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diamonddawgs5
10-04-09, 08:24 AM
I have this old Kuwahara 18 speed mountainbike from the 80's that I have no use for and is taking up room in my garage. I am trying to sell it locally but it seems that people want the crap bikes from Walmart and Costco. 4130 Chromoly frame and forks. It has Suntour XC Derailleurs, Dia-Compe Canti brakes, Suzue hubs and Weimann alloy rims. Should I part out the bike? Any help will be appreciated.
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Clean it up really well, touch up the paint, use some rust converter on the small rusty spots, get a front tire that matches, and it will sell.
In its current condition, around here, you would have to sell it at a project (give away) price. With a little work, it would sell for full market value.
While my local Craigs List is full of Walmart junk, that is NOT what buyers want. That's just an indication of what people (sellers) have in hand. Often, a bike I am selling will be the only vintage bike on my local Craigs List. Buyers have told me that they have looked for weeks (or even months) trying to find something that was not Walmart junk.
All that being said, MTBs have limited value. I buy MTBs in the condition of yours for around $20 to $30, bought a few for even less), I then do the work I describe, plus new cables, etc., and sell them for around $130 to $140. You could probably sell it as is for around $50 (but not to me).
Here's a couple examples I sold recently in that price range. Buyers want bikes that are ready to ride, and cosmetically look really good.
If you don't want to go through the hassle and effort, then parting it out is an option. But MTB parts do not have much value, as people can find complete bikes cheap. And parting it out is a pretty big hassle as well. Do you really want to have a dozen separate auctions, have to ship a dozen separate packages, etc., to maybe get $50 more for your trouble? For the same or less effort, you could just clean the bike up really well, and sell it complete for more money.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/3812783685_6c1c5fdca6.jpghttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3818149451_b07bef1f62.jpg
roccobike
10-04-09, 08:50 AM
Follow Bills advice. Also add something to your ad. Not many folks ever heard of Kuwahara. You need to remind them that it is a quality brand best known for providing the BMX bike in ET. They are at the same quality level as Trek and Specialized in the day. Letting buyer's know that will bring out those that are looking for a little vintage in their bike, but don't know about Kuwahara.
Please don't be near Phoenix, I want that thing :)
I wouldn't part it out, just clean it up as mentioned above.