quoting vintage frames for insurance

so my frame got ruined by a car last night, and i need to provide a quote for the driver’s insurance company, but its a vintage frame.

has anyone had this experience before? where do i find a quote from? ebay searches of the same brand frame? try and find how much i paid* for the frame?

i really don’t want to end up with something crappier, but i also don’t want to have this drag on by quoting something that the driver is going to perceive as unreasonable.

what a drag.

  • it is actually my friend’s bike, making matters worse.

no advice sorry, but i hope you’re okay!

Soz to hear. Is it Tom’s bike?

Maybe a call to someone like Kev from paconi? Has frame pedigree and might be able to give a reasonable idea of worth?

providing i send him a packet of mint slice?

You do what you need to do! Maybe even a pack of choc ripples!

but seriously, what can he do without seeing the frame in person? and as if he’s going to put anything in writing for me to give to the driver. dude is busy enough.

what about finding 10+ botteccia frames on ebay that have finished (and sold) and get the average price of those? print that shit out? would that work?

i’ve never done this before.

I have no idea. Maybe.

I just thought that perhaps Kev might count as like, i don’t know, ‘knowledgeable’ bloke in the industry’.

Have done plenty of this. Its replacement value for that frame. If it was Columbus SL you need a quote for Columbus SL frame, if he’s got insurance he isn’t the one paying it. The insurance company is.

a quote for a columbus SL frame from a builder? (is SL around anymore anyway?) or find the value of a frame with that tubeset on ebay?

more importantly you ok?

yep, i think the frame (and my helmet) took all the impact.

just go to a bike shop, explain what the frame is, components, etc, what you think is equivalent. they should be able to provide a proper quote (and at aus bike store prices, which will be more than what someone is flogging it for on Gumtree/ebay). if you don’t like the quote, you don’t have to use it.
also be sure to get quotes for everything, like clothes that were wrecked

you would normally go like-for-like.
so an SL frame of similar vintage and quality.
next would be similar tubeset of similar vintage and quality.
finally, get a quote for a new frame built with similar tubeset

where do i get this quote from though? coz ebay is going to give me something way different to say, a fyxo frame.

plus i have no idea what this bike is made out of, there’s no stickers.

i’m going to take the bike into a shop to get looked over in case there is other shit wrong that i’ve missed, so far i think its just the front wheel that needs truing.

May be try gear for a collosi Columbus quote?
Or try these guys, it’s new and the same brand, should be pretty easy
Bottecchia Bicycles

Id be getting a quote from a couple of different frame builders to build a replacement frame.

Do this

Get quotes from bike shops (walk in to the shop with the coolest/nicest people and ask for a replacement cost quote)

and get some quotes from builders as well. I can do one up for you tomorrow if you email me.

Take them all to the insurance company (if you are happy that the costs cover the replacement)

It’s just a bicycle, you can get a brand new one at kmart for $79 and it’s got suspension too. As if that old rusty thing is worth $900.

If you want quick and painless, just pick an off the rack you like that is similar spec and use that. a steel Gios???
A frame builder would just confuse the issue… can it be repaired? don’t even worry about it. But don’t sign off your salvage rights though.
Took nearly 2 years to get 2k monies out of biatch ( who worked for beactive!!) that hit my GT tarck. She wanted it sent to a frame builder for repairs and i said Fuck off.
Judge threw out my claim for clothing, but not the helmet claim. YMMV

When I got hit, I took mine along to a bike shop and got a quote on repairs. It came in at $1000… given the bike only cost me $160, I ended up way ahead. I took $800 cash.