newbie ? about lbs

[Hsudo]

Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm very new to biking. I've only bought a used bike once, and so I don't know how to deal with local bike stores at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I looked in this forum and others, including the Beginner's one but couldn't find advice on how to haggle or negotiate with a lbs for the best price.

I am interested in a 2004 Trek 6700. MSRP is about $770. I've only gone to a few stores so far, and $699 is the lowest I've seen so far.

I would like any advice or tips on getting the best price. Anything specific I can say or do? For example, I heard bike stores sometimes may give discounts to certain bike club members.

So for a bike with a retail price of $770, what should I consider to be a good price? Is $699 probably the best deal I'll get?

Is it possible to ask salesperson for "out the door price" meaning no sales tax?

Also, what are the typical perks/benefits one gets when buying a new bike from a store? I've gotten the impression that a few free tune ups can be thrown in. But I read elsewhere that a person was able to get life-time service or something like that. So what's common? Is life-time tune-ups unheard of and too much to ask?

Sorry if the questions seem lame/dumb... I honestly am new to biking and have never dealt with a salesperson from a bike store. I just want to get the most out of my dollar and receive a reasonable amount of benefits (service and tune-ups) in return.

So for those out there who are a lot more experienced in dealing with various bike stores, please share any tips or words of wisdom. Thank you.

 

[ibike73]

First off about the price for the bike. If you can get a $770.00 bike for $699.00. I would consider that as a good deal.

There are many approaches to getting a good deal on a bike. You could join club to get a discount in the future. for me I just use the same shops all the time. I have 2 shops that I use, well now 1 because the other closed (guy retired). I have just built my repor with the guys there by going in alot, but not just to hang out. I make sure I spend money everytime I go in. Now I am not made of money so it may only be $5 on cleaners, but I made a purchase. Granted some of my bike tune-ups have gone as high as $700 when I switched to SRAM X.0. But when ever I go in I buy something. Some of the best things to pick up are cleaners and tubes. Because they will never go bad and you will always need them.

The other good thing about this is the quick adjust aspect of it also. With the repor that I have with this shop I get stuff done quick. If I walk in with a rim in my hands I am out the door with the rim trued up in about 20 minutes. Sometimes he charges me, and sometimes he does not. But you have to find a really good shop though, because if the mechanics working on your bike are not good it is all for nothing.

I hope that answered your question and gave you some useful advice.

Ron

 

[stealie72]

Go for it. I've always seen tuneups as kind of a non-perk, because the stuff they do for free (lubing, tigthing cables, etc) can be done at home pretty easily. It's not free overhauls.

I want to second the notion of developing a rapport with your LBS. This can make a huge difference. Even if it's only to get the names of the guys who work there, so when you call for something you can say "is Brian there today" and sound like an insider.

Yeah, pricewise the LBS isn't usually that great, but hey, that's like any local business. You don't want to buy your bike at Wal Mart, do you? Join your local bike club, and the good shops in the area probably have a discount with them (nothing huge, but usually like 10-20%). Some shops will even give you this discount on full bikes, so you might want to investigate ahead of time.

It's not always about price, however. The catalog isn't going to pick up the phone when you call at 7AM hoping to get the machine to see when they open and tell you to come on in for the part you need, even though they don't open for two more hours (happened to me with Bicycle Pro Shop in DC).

Also, on a bike with a list of $770, $700 ain't bad, especially in the spring. At that price point, there's not a ton of wiggle room/profit for the LBS. In addition to the tuneups and whatnot that get tossed in with a new bike, a good shop should set the bike up exactly how you like it (go on a tuesday afternoon when it's slow). Again, it's not that easy at that price point, but if you need longer cranks, shorter stem, etc, they should be able to swap out parts for you, either for free, or for a minimal cost. Odds are they have a bunch of parts laying around in the back that they've swapped off other bikes that they can draw on.

So in short, there's not a ton of haggling you can do on a bike at that price (but hey, it never hurts), but you might convince them to throw in some bottle cages or toe clips to sweeten the deal. Get it at the shop that treats you best, and that you feel you can have the best long-term relationship with. You're not going to get a much better deal on a $770 list bike in-season.

 

[BanditManDan]

Originally posted by Hsudo
Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm very new to biking. I've only bought a used bike once, and so I don't know how to deal with local bike stores at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I looked in this forum and others, including the Beginner's one but couldn't find advice on how to haggle or negotiate with a lbs for the best price.

I am interested in a 2004 Trek 6700. MSRP is about $770. I've only gone to a few stores so far, and $699 is the lowest I've seen so far.

I would like any advice or tips on getting the best price. Anything specific I can say or do? For example, I heard bike stores sometimes may give discounts to certain bike club members.

So for a bike with a retail price of $770, what should I consider to be a good price? Is $699 probably the best deal I'll get?

Is it possible to ask salesperson for "out the door price" meaning no sales tax?

Also, what are the typical perks/benefits one gets when buying a new bike from a store? I've gotten the impression that a few free tune ups can be thrown in. But I read elsewhere that a person was able to get life-time service or something like that. So what's common? Is life-time tune-ups unheard of and too much to ask?

Sorry if the questions seem lame/dumb... I honestly am new to biking and have never dealt with a salesperson from a bike store. I just want to get the most out of my dollar and receive a reasonable amount of benefits (service and tune-ups) in return.

So for those out there who are a lot more experienced in dealing with various bike stores, please share any tips or words of wisdom. Thank you.

I could be wrong but I don't think there is much room for negotiation in the price of a new bike. What my LBS does is throw in the first tune-up and second one for free. They also gave me a 10% discount on all bike accesories (i.e. pump, helmet, cloths, bags, tubes......) when buying a new bike.

Dan.

 

[serenaslu]

Originally posted by BanditManDan
I could be wrong but I don't think there is much room for negotiation in the price of a new bike. What my LBS does is throw in the first tune-up and second one for free. They also gave me a 10% discount on all bike accesories (i.e. pump, helmet, cloths, bags, tubes......) when buying a new bike.

I find that this varies considerably with geographic area and competition among LBS's. I now am back living in an area where a regional "chain" has acquired almost all dealership of the Trek-Lemond-Klein (Bontrager Bunch) line. As a result you'll pay about as much in this line for a comparably equipped 2003 as you can get a new 2004 stock elsewhere.

Some dealers will refuse to discount to the point I've seen them sit on 2001 models for only $50 below the MSRP on a $2300 bike; others can have 50% off on a "new" two year old model. So it definetely varies.