nrsmd

I am looking to buy a new road bike in the $4,000.00 range (with help of insurance). Wondering if local bike shops are willing to negotiate the price they list for their in-stock 2012s since 2013s are now here. That is, is the price advertised negotiable???

10 Wheels

Depends

nrsmd

Can you elaborate????

LowCel 

Only one way to find out for sure.

Ancient Mariner

And that is the correct answer. In my case, I bought a 2012 Giant Defy Composite 2. It was sitting on the floor right next to the 2013 models, and the only difference was the paint job. Components were all the same; it was substantially the same bike. They knocked $250 off the MSRP of the 2012 bike, and the new bikes are $125 more than last year. Net savings, $375.

You really have to take a hard look at the two together, and then decided if there are changes that affect the value for you. In my case, the only differences were cosmetic, so it was a no-brainer to me. The dealer should be willing to negotiate on a 'year-old' bike, though.

10 Wheels

Early 2012.... Bought one 2011 for 50% Off and a 2nd for 58% Off

Kurogashi

depends on the model you want to buy. if it sells like hot cakes, then no they wont give you a steep discount.

if the store is in a busy area with a lot of business, they wont sell you a steep discount either.

it also depends how good of a negotiator you are (i.e. likability, able to prove you're a valuable customer, etc).

so yeah, it depends.

rangerdavid

Almost every price is negotiable, if you know how.

mpath

If there's no substantive change between current year and new year, I'd always go with current year and pocket the savings - more money for gear.

neospazzy

Negotiating with hard ca$h also help$ in some ca$e$.

Training.Wheels

Totally does. A manager at my LBS wouldn't go past a 10% discount for a 2012 Bianchi roadie, but since I had bought a bike from them 3 months earlier, it gave me some leverage when she asked the store owner if I could get the 18% off that I asked for. He said "ok fine, if it's in cash."

itchyjoe

Walked in an LBS about a month ago and made a $4500 cash "out the door" offer on a new 2012 Roubaix Pro--$1000 off MSRP. They took it so fast I was bummed I didn't go lower! So go for it if there's a bike you really want---but be ready to walk as part of your deal. It's your $$$ and you're in the driver's seat as the buyer!

bigbadwullf

2012 Tarmac Elite with Rival for $1800. That was his price. Didn't have the shame to ask for lower than that. But you never know until you ask. And that leaves you in the place you've been all along...

eippo1

Yup, might as well ask. A lot of models did sell out during the summer, so wouldn't be avail. let alone on sale, but you might get lucky in your price range.

Dee Tee

Once the 2013s came out I bought a new 2011 and got a $500+ discount off the original 2011 price, which was close to $ 1,000 off the 2013 price.

Cookiemonsta

My experience has been that prices are always negotiable. Models that are from last year are sold in some shops for as much as 20% less than the new ones, even if the only difference is the paint job. So that immediately opens up the conversation.

The last bike I bought was the showroom bike, and I got it at 35% off when the new bikes came in around September. There was another Koga Miyata Kimera that they sold at 25% off just because it was last years model, but it was out of my price range. On that bike however, the discount amounted to about 850 euros.

Honestly, somewhere around september is probably the best time to buy a bike.