The key is to bring your bill of sale (or rebuilt title)from the crashed bike, and receipts for everything you purchased with you for inspection. All above board and legal

 

Guy was dense as brick from the sounds of it, you can't pass off the motor & trans numbers for anything other than what it is. Dumbass deserved jail time for being stupid.

 

My thoughts? Unless you were buying your own bike back from the insurance company I would not buy a salvage titled MOTORCYCLE sight unseen without knowing everything to know about it.

Now I have bought and sold well over 100 CARS that were total losses and we rebuilt them. Cars and bikes are apples and oranges.

In my current gig as an Insurance Appraiser, I total bikes all the time, Sometimes it is on flat out economics, Actual Cash Value and salvage value compared to the cost of repairs, and in other cases I look at something and go "I know this is going to be a can of worms, there is a high probability of hidden damage, get rid of it and save the headache"

Now if you knew of an older bike say a 2002 bagger, that was pushed over in a parking lot, and the tins were damaged to the point that it would cost more to fix than the ACV less salvage value, and you could get the bike for short money and repair the tins for cheap then go for it. But to buy anything current with a salvage title means it had a lot of damage and or had a high salvage value ( look at Co-Part or Argo Cycles to see what wrecked HD's bring... stupid money) and if someone else fixed it to flip it you have no idea of the workmanship until it goes down the road funny or does not feel stable in a corner due to bent parts

Wrecked bikes do make for a good parts source for a custom build on an aftermarket frame

 

https://www.copart.com/vehicleFinder...Zip%22:null%7D

 

A relative of mine recently purchased a 2009 Deluxe with a salvage title for about $4,500. It was a bank repo and the owner took a baseball bat to the tins and light bar just before the bank sent the repo man to grab it.
He found a cherry set of tins for $500, bought a new lightbar and lights and now rides the hell out of it.

Even for what he paid initially and put in after to repair, he should be able to recoup that money in a resale should he decide to sell at a later time. I think it's a win-win if you can get it at the right price.

 

The dealership in El Paso has a Heritage Softail Classic 2013 for $9K, very low miles but has salvage title. I was interested in it then I scrolled down and saw the "Salvage Title". So I found this thread.

My question to you all: Dealership selling Salvage title bike. Trust or no trust? Also, do you know if Harley can do the in house loan or pay cash and out the door?

 

Run away from that deal. 9k will buy you a sweet bike with a CLEAN title. I could never pay 10 grand for a salvage title. Are you nuts?

 

Ask the dealer if they would take the bike back in trade 12 months from now less normal wear and tear for 75% of what you are buying it for.

If they say yes, tell them to put it in writing.

Watch them try to recant their statement.

 

The only time I would buy a bike with a Salvage title is if my current bike is getting older, and parts are getting hard to find. Take what I think I might need, and sell off the rest. Not worth my time trying to sell it for pennies on the dollar.,,,

 

I bought a salvage title bike once. Actually bid it off on eBay and the guy did NOT say or post anything about a Salvage title.

My wife thought she wanted to learn to ride. I found a very clean looking Buell 500. I was the top bidder at $1200.00.

The owner was in Maryland and we met at a gas station in Virginia mid way for us both.

I looked the bike over and it was very clean. He was honest about the fact that the bike had been down. He replaced the mirrors, turn signals, and a few other parts on the right side.

Well he grabs the title and immediately I see "SALVAGE". I said hey you never mentioned this. Hard to say for sure but this guy really did not even act like he knew what a salvage title was.

I told him no deal and was ready to head home. He said he really needs some cash and to make him an offer. Again the bike was in great condition so I told him the very best I can do is $800.00 He accepted it, I paid him and brought the bike home. The wife really did not like it, decided she did not want to ride by herself. I put it on Craigs List for $1350.00 or best offer clearly stating what had happened, what was replaced and it came with a "Salvage" title. The first guy that came to look at it handed me $1100.00 cash and a gift certificate to a local steakhouse!