ebay bike, need advise

blablablacksheep

I have recently found a very very good deal on ebay for a rockhopper specialized 2009 bike disc.

Of course being ebay you should allways be watchfull, so just wanted to get some advise from you guys about buying from ebay /second hand, i have read the guide which usefull ie about looking for breaks ect.

My main question is, when i email the seller are there any questions i should ask that would help a lot in making sure this bike is legit ect.

at the moment i going to ask him if he has the paperwork for the bike from where he got it from, would the bike be still under warrenty? sinse it 2009

bassically any questions i MUST make sure i ask him before i decide to buy/go look at bike. please tell me.

also thinking of asking him to take some pictures of the differeant areas of the bike aslo.


sorry for long post hopefully you can give some good advise.

Sikora

The warranty will only be valid to the original owner of the bike. If he hasn't registered the frame online you may be able to do it in your name

supersonic

Ideally you'd want to go and see it in the flesh.

blablablacksheep

ofc but i just thought it be idea to ask a few questions before going down to see it, are there any things i should ask that are like a must do?

when i go down i can check it out ofc and just look at bike and check for prior dmg ect.

never used ebay before so kinda paronoyed,:P

nicklouse

well for a start it should be a Specialized Rockhopper

check the specs on Specializeds web site is a good start.

Warranty is always with the place of purchase and with the original owner so second hand no warranty unless it is a shop selling on Ebay.

canada16

If its this one, I would not buy it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rockhopper-Disc-2 ... 240%3A1318

The guy has only sold 6 items, and its not that much of a savings to the new price.

He stated 557.00 new, or something like that, I would pay new to have the warranty, What happens if there is a small hairline crack in the frame?

canada16

nicklouse wrote:

well for a start it should be a Specialized Rockhopper

Wow making fun of a noob, he got his words mixed up, its not that big of a deal mate

blablablacksheep

dont worry i sure he didnt mean any offencive, though no it isnt the one you listed it a rockhopper disc 2009 for 400 pounds,

i trying to get in comtact with seller at the moment, going to check if he got paperwork for bike and weather it been serviced recently ect.

other than that i cant personally thing of anything else to ask before i buy/go vist and check it out.

i might actually go to evans first and ride their rockhopper 2009 disc then when i go to ebay guy i will know what it supposed to feel like:)

Mattmanic

There aren't many 2009 Rockhopper discs on ebay. And none that I can find at £400. Is it still for sale?

blablablacksheep

yes i belive so, heres the link, though dont bid plz lol it mine....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mountain-Bike_W0Q ... 240%3A1318

seller still afk it seems hopefully get a meeting sorted some time.

any things i should do before i look at bike? i just go along and give it the all over checking for dmg ect ect.

The Northern Monkey

20hrs to go, £400 reserve not met.
says it was £900 new.. guess reserve at £650-750?
looks like the spesh expert disk? Cant see them anywhere under £830, anything under £800 would be a steal.
then again, do you need an 09 bike?

supersonic

You lose that warranty.. I wouldnt pay more than 500 for it.

It is a great buy at 500, or 600. From a shop. But is a risk.

blablablacksheep

^^ dont quite understand what you mean, it a specialized rockhopper disc 2009, seems good deal. at 400 quid

what would you say is risky then? cos it ebay?

supersonic

Because you have no warranty, no return. Rrp of the hopper disc is not 900, so is a higher model, certainly looks it. Cant see reserve been any less than 500. Youd be better off getting a 2008 sale bike.

The Northern Monkey

Its a Rockhopper Expert Disk http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec016015

Its not £400...thats the starting bid (as you can see, the reserve hasn't been met (there have been no bids). As SS says, the reserve will be higher, i'd say around £650 as it is a new bike.

blablablacksheep

just been around the block with stores and seems i ant going to be able to get 08 model bike, and 09 i looking at 528 for a rockhopper disc 09.

at the moment i talking to ebay guy and seeing what sort of price his after,

tried merlin, seems their bike prices shot right up to 600 no less for basic bike.


any ideas, it either
rockhopper v break 400 quid
rockhopper disc 09 528
or this ebay thing, but have yet to hear from guy.


what you recon i should do then, consider going GT avalanche or something?

Mattmanic

An Avalanche disc 1 is good and can be had for around £400 now. Or theres the Carerra Kraken for £350

blablablacksheep

do you know if the GT avalanche 2.0 disc better than the 1.0? cant find reveiw for it at the moment.

Mattmanic

It's not

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 0-08-24827

blablablacksheep

the ebay guy i dont thing the sale was legit in the end he didnt respond to any pms or emails and seemed to keep putting the reserve price up and up so nobody won the bid in the end, probally never entended to sell it:( thats ebay i guess.

going shop this week to test ride rockhopper and GT sisne these are the bikes that seem to be at a non inflated price and are good hardtails.

anyone know whay rockhopper disc 09 forks are dart yet the 08 rockhopper has tora forks?? doesnt this make 08 model better..?

weeksy59

blablablacksheep wrote:

anyone know whay rockhopper disc 09 forks are dart yet the 08 rockhopper has tora forks?? doesnt this make 08 model better..?

Like everything in life... newer is always 'better'

However whether someone will notice the difference or not is very much open to debate.

jadamson

try a Carrera Fury there at £450 at the moment.

supertwisted

weeksy59 wrote:

blablablacksheep wrote:

anyone know whay rockhopper disc 09 forks are dart yet the 08 rockhopper has tora forks?? doesnt this make 08 model better..?

Like everything in life... newer is always 'better'

However whether someone will notice the difference or not is very much open to debate.

The rising costs of componentry has meant Specialized has had to down-spec the 09 bikes to keep the price the same.

So in a word, yes, the 08 bike is superior (it has exactly the same frame, but better parts). But of course, finding an 08 bike will be difficult. Dales Cycles were selling the 08 Rockhopper Disc for £500 up until last week, but alas they are out of stock now.

blablablacksheep

i found a rockhopper v break 08 for 400 pounds:) going to test ride it this weekend, also considering testing the GT avalanche 1.0disc and maybe try the Commencal Combi Disc 2009

is the commencal combie disc 09 any good out of interest, have been unable to find some reveiws of it, also same goes for the GT avalanche expert 08 cant find any for this either.


the commencal and expert are the bikes i might get if they prove to be a lot better than the rockhopper 08 v break or gt 1.0, if not it wont be worth paying the extra for them if they arent going to be that much better than the 400 pound bikes.


cheers again for help

supertwisted

08 Rockhopper V-Brake is only £350 from Dales Cycles. Mine is being delivered on Thurs. Unless you're buying from your LBS of course.

I've sat on the 09 Commencal Combi Disc, but not ridden it. Top tube is quite short, but standover is very good. Was a bit too cramped for me (hence the Rockhopper). Nice bike though, good fork and decent brakes. Compares well to the 08 Rockhopper Disc in spec.

blablablacksheep

i going evans this week end to try bikes out so will see which one fits best.

found another ebay deal, very tempting price and condition looks good and deal seems legit unlike the one i thought was at first.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GT-AVALANCHE-EXPE ... 240%3A1318

pretty good? probally looking for about 450-500 i recon from what his told me, though i havnt ridden a GT before so cant really judge till i try one out.