Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - Centurion Lemans Help

I have been looking for a vintage road bike to supplement my new Fisher/Trek cyclocross bike, as well as to replace my '74 Raleigh Super Course I sold a few years back (and I do regret that decision!). I ran across this bike on craig's list, and was hoping you could give me your opinion:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/bik/2659453263.html

At $90 it looks like it is probably worth the asking price, but I don't know much about the 80's Japanese bikes. I assume this bike is of mid-80s vintage, maybe '84 to '87? Tange 2 is a decent grade butted frame, right? And do you think it would give a similar ride to my old Super Course?


Thanks so much for your help!

Bob

Definitely a great deal at $90, if it's all in good shape. The ad is pretty awful, but at least it has pictures. Go for it before someone else does.

Can't say whether or not it will ride like the Raleigh.

It's a nice bike. I'd say undervalued at $90. The tires look original so I wouldn't rely on them. Goodluck

Surprised to see this listed under $200 in your market. Centurian LeMans with Tange 2 is an excellent bike.

If it's in decent shape it would be flip material where I live, even if it needs tires. Nice riding bike. Don't wait.

Gaithersburg is a bit of a drive from Alexandria but maybe worth it. Make sure he doesn't sell it from under you if you make the trip.

Thanks for the comments. I just talked to the seller, and he can't show me the bike until tomorrow morning. I told him I want it and will call him first thing tomorrow. Hopefully it will still be there!

I let you all know what happens.

Thanks, again!

This is a good price you seldom see nicer Road bikes under $100 that are ready to ride. Hope you get the bike.

It's been deleted. Someone else realized the value, or did you get it?

+1 $90 for anything other than a crappy XMart bike in a major metro market = instant sale. There are surely scoopers in the DC area that would pounce on a deal like this one. Hopefully you beat them to the bike!

Well, I didn't get the bike:( I called the seller, who told me he was at work and couldn't do anything about selling it until 10:00am the next morning. When I called him back at 9:30am, he told me it was sold. I even told him I would take the bike, and not to sell to anyone else, but clearly that wasn't enough.

I saw another bike later in the weekend that I also wanted, a late 80's Specialized Sirrus for $185. I saw this one two hours after the ad was first posted, and when I called a half hour later it had already been sold. So a lesson learned over the last few days; if you see a good deal on a nice 80s road bike in this market, if you have to research the bike at all it will be gone! Time to study this forum in much more detial than I have, and to make it a habit to check Craig's list every couple of hours, particularly on the weekend!

BTW, does anyone have tips on how to quickly filter throught the tons of junk on Craig's list bicycle area? There is a huge amount of listings to scroll through to get to the good stuff on the DC list.

Thanks!

So a lesson learned over the last few days; if you see a good deal on a nice 80s road bike in this market, if you have to research the bike at all it will be gone! Time to study this forum in much more detial than I have, and to make it a habit to check Craig's list every couple of hours, particularly on the weekend!

Exactamundo! and bingo!! The above statement has been written about 1000 times. If I am selling a bike and a prospective buyer tells me he wants it and will buy it that does not mean either of those things are true. I know it sucks but if you sell enough of anything on CL those are just the facts.

I tell the buyer if he wants it bad enough paypal me. That does happen once in awhile and weeds out the time wasters.

+2

As a seller I don't expect any buyer to actually buy the bike until they are handing me the cash. Otherwise I will take them first come first served. As a buyer you need to hit the good deals immediately or you will miss out.

The frustrating thing about this sellor was that he told me he was working and could't be bothered about the bike until the next day, and that he would hold it for me. Otherwise if he had told me first come first served, I would have hopped on the metro immediately. Oh well. Live and learn.

I guess I will have to just not take no for an answer in the future!

The frustrating thing about this sellor was that he told me he was working and could't be bothered about the bike until the next day, and that he would hold it for me. Otherwise if he had told me first come first served, I would have hopped on the metro immediately. Oh well. Live and learn.

I guess I will have to just not take no for an answer in the future!

I have been successful suggesting some convenient, BUT IMMEDIATE, transaction in such cases. Had one that I called at 8:30PM, guy said why not wait until the morning. So I just continued with the "I can come by right now, cash in hand, no problem at all, will that be OK with you?" Turned out to be a Trek 400T, in a very desirable small size (18 inch frame), in great shape, for $60.

Even if the seller would have waited until the morning, by then he would have been bombarded with emails, offers over the asking price, etc. Sure enough, by the time I arrived, the seller told me he had two people coming first thing in the morning if I did not want the bike.

On good to great deals, you have to get in the car and drive, immediately. In any decent sized market area, there are several people scanning C/L continuously to snag deals. To beat them to the punch is very difficult, and starts with moving immediately. I can guarantee you that one of those scoopers came up with an excuse to close the deal that evening, like "My wife is going into the hospital in the morning for surgery, could I please come by tonight?"

When sellers post a phone number, I always start the conversation with: "I'd like to come by NOW to buy your bike." I find this works a lot better than: "When can I come by?"

My best luck on scooping deals on C/L are when the seller has a terrible ad, no pictures, minimal/no description, etc. A lot of the scoopers around here are lazy. They tend to chase the obvious deals.

Excellent advise, Sir! :thumb::thumb::thumb:

It will be taken to heart, for sure. Thanks very much for sharing your experience!