Originally Posted by
The Golden Boy
I think this is important to note. Thrifty Bill knows that while you wait for the deals to come to you, sometimes you need to pay FMV+ for something you really want.
Part of all this is knowing what you want and knowing what you're looking at. Knowing that you're looking at a common, entry level bike- even if you like it, it's not worth chasing after with fists full of cash. Finding a rare bike in good shape is.
I'll third this. I've generally stuck to buying bikes that are well under FMV, mostly due to not having tons of unallocated income floating around (three little kids seem to soak up any excess!). When a cherry 1976 Centurion Pro Tour in my size came up locally, I jumped at it, and paid FMV+ for it. Sure I might have saved $100 bucks if it languished for a month or two, but I probably would have lost out to someone else. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, and put your money down.