Depreciation

hardyp

Thinking of getting my first serious mtb. Will probably only keep it a year before upgrading or less if I don't get on with it. Is there any makes that hold their value well and are easy to sell on, don't want to lose loads of cash after a few months or stuck with a bike I can't sell.

Andy B

Whatever you buy you will lose about 50% in depreciation in a year.

bigger name brands tend to sell easier, but still lose a big chunk in depreciation after a year

handful

I bought a GT Avalanche 1 2008 model in Sepember last year for £450 but on the Cycle to Work Scheme so didn't pay anything like that. When I sold it on ebay about 3 weeks ago I was astounded to get £311 for it. It was very very well looked after mind you, cleaned and lubed meticlously after every ride and did look almost like new. There was loads of interest as well, around 75 watchers at one point and 6 people actually bidding against each other so from my experience, GT would be a good choice if you get one at a good price. I posted another thread about 20% off GTs at Halfords at the moment as well so maybe that would offset some depreciation as well.

Hmm, I'm beginning to sound like Supersonic with all this talk about GTs

.blitz

hardyp wrote:

Thinking of getting my first serious mtb. Will probably only keep it a year before upgrading or less if I don't get on with it.

Even if you don't like it, if you keep it long enough it will eventually become a 'classic' or even better a 'ltd edition'. At this point you can bung it eBay and sell it to some sucker for a tidy profit. Result.

diy

Some LBS are selling off 2009 stock of high end bikes at near half price.. You could probably sell these on in the summer at only 25% less. Or you can buy second hand and maybe loose 10%.

Marin, Specialized and Orange hold their value well. Trek, Scott and Kona, reasonably well, The higher price Halfords brands probably wont.

The Spiderman

Specialized hold their value well.I once bought an immaculate year old Rockhopper,which was unsold at the end of an ebay auction.Turned out the seller was quite local,did a deal for £275,sold it a year later for £300!

Given the price hikes this year the 2009 models are the way to go.For example you could pick up an 09 Rockhopper for around £500,when the latest one is going to be £700.
They will both depreciate at the same rate so the 09 is going to retain proportionally more of its value.You need to move fsat though.....

Mr Wu

Id go for Orange/Spesh myself,

Bikes i find, are a little like guitars, if you buy a good guitar you dont tend to lose money on it.