Depreciation?

[British]

What might be the percentage depreciation on the price of a bike frame

a. once it leaves the shop from new? 20%?

b. after a couple of years of fair use? 40%?

Thanks, Jason.

[saab2000]

Depends on the frame, but my experience is that a 50%-60% depreciation is more normal for a couple years of use.

My Serotta was bought for about 70% LESS than its new price when I got it last year and it was about 18-24 months old and had barely been used.

My Merckx Majestic Ti was about 50% less than new when I got it on eBay used about for about a year or two.

Finally, my Look KG381i was about 60% less than new when I got it this fall.

Bikes rarely hold their value well. Good for the buyer, not so good for the seller.

[CNY rider]

I think a lot depends on size, geometry, and custom sizing.

I agree that the up front depreciation is at least 50%.

A common size, say 54-58 cm, in a standard geo has the best chance of selling at a decent price. Sizes at the extremes of small/large and custom geos would go for even bigger discounts, if a buyer can be found at all. Do a search for vandedas custom Vanilla. That would have been snapped up in a millisecond if it was bigger.

[marle]

Maybe Serotta could lease Meivicis?

[Jeff N.]

50% is the general rule. If the bike is my size, then it goes up even further. Jeff N.

[gt6267a]

after factoring issues about warranty, condition and potential damage etc. etc. it is rare that i pay more than 50% of the new price for used products. otherwise, i just buy new and don't bother with the unknowns.

[djg]

SAAB's guess sounds pretty reasonable to me. Plainly, just out of the shop ought to be considerably lower. The only addition I'd make is that there's really not much of a standard here--e-bay prices can be all over the map and there really isn't any other large-scale, well-developed market for used bikes of which I'm aware. There's this or that bulletin board, etc. Prices vary not just according to age and condition of the bike, but all sorts of variables (model, size, color, season, phases of the moon--whatever). If somebody publishes some sort of depreciation schedule, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

[Ken Robb]

I think custom bikes take a bigger hit than quality bikes with stock geos. This is partly due to custom geos maybe being so far from the norm that they don't work for many buyers at all and partly because the custom frame may have cost extra to begin with. I might be willing to pay 60% of the new price for a $2000 brand X with stock geos so that's $1200. If the frame was a mild custom with a 1cm shorter top tube I might still pay $1200 for it used but if there was a $300 up-charge to the original buyer for the custom geos then the depreciation is higher.

If the customizing was radical like a 3cm shorter TT and a 75 degree seat tube I wouldn't buy it at all, neither would most other folks so the old supply/demand equation would probably drive the price way down.

[yeehawfactor]

I think custom bikes take a bigger hit than quality bikes with stock geos. This is partly due to custom geos maybe being so far from the norm that they don't work for many buyers at all and partly because the custom frame may have cost extra to begin with. I might be willing to pay 60% of the new price for a $2000 brand X with stock geos so that's $1200. If the frame was a mild custom with a 1cm shorter top tube I might still pay $1200 for it used but if there was a $300 up-charge to the original buyer for the custom geos then the depreciation is higher.

you've got tubing selection too, a serotta built for someone that's 6-0 and 155 would not work too well for someone that's 6-0 and 255. that's assuming they fit on the same size bike.......

[vandeda]

Do a search for vandedas custom Vanilla. That would have been snapped up in a millisecond if it was bigger.

LOL ... me and that bike are going to become infamous ... I feel special that my no-sell gets publicity. I found a use for it though, winter beater ... caked in road salt, but it's being ridden.

Yeah, us shorties/tallies have it tough. When selling, not a lot of buyers out there. When buying, not a lot of sellers out there. Ugh! The selections are too thin. Whatcha gonna do?

[MarleyMon]

Yeah, us shorties/tallies have it tough.

worse for shorties, because of our statistically significant lower pay rates!
I had my first fitting done 2 weeks ago, and that Vanilla would fit great w/ a 12 cm stem. Too bad I am so poor. Won't the road salt have an adverse affect on it?

[ndoshi72c]

What might be the percentage depreciation on the price of a bike frame

a. once it leaves the shop from new? 20%?

b. after a couple of years of fair use? 40%?

Thanks, Jason.

