People often don't take the age of a bike into consideration when they purchase used. It does matter. As someone mentioned earlier, the older the bike, the more wear and tear. My wife's first bike, purchased this year, is a 2001 LeMond. It is reaching the point where maintenance costs are not worth it. Sometimes spending more money up front will end up saving you money and time in the long run. In my opinion, used bikes are all but valueless unless you have proof of a good maintenance history.