| Author | Message | ||
     Xl_cheese |
My friend was looking at this bike on craigslist recently. She called and spoke to the guy and everything sounded like it was a fair deal. Today, a few days later, he emails her and informs her that the title is a florida rebuilt title. We were going to travel 3 hours to go purchase this bike, but I'm wondering if it is still worth it? I'm assuming it means the bike was wrecked and put back together again. When my friend originally spoke to the seller she asked him if the bike had ever been laid over. He said that is wasn't. Could a rebuilt title mean the engine was rebuilt? | ||
| Mikej |
To my thinking, a "rebuilt" title is a technical classification of a certificate of title and in and of itself does not denote anything directly about the bike. The bike could have been totalled in a wreck, could have been recovered from the bottom of a river in NewOrleans after Katrina, or could have been scavanged from chopper builders who took the original engine and sold the left-overs. Some states and some insurance companies deal with "rebuilt" and "salvage" vehicles differently than others. If it were me I'd want to know the story behind the title work. As to asking if it is worth it, only you can answer that question. Some would say yes, some would say no, and some would say only after discounting the title-work. What year and model is the bike and what is the mileage and asking price, those items would be a starting point to helping to figure out if it is worth it or not. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
It varies from state to state, but normally a rebuilt title means that the bike was in an accident, then rebuilt and retitled. My car has a salvage title, it was damaged and properly repaired. The seller was honest about it, and showed me photographs of the car before it was repaired. As I plan to keep the car for 8 years or so, I was not as concerned about resale value as I might have been with something I plan on selling in a year or two, as many people do with their motorcycles I bought the car at a very large discount, and I have been very happy with it 15000 miles later. I understood before buying it that it no longer carried a manufacturer's warranty of any kind. It was already titled in the same state as the one I live in. However, in your case, none of the above applies, so I think I would give it a miss for the following reasons. 1. The seller has not shown much candor. That's always a red flag for me. These deals rarely get better on close inspection. 2. I assume the price does not reflect a large discount from book. 3. I would not be surprised if there were other undisclosed problems with the bike. 4. You may have problems registering it in your state. There is no shortage of used Buells. Unless you know the history of the crash and the subsequent repairs you will never know if it was fixed properly or not. The fact that the guy is selling it, and lying about it's condition may suggest it was not. (Message edited by gentleman_jon on May 16, 2008) | ||
| Ccryder |
There are enough Buells around that have clean titles that this "good deal" can't be that good. The seller has already not told everything about the bike. Why is he hiding anything? Last July I bought a 12r from a fellow BWB'r. 200% straight up on everything from the word go. Great experience! I sold that same 12r in March to another BWB'r and from everything Mike has said, it was a great experience and he is 200% satisfied. Do you think you would feel the same way with the purchase of this bike, 2 months from now? My point is why take the chance? If it is such a low price then, there is something not right. You have to ask yourself, why would someone sell it at such a price? IMHO, I would rather pay 5-10% more and know what I'm getting, than take such a chance. There are too many things in our lives that we can't control. Why add one more when you are already having doubts?  | ||
| Etennuly |
Only if there was a seriously DEEP discount on the price. When you go to resell it in say a year or two, you will find the value of that bike may be up to 25% to 50% less than that of a bike with a good title. That is regardless of how well it may have been repaired. Being a body shop owner, I have in the past bought wrecked cars and returned them to excellent condition. When it comes time to sell it you find the value has taken a big hit that passes on through all of its future owners. Warranties from the factory are gone. Many times banks will not finance them and insurance companies won't cover them. Be very careful, check into all of these aspects, and if you still want it, make sure it is cheap enough to compensate for the above possible problems. | ||
| Damnut |
Definitely find out the story behind the Title issue. SOMETHING definitely happened to it, no question about it. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Track Bike! | ||
| Xl_cheese |
It's an 03 xb9s with ~6k miles on it. He was asking 4300 which I feel is a fair price for that bike with a clean title. I would definately not pay that much for a rebuilt title. I think we are passing. It's not worth the risk. Thanks for all the responses. Sometimes it helps having someone else telling you what you should already know. | ||
