It kind of depends if that bike shop will give you a fit and/or be there if something goes wrong.

I don't know anything about this particular bike but generally speaking $500 for a 4 year old/used $800 bike from craigslist or whatever is too much in my opinion. But from a shop what will stand by it if something goes wrong.....that sounds okay to me.

It's really tough to say. Used could mean anything from totally trashed to like new condition.

 

$500 would be fair if it was NOS and the shop was looking to get ride of a very small bike that they have been unable to move for four years. It is not fair for a used four year old bike. You could find a much better deal.

 

I agree with Hank. Its a 4 yr old bike & don't go by MSRP as a guide. On avg. brand new bikes sell for much less than MSRP anyway. Although the frame seems decent enough, the components are strictly entry level, meaning heavy.

My friend bought his wife a brand new Iron horse bike complete from Nashbar for only $400. I was extremely impressed by the bang for the buck on the deal they got. If you know your sizing, check online from places like Nashbar, Performance, etc. & take advantage of the high exchange rate. If you live close enough to the US, get yourself signed up with a mail service that can receive parcels for you. This way you can go & pick it up yourself to avoid the high shipping costs to Canada.

 

The store told me that he sold it to a guy for his son 1-2 years ago. The kid didn't end up riding on it much so last fall the dad brought it back to the store. It's been sitting there since the fall.

The bike is in excellent shape with only a few minor scratches that we only saw upon closer inspection.

The LBS is nice and I've been dealing with them for a while now. Very good about servicing and I have a number of friends who go there and have gone there for years. I'm sure he'll fit me right and everything and I know he'll stand behind the bike. I was just curious about how far I should go with negotiating the price he offered me.

It's one of those older style LBS where the owner just says, here - take the bike for a couple of ays and come back and tell me if you like it. Not one of those fancier, newer stores. He's been in business for quite a while now and as far as I know, has a decent rep in the area. He's always been very nice and friendly with me - e.g.put a new tire on a used bike we got for my son at a yard sale at cost.

I don't want to go into crazy haggling with him but was thinking of asking him to throw in a couple of things (I need a shorter stem and a different women's saddle - this one HURTS!)

All this advice is really helpful!

 

and yes, prices are slightly higher in Canada as compared to the US. And I am willing to pay slightly more to support my LBS. The main thing I was thinking with all this is that if I buy from an LBS, I won't have to worry about servicing.

Buying from nashbar, I have to add on the cost of taking it to my LBS to get it put together (and no - I wouldn't have a clue). And then afterwards have to deal with the servicing issues.

I'm glad you all pointed out that the price seems a little on the high side though. I don't mind paying a little more, but don't like it if it's a LOT, kwim? His tag on the bike was $645 (and yes, I know that's just for show) and he stood and looked at it for a couple of minutes and then gave me the $500 figure.

It looks like I have some room to haggle.

 

@esj

where do you live?

He gave you the $500 figure because he'd be a cad if he tried selling you that at $645+ HST and you'd figure it out sooner or later when you realized for not that much more you could get an entry level Specialized or Trek.

It depends where you live, I don't know any that are good for deals in Vancouver but in Ottawa, Calgary and Toronto I can suggest some first places to try walking to. (all have active craigslists too)

 

oh for sure - and it was pretty obvious the price tag was mostly just for show and he always offers substantial discounts. I just need to figure out what a fair price is and how much room I have for negotiating. He showed me other new bikes and said they started at around $800 or so. I took one of them on a test ride, But its rather out of my budget.

I was planning to get a hybrid when after some discussion of my wants, he pulled this one out.

I live in a small city and I;ve been shopping around but pickings for what I need (particularly for my size) are very slim.

All your advice has been really helpful as I am slowly gaining a better understanding of what I should be considering as well as what room there is for negotiations. I was at the store today and he adjusted a few things as I was not comfortable and sent me off again to continue test riding.