It seems certain brands and models just hold the public's interest a little more too. I am always surprised that a Bianchi Pista will sell for 70-75% of its original retail value after a few years of decent use. Don't even get started with Bridgestones for the early 90's, but I suppose those are collector's items now and not really a fair comparison.

[vandeda]

worse for shorties, because of our statistically significant lower pay rates!

Won't the road salt have an adverse affect on it?

LOL about the pay. Life can be unfair sometimes ... and it's not just height. Masters vs. Bachelors degree can make a difference, even when there is zero difference in work accomplished, quality of work or criticality (or maybe the person with the BS having greater criticality). Don't ask me how I know that later one ;)

As for road salt, it depends on the paint quality. My '88 Centurion spent years riding in the winter and caked in road salt. When it was stripped, there was only very minor rust in the areas where the paint/powder coat (not sure which .. I'm thinking powdercoat because standard paint stripper had no effect on it) was chipped. Where the paint was intact, the tubes perfect. It had a very durable finish.

So, if the paint is as tough and not porous like the Centurion, it should be OK. We'll see a few years from now.

But, caked in road salt is better than sitting in my basement with 2 flat tires as it had been for 1/2 yr+ as I was trying to sell it. :banana:

[MarleyMon]

I'll second the criticality of education. However, I can earn a degree, but not an inch of height, or a head w/ hair on top. And (studies show) these make a difference. and BS? - I got no rap, either!

to return to the OP - I couldn't get an offer over 50% on a MTB I rode only 500 miles over 18 months, and it is in good shape. I did restrict it to my local market, though (didn't want to ship it) so marketing makes a difference.

Vandeda - Ride that Vanilla however you see fit - as long as you enjoy it! Just keep it intact for when my ship comes in.

[Ginger]

A used bike is worth 30-50% of the bikes original value.
Some hold their value better than others.

[vandeda]

I'll second the criticality of education.

Oh ... I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant criticality as in criticality to your company. Basically, if you leave, how much does it hurt them. So in essence, the MS vs. BS degrees don't even matter for the work being accomplished, but the MS gets more pay purely for having an MS even though they're no more valuable/productive.

I'll make sure to keep that saddle warm on the 'nilla ;)

dan

[Ti Designs]

From who's perspective are you assigning a value? If you're thinking about selling it on ebay I might agree with the answers so far. I deal with insurance companies on car vs bike cases where the insurance company would love to depreciate the bike 15% per year owned - that's not gonna happen on my watch. First, understand the law. The wording of the law on replacement value is to "make the injured whole", in other words, replace the bike with equal functional value. At this point I'm working with a number of lawyers on establishing a very low depreciation rate on bikes. The reasoning behind this is that bike prices have followed the rest of the market in their rise, and yet there are still lots of 20 year old bikes doing just fine. Unlike cars, the motor on the bike isn't part of the bike. The wearing parts are the chain and freewheel, which are a small portion of the whole cost, much like the oil and filter are on a car.

Oddly enough, the one case that came under question was a 1994 Serotta Legend Ti which was struck by a car. I wrote it up as a replacement Legend Ti with the newer version of the same component group. I went on to explain that much of the equipment was not interchangable with the newer stuff, or damaged beyond reliable use (I use the term future liability - insurance companies hate that). For a 1994 bike, the Legend Ti, 'cept for the 1" steerer, could be mistaken for this year's bike. The dropouts have changed, the diameter of the head tube has changed, but what I wrote up as a replacement looked exactly the same as the old bike (same geometry, same color, same decals...) Any other bike, given the 11 year time gap would have seen some changes in construction or technology.

As much as I have fun with insurance adjusters, this case was special. I had both frames in hand, the broken old one and the new one. The driver of the van was with the military, so the insurance company had to document everything, so they wanted to know they were paying so much for a bike frame (in insurance adjuster school they preach the $100 replacement value of any bike). The guy wanted to ask me some question where I would have to admit that the new frame was an upgrade, but given 15 minutes we went around in circles about which tube is called the down tube and why one bike had large dents in it while the other didn't - "your insured driver put those there with his front bumper...".

[Ginger]

Good point Ti...we didn't ask "why." Whether it was a: what can I expect to actually get for this bike when I sell it vs. what is the bike actually worth.