Re: [ST] Reasonable price for ST'03 is...?

[John Ulizzi <jaulizzi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gavin,

My opinions, for what they are worth:

 22,000 miles is not in any way excessive for a 3 year
old bike, especially on your side of the pond, so I
wouldnt consider that a devaluing figure in the price
assessment of the bike. That being said, Triumphs in
general, great as they are, do not hold their resale
value ( at least over here ). I am not quite sure of
the dollar / pound conversion, but I am guessing 4000
lbs to be in the neighborhood of $7000 US, and I am
quite sure an '03 ST would not bring that much on this
side of the pond, regardless of condition or miles.
However, if you have replacement value insurance, you
should get replacement value for the bike, which would
mean purchase of a new one. I dont know the
particulars of your situation, whether this was your
bad and you are dealing with your insurance company,
or if you are dealing with the insurance company of
some other bloke that totaled your bike and nearly
killed you in the process. If the former, you can only
push your insurance company so hard...if you are
really a d**khead ( in their minds ) they will find a
way to cease doing business with you, including, but
not limited to, raising your rates to non competitive
levels. Sure, this practice is illegal, but lets all
be realistic and remember that insurance companies are
not non profit organizations, and as such their first
goal is to make money, not to take care of you. So
giving you as little as they can get away with is
absolutley gonna be the name of their game. Sometimes
the squeaky wheel will get the grease. You may have to
go up a few levels in the customer service chain of
command, but it may be well worth it. If it is the
latter situation, and you are dealing with another
person's insurance company, you have nothing to lose
by pushing as hard as you can, and threatening bodily
injury, medical, yada yada, not willing to settle
until you get your figure. Either way, figure the
insurance company as your enemy and their motive to
pay you as little as possible. They are not your
friend. This past winter my girlfriend was involved in
an accident while driving my truck. Another motorist
crashed a red light and plowed into her. My truck was
totaled, my GF sustained minor injuries. Since she was
driving my truck, and I was not involved, she and the
truck were treated as two separate cases. Since I
didnt have an injury claim, I had very little leverage
to bear regarding my truck. My truck , "in good
condition, was worth about $2800-3000, but because the
rocker panels were a bit rusted, and they would cost
$1600 to repair", they subtracted that from the value
and offered me $1200...for a very capable work and tow
vehicle. I was so infuriated I went over the
adjusters' head , and kept climbing the ladder,
supervisor after supervisor, until I got satisfaction.
I told the last guy that I would keep going until I
was sitting in Peter Lewis' office ( the claim was
with Progressive, who I will now boycott until
eternity ). He believed me, and we settled for $2100
plus towing. I was only willing to invest so much time
in it. But their underhanded actions dictated an
attorney for my GF's medical issues, which are just
now getting resolved. The moral of the story is that
insurance companies are bastards, and will screw you
any way they can. Just remeber that YOUR best interest
is not their best interest. You have to look out for
number one. Keep doing your homework, find a realistic
fair value on your bike, and go for it. Start higher
if you have to. Keep in mind this is all based on
experiences here in the states. Your insurance laws,
customs , and values may be markedly different in the
UK. Either way, I hope some of this helps. Good luck.
Keep us posted.

John

P.S. Your injuries, if any, play a part in this as
well. A friend of mine crashed and totaled his bike
earlier this year, and sustained life threatening
injuries. He was going to attempt to fix the bike
without making a claim, until the medical situation
weighed in. At that point, since he was making a
medical claim anyway, it made sense to claim the bike
as well. Good luck.

--- Gavin Lawrie <gavin.lawrie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi
> 
> Hope to pick your collective brains on how much a
> '03 reg 2003 model  
> ST might be worth.
> 
> Had an offer back from Insurance on my now-dead
> ST'03 of £4K.  This  
> for 22K miles, but full triumph service history,
> heated grips, dual  
> headlight relays fairly new Avon's and scott oiler. 
> Is this  
> reasonable or should I go back and argue?  I've
> never had a write-off  
> to deal with before, so not sure what is right form
> for such  
> activities.  £4K is way less than Parker's online
> guide price for  
> model - they suggest £4,830 from dealer, £4,480 from
> good private,  
> and £3525 from poor private seller.  They give the
> trade-in price as  
> £4090.
> 
> I guess I don't know what impact mileage would have
> on prices quoted  
> - that's the only thing that could legitimately push
> down the value  
> of the bike vs. market rates.  Presumably they
> should give me enough  
> to replace the bike...
> 
> What do you think is reasonable price - what do you
> suggest I should  
> do next?
> 
> Thanks in advance etc.
> 
> Gavin Lawrie
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