Slackerprince

A lot of people agonizing( and rightfully so) about which bike to buy might consider a used bike.
They can be a great value.
Concerns would be:
How the bike has been treated.
Undetected damage.
No warranty.
No LBS service, etc.

Here is a nice carbon with Ultegra:

https://tampa.craigslist.org/bik/682456221.html

Not bad for the price.
You have to be patient for frame size when shopping used, though.
Hope this is of help to someone.

S.

55/Rad

Buying used certainly has its advantages - particularly if you know what you are doing. Building used has even greater advantages...biggest being...much more bike for the buck. I haven't bought a brand new bike since 1989.

My latest project - a 2007 Orbea Orca. Demo frame, 2004 Campy Record drivetrain in pristine condition, new seatpost, stem, wheels and tires. Bars, pedals and saddle were picked up used off Ebay or similar. Bike looks brand new and without a scratch. Total cost - less than half what it would have cost new.

55/Rad

55/Rad

Oh and as for the 5500 linked above. Fair price...not outstanding but fair. I think that frame is an '03 or '04 with newer drivetrain. I picked mine up for the same amount...but it came with 9 speed Ultegra and better wheels and was only a year old at the time.

JMT114

I bought my current bike used on Ebay. It was an '07, I paid $900. I saw the exact same bike at an LBS the other day and it was $1899.00. Made me feel like I got a pretty good deal, but I was scared the entire time until the bike arrived and I assembled it.

Luckily, no problems and it rides great.

H82GOSLW

Bought my Giant OCR on eBay. First bike I"ve purchased in 25 years. Got it at a great price with some add-ons the seller threw in. I was in the same boat as JMT... a tad on edge until the bike got to my house. It was in perfect shape, and the seller has even emailed me 3 times since getting it to make sure everything has been ok with the bike. Nice to see there's still some good people left in the world.

orcanova

That's inspirational, Rad. How much did you spend on the total build?

eippo1

Got my race bike off of CL. Fuji Team SL 2003 that was only a year old for $1000

55/Rad

It's hard to quote an exact price as I already owned some of the pieces. Around $2500 is my estimate.

cyccommute 

That's the key. You need a pretty high level of experience to know what you are doing and newbies seldom have that. Personally, I'm at a point in my life where I don't need, or want, someone else's junk

patentcad

That Trek is not the example I would have picked.

Slackerprince

I just did a quick search for carbon and found that. It is decent with the Ultegra and a few other name components. It is just an example for the purpose of demonstrating what is available "used." You would probably be able to score it for $1000 if you waved cash in front of them. There was a crazy orangish Bianchi there too that I thought would get criticism for being "fugly."

cyclingvirtual

Ive not bought a complete new bike but have bought a few new parts and a new frame.

Bontrager

Let someone else pay for the initial depreciation.. Just like a car.

MrCrassic 

Buying used is great, and has a ton of advantages other than not getting some free services from the LBS (like fitting, tune-up and other maintenance, etc). However, as others have said, be ultra careful with carbon, as any cracks in the frame turn it into a nice showpiece.

I bought all except my first bike used, and have not had any serious problems. As a matter of fact, it was the new bike that experienced frame failure! (I got it replaced by Pacific Cycle for free; excellent service, by the way.)

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orcanova

That is awesome. Good work.