R_Z

Greetings. I chipped the seat stay on my Madone so I'm sending it off for CF repair. In the meantime, I'd like to locate an inexpensive used back up bike to ride for the next few months or how long it takes to get my bike back. Then I'll have a spare in case I get clumsy again.

I've been to see this 2000 Giant TCR 2. It's got 105's which is what my Madone has, the seat and bars look to have been changed out, but otherwise it seems in decent shape. I took it for a few spins last week and it felt ok. Once I did a minor fit, I think this bike could work if the price is right.



That's the question, what do you folks think is a fair price for this bike? The guy is asking $600. He offered to sell it to me for $500.

Is this something worth pursuing, or should I go more recent model bike? I'd like to keep it well under a grand depending on the bike. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ron

RT

Right now you can get a brand new Nashbar 105 5700 equipped bike for $799, free shipping. Underrated bikes (I have one). I personally would not buy something that is ten years old unless I was going to strip it, repaint it and rebuild it and it cost $100 or less on CL.

FWIW, without the name on the DT, that bike looks like a Denali.

cks

I think it's a good buy. You can see if he'd take 450, but the frame & fork look like they're pretty clean.

Elvo

$300

I paid $400 for a 2008 Trek SLR with Ultegra and $300 for a 2006 K2 Mod 3.0 with 10 Spd 105.

R_Z

Anyone know what a fair price would be for a 2008 Trek 2.3?

AltheCyclist

One simple way to quick-price a mass-produced, non-C&V bike would be to use 10% deprec. per year. This makes for easy calc. if you know original price (which is usually easy to find - check bikepedia, BF, etc.).
Then, it's pretty easy to quick-estimate: at 5 years, it's half of original, at 10 years old, 1/3 of original.
Example: 5-yr old bike originally $1000 ... today $500
Example: 10-yr old bike originally $1000 ... today $333
This is just general guideline - have to adjust for model, make, condition, but you get the idea.


So, this '08 Trek went new in 2008 for about $1500 .. today worth about $1100. Offer 900.

55/Rad

This is pretty spot on in terms of a formula at the 5 year and older mark. For a 3 year old bike, I use 1/2 of the original MSRP as a starting point. For instance, a bike with an original MSRP of $1500 probably sold originally for around $12-1300. $750 would be my starting point and I would make adjustments up and down depending on brand and model plus the equipment on the bike.

The 2.3 is a very popular bike with a good resale value. I would adjust upwards but I doubt I would be willing to pay more than $850-900.

AltheCyclist

Yeah, I try to figure what the bike sold for, not the MSRP. I just checked bikepedia -- they have $1699 as MSRP for the 2008 2.3. So, it probably went for near 1500 at the store.

I've also noticed a some psych with sellers - they tend to not want to discount more than 5-10% of asking.
For instance, if the seller is asking 1000 .. they won't go below 900-950. There always are exceptions of course but knowing this can save time.
So, in this example, if the seller is asking something ridiculous (let's say $1400) for the Trek 2.3, then you don't even have to bother to make a bid because they won't go below 1250. If they're asking reasonable, like $950 .. you could bid the $850.

RT

This is when I politely inform them they are asking far too much, wish them luck and remind them that they have my email address.

R_Z

He's asking $1100 with matching trek helmet. Said he'd take $1000. I offered him $950 via email. He hasn't answered.

merlinextraligh

I wouldn't pay more than $350 for the Giant.

R_Z

I thank you all for all this price info. No luck on anything yet. Found something a little more pricey. What is a good price on a 2011 Cannondale caad 10 4? It's used. Thanks.

55/Rad

Ebay completed listings is a great resource as well.