wizard_swears

Let me begin by saying that I know next to nothing about bicycles which is how I let myself make what I am beginning to think was a very bad purchase.

Today I bought what I thought was a mildly used '03 or '04 Trek 4300 mountain bike. The asking price was $225 but I talked the guy down to $160 which seemed like a good deal to me at the time. I took the bike straight to the local bike shop and it turns out that it needs new cables, a new chain, and new tires. This will be almost $200 by the time they are done with the tune up.

After getting home and poking around on bikepedia I discovered that the bike is actually a '02 model.

Can anyone offer any encouraging information about this bike model that will make me feel as though I haven't just thrown my hard earned money down the toilet? I guess I got sucked in by the brand name.

Update:

I got up the nerve to ask the man if he would be willing to take the bike back since it needs so much work done and he said he would.

I dropped it off at the bike shop 20 minutes before they closed today so if I call them early it's likely that they won't have started working on it yet. Do you think they will charge for inconveniences?

MC Hank

Do you have fun riding it?

mystolenbikes

Lol. Did you read his post? bike needs $200 worth of work.

You could've picked up a brand new one around 400 bucks. I say dump that sucker back on craigslist put that repair money on top of what you get and pick up a new one or look for another used one that is in better condition.

brand new trek.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes..._series/3500/#

MC Hank

If he is having fun on the bike your inane comments hold no water. Your "$200 worth of work" BS is equally suspect.

try again?

mystolenbikes

Oh look we have a keyboard badass on the board. lol

bike doesn't even have tires that he can ride on.

RIC0

I don't see as a bad thing only an invitation to the world of bikes and upkeep. Just think if you had two bikes to keep tires, chains, brake pads, etc, etc on???

I don't think you got screwed but the cables chain and tires for $200 sounds overpriced unless they are selling you higher end stuff that you might now want.

curbtender

I guess you test rode it before you bought it and it worked ok? All that stuff you mentioned is general maintenance stuff that would be the bread and butter of a bike shop. It may or may not be a crucial repair. It's like a car shop telling you it's 3000 miles you need an oil change.

otg 

Wizard Swears, I bet you could do the work the bike needs yourself for less than hals of what the bike shop wants for it. Poke around this forum and othersa, check utube videos, Park tool website, etc. The work you are talking about is not really that hard to do, and you will know how the bike works a lot better after you are done. I'd say to try riding the bike as it is and slowly do the work that it needs as you can afford it.

MC Hank

Sorry to disappoint you sally.

I'm not a "key board badass" I'm just someone who understands that mountain biking can be enjoyed on many different types of rigs, despite lameass comments from wannabes like your self.

Try again?

mystolenbikes

You think $ 200 to much for all that stuff that bike needs plus the labor? A decent tire is going to cost him about 20 bucks a piece. about 5 bucks a piece for the inner tubes, around 20 bucks for the chain, 20 bucks for the cables, 10 bucks for the cable housing and another 20 bucks for two pairs of brake pads.

It's 120 bucks for the parts alone and I was being conservative with those prices. Do you think 80 bucks is to much money to charge for tune up and about 2hrs of labor? Guys at the shop needs to get paid, rent needs to be paid, and bunch of other expenses that comes with owning a shop needs to be paid.
LOL now you just became a troll. GTFO with your dumbass comments.

Zephyr11

Keep it on topic, guys.

OP, $200 total or $200 worth of work? If it's $200 worth of work, get your refund from Craigslist dude and buy a new bike. If it's $200...not a smoking deal, but it could have been worse. Though I'm assuming based on the amount of work you're listing, we're talking $200 worth of work. Plus it sounds like it was either left outside or abused. Since the guy offered to take it back, I'd do that.

009jim

I'm sick and tired of hearing about people who buy stuff and then realize they bought a lemon. Have a falcon look at the thing before you buy it. Now we have a government making new laws to protect these people. Nobody made new laws when I bought a POS. You live and learn. I bet if I took my bike to the shop they would say it needs $200 worth of work too.

JonathanGennick 

Return it. If he's willing to accept it back, take him up on that offer.

Your story is why I'm not fond of pointing new people towards buying used as so many others do.

Put that money towards something new that you will be excited about.

p.s. I have to give some credit to the seller for being a stand-up guy and offering you an out.

curbtender

I see the OP left it at the shop already. Probably a little over an hours work on it. Better hope they were busy.

Yo Spiff

Kudos to the seller for being willing to take it back. I bought a lens one time from CL and upon trying it out, discovered the stabilizer wasn't working right and was actually causing blur. The seller gave me my money back and said he would send the lens off for repair. He could have just ignored my attempts to contact him, so he got a lot of respect from me for his honesty.

Cables, chain and tires are normal maintenance items that you can expect any used bike to possibly need. If you can learn to do the work yourself, then you will know what to look for in the future and you will be able to do the repairs for the cost of the parts.

I recently bought an '87 Nishiki sport for my daughter for $40 and it was in terrible shape. However, the seller was another enthusiast who didn't misrepresent the bike. By the time I was done, I had $150-200 in the bike, and my daughter loves it.