Long story short, I bought my bike back from insurance. I haven’t gone and got vin verification or brake and light inspection. I still Have the old clean title to show the bike is mine and all the paperwork from insurance stating that I bought it back. Can I sell the bike as is and let the new owner be responsible for brake and light and verification? Or am I required by law to fix it up and actually have a “salvage title” in hand before sale?
Selling salvage motorcycle
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295566
Numbers McGee
I believe you can sell it as is, but without the new salvaged title the bike is unregistered and can start accruing backfees until properly registered. I don't think you can non-op the bike until it's back in the system.
I would imagine the above, on top of the inconvenience of having to schedule a VIN inspection with CHP (DMV no longer does motorcycle VIN verification), on top of brake/light verification, plus DMV appointment wait times, would significantly detract from the value of the bike.
I would imagine the above, on top of the inconvenience of having to schedule a VIN inspection with CHP (DMV no longer does motorcycle VIN verification), on top of brake/light verification, plus DMV appointment wait times, would significantly detract from the value of the bike.
G.R.
Rider
Also , when looking to buy a bike in the past , when I contacted the insurance company for a quote and the value of the bike , they said that with any salvage title bike they would only pay me half if it's value if it was damaged or stolen while I owned it.
However I still would have to pay full price for insurance .
However I still would have to pay full price for insurance .
matty
Well-known member
For what it's worth, I bought a bike like you describe, unknowingly. I bought it right at the time where insurance hadn't reported it to the dmv, thus the fee calculator showed clean title and the dude still had the original title, a couple of weeks later when I went to register it, it was listed as salvage retention.
So, yeah you can sell it.
So, yeah you can sell it.
Yeah, I know I’ll take a hit on it unfortunately. Thanks for answering my next question about being able to make it non op. It’s a wr250x so hopefully if I list it for 2k someone will hop on it. Take 2 weeks of their time to get it properly registered and have a solid bike to ride. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll theow it on Craigslist and see what happens. I just wanted to confirm I could sell it without titling it first. I thought it was like smog where you “have to smog before sale”
Didn’t you post a thread about that? I for sure wouldn’t screw someone like that, I just want to be upfront with the new owner and also release this bike out my damn name so I can move on to something different.
matty
Well-known member
I may have, it was quite awhile ago. And if you are upfront about it, I see no issue with selling it. And now that I think about it, I've actually bought two salvage retention bikes, the other one took months before the DMV sent me a letter saying it was a salvage retention, I knowingly bought that one.
295566
Numbers McGee
I recently went through this process, 2 weeks is HUGELY optimistic. The appointment with CHP had me waiting 6 weeks alone, luckily I scheduled a DMV appointment not long after.
The whole process took ~2 months, and I got VERY lucky with some appointments. And that was without failing any inspections, and catching some paperwork errors before I left so they were corrected without a return trip.
295566
Numbers McGee
Most shops should do it, if you have a typical shop you take it in to be worked on I'd call them and see if they do it. I'm in South Bay so not much help... but Evolution (site sponsor) did it for me for like $15 bucks. Took 5 minutes. They fill out a form which you show to DMV (along with VIN verification by CHP when you have that) and you're done.
Dogfeathers
Well-known member
Just FYI another hang up with salvage title vehicles. If you own a bike with a salvage title and get in an accident and it is -the other persons fault-, their insurance is only responsible to pay you salvage value no matter how nice the bike may be before the accident. Therefore when you buy a perfectly good motorcycle that has a salvage title, take that into account when you buy it.
matty
Well-known member
This is true, but it supposed to be done by a certified brake/light place, most moto shops are not certified, so you have to bring a statement of facts saying something to the effect: there are no certifed shops in a reasonable distance that will check motorcycles. I've also heard that folks have been rejected based on this, not sure how true that is. There is a 76 station in Castro Valley that does motos, but that's a haul from SF.
matty
Well-known member
Is this new? I got rear ended on a salvaged bike and the other person's insurance paid me full value. They never asked nor checked.
i don't believe this is accurate, wasn't the one time i revived a salvage vehicle (that was already mine) about 10 years ago.
once it's reported salvage by insurance, the DMV kills the registration as the assumption is that it's going to a junk yard. even if you have time left on the registration at the time of salvage declaration, that registration is void once reported, so reviving the title doesn't accrue penalty fees like failing to pay yearly registration does.
all of the "insurance is going to do blah blah blah" posts are highly dependent on the particular insurance company. yours was the first post that mentioned anything so i quoted, not picking on or anything.
in the afore mentioned vehicle i revived, the company that insured it pre-total insured it without issue or question as to the title status AFTER resurrection as well. i was at fault, and didn'tkeep it long enough after to be hit by anyone else to see if the "the other company doesn't have to pay" claim is accurate. seems suspicious to me but the state has been given away to corporations so maybe it is.
295566
Numbers McGee
Maybe you're right, all I know is what I was told at the DMV (2 different offices, 3 different reps spoken to, including one manager). The bike was salvaged a few weeks before reg renewal, and I had to jump through some hoops in order to pay the reg fees, otherwise they said I would accrue backfees for being late. YMMV. :dunno
Dogfeathers
Well-known member
Marty,
No, nothing new, I was told this about ten years ago by my insurance company (State Farm) and likely the reason it did not happen with you is that they did not ask and look at your title. When a insurance company pays you replacement value for your bike as if i was totaled, before they hand over a check you have to sign the title over to them....that is when they see the “salvage title” stamped on your pink slip. Then they see that your bike has a value of salvage and not market/blue book value. So they then only have to pay you a hundred bucks or whatever the salvage value is.
I suppose other companies may have different polices though. You got lucky!
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295566
Numbers McGee
As pointed out, once the bike is "salvaged" the prior reg is nullified, so they wouldn't send a reg renewal for it.