever or will it be listed as stolen/repaired? Is it going to kill me when I try to sell?
if the insurance company has said go ahead with the repairs its not been “written Off” so no category is added
but historicaly it will be recored as stolen repaired
BMW’s get written off easily. They are expensive to repair. It’s easy to forget BMW are a premium brand and thus appropriately priced when it comes to spares.
I’ve had an R1200GS written off before because some thieves tried to hotwire the ignition and blew the ECU. The ECU was a £4k unit to replace, I shit you not.
Fixed that for you 
Hahaha. My approach is to not break them, or at least if I do, repair it myself 