| Ccryder |
Yep smart move to PASS. Unless you are not wanting to keep the present GF??? Just kidding. My 04' 12r with 13k miles, race kit and 80% tires went for $5500 delivered 5 hours away. | ||
| Bumblebee |
>>>Today, a few days later, he emails her and informs her that the title is a florida rebuilt title. We were going to travel 3 hours to go purchase this bike, but I'm wondering if it is still worth it?<<< Depends on the situation. A salvage title simply means that at one time or another the bike was "de-registered"-the question is why? Likely reasons: It was totaled by the insurance company - total meaning that the cost to repair exceeded the insurance companies liability. This doesn't mean the bike was a hulk of twisted scrap metal in a heap either. In my tenure as a service manager I have seen situations where a bike was totaled and could still be ridden. An example of this might be a garage fire with smoke damage. To make new looking again = big $$$, if you don't care ride it away. You might be able to clean it back up to like new condition, but at $100 h/r shop rate it would rapidly exceed the value of the bike. You need to inspect the bike before you can make a determination as to buy or not. It may be perfectly okay - but then... | ||
| Aldaytona |
Salvage title almost always means "totaled" by an insurance company. | ||
| Towjam |
I have a wife and kids. With only 2 wheels between me an the pavement doing 70+ on the freeway, I'm not taking a chance on a bike that has "rebuilt" or "salvage" anywhere on the title. | ||
| Xl_cheese |
Well, it worked out for the best. We located another xb9s that we feel much more comfortable purchasing. | ||
| Xbrfirebolt |
I don't know about Florida, but California can have a salvage title because it had been stolen. Not just a wrecked bike. | ||
| Slaughter |
If you cannot verify WHY the bike is titled as salvage, I would still consider it but ONLY if it was heavily discounted. Don't know if any of the title/damage search services like CARFAX.com could help there? I wouldn't hesitate to buy it IF price was right AND IF I could determine WHY it is salvage-titled. | ||
| Slaughter |
From Carfax.com website front page: TITLE CHECK SALVAGED? LEMON? FLOODED? REBUILT? ODOMETER CHECK FRAUD? ROLLED OVER? ROLLED BACK? BROKEN? PROBLEM CHECK MAJOR ACCIDENT? SALVAGE AUCTION? FIRE DAMAGE? STOLEN? REGISTRATION CHECK LEASED? RENTAL? TAXI / POLICE? FLEET CAR? I have NEVER used the service so can't say how much it is but IF you can get a really killer deal on the bike, I'd really consider carfax or similar as a final step before buying. (Message edited by slaughter on May 16, 2008) | ||
| Xl_cheese |
I did use carfax and it was pretty lame. A waste of 30 bux. I have the membership for the next month if anyone wants a vin # run... It basically told me that it was salvaged in Maryland. Then moved to florida and had a rebuilt title listed. Nothing that I didn't already know. The carfax example on the website make it look like some details would be provided, but I did not get any details about repairs. Now the guy lives in TX and has not insured or registered here. That was another flag. | ||
| Bombardier |
How many oil changes does it take to flush sand and grit out of roller bearings? The trouble with not knowing is just that - you don't know what is going to happen. From my experience - todays bargain is tommorrows problem and every day thereafter. | ||
| Slaughter |
Bummer on the Carfax thing. I had higher hopes but that's good to know for future. My only salvage buys were KNOWING the history of the bike. (that's where the next racebike is coming from) | ||
| Mr2shim |
I didn't know you could use carfax for bikes. Last time I checked(long long ago) you couldn't..... hrmm (Message edited by mr2shim on May 17, 2008) | ||
| Riderx09 |
I have two r-title buells, i sold for 3500, and currently selling a lightning for 4,000. I think people get a little two scared when it comes to r-titles, buells are very easy to be "totaled." it def. depends on how honest the seller is but in the case of my lightning it was repaired to like new condition with no issues or problems. You can buy a good title bike that the owner beat the day lights out of and still run into problems, anything you buy should be looked over carefully if its not brand new. As for R-titles i think its good that people repair bikes and cars if its done correctly, its basicaly a great way of recycling | ||
| Olinxb12r |
I bought a wrecked bike for my first bike and rebuilt it. It was a huge pain in the ass because the damage was far worse than I had initially thought, and then it sucked when I had to sell it too. I went through that bike with a fine toothed comb and repaired it to better than factory, but the stigma of a salvaged title still remained. I was able to sell it for a decent price, but I wouldn't go through the process again whether I fixed it or someone else did the work. | ||
| Bombardier |
Too big of a gamble for this fella. Too many little(expensive) things to go wrong especially if its been under water. |
