Resale Values of e-Bikes

[Fancy McDancy]

Hi Court
I mentioned in a different thread (I think!) how interesting it would be to explore the resale market for e-bikes, particularly in the USA and the UK. Any plans to move in that dorection?

 

[tomjasz]

AWFUL! Worse losses than any other vehicle I've ever owned.

 

[Fancy McDancy]

AWFUL! Worse losses than any other vehicle I've ever owned.

Hah! You probably have never owned a motorhome (RV)!!

 

[BKing]

Hah! You probably have never owned a motorhome (RV)!!

We beat the system on 3 RVs over the years.
Bought a used popup in near perfect shape for 4200, did about 18 trips in it and sold for 3500 after 4 years.
Bought a new travel trailer for 17k and did about 45 trips in it and sold for 13k after 6 years.
Bought a new boat for 52k and did lower than average use and sold for 41k after 5 years.
These are not common numbers, we buy at around 20 percent discount, do maintenance and keep it super clean. They were also models that were sought after.

 

[zipur]

E-bike and standard bikes are only valued by those into bikes. For an average consumer, if you tell them you spent 3k or more on a bike. Well they would roll their eyes and say “Why not get a motorcycle”. If you disagree, put one on eBay, Facebook or Nextdoor. People will offer you $125 or less. Then send you a message that they can get a new bike at Walmart cheaper.

 

[gtpharr]

Hah! You probably have never owned a motorhome (RV)!!

The RV industry has been on fire for the last 15 months of so. Dealer inventories are at all time lows and manufacturers cannot meet the demand. Like bicycles, the supply chain for RV builders is struggling with major shortages in air conditioners and furniture. Class A diesel motorhomes are selling quicker than they can hit the lots. Many dealers that normally kept dozens of Class A diesels in inventory have no new or used units on the lot. This also means the market for used motorhomes is doing extremely well. If you have a nice Tiffin, Newmar, Entegra, etc in good condition, you can get top dollar for it and usually sell very quickly. We bought a new 2018 Tiffin back in March of 2018 and I could EASILY sell it today for 90% of what I paid for it.

On the other hand, I recently sold 3 bicycles. Two were Carbon Fiber Specialized Roubaix and one was a nice Trek Aluminum Hybrid. All 3 bikes were in excellent condition, but they were all 8-12 years old. Even with the shortage of new bikes and their crazy prices, I had difficulty getting a decent price for any of them. I eventually sold them for about 25% - 30% of their original MSRP and it still took a while to sell them.

 

[kmccune]

E-bike and standard bikes are only valued by those into bikes. For an average consumer, if you tell them you spent 3k or more on a bike. Well they would roll their eyes and say “Why not get a motorcycle”. If you disagree, put one on eBay, Facebook or Nextdoor. People will offer you $125 or less. Then send you a message that they can get a new bike at Walmart cheaper.

You actually have a hard time giving them away around here, to get rid of one you have to pretty well sacrifice it.

 

[AHicks]

I'm aware there are much better bikes available, but getting rid of a RAD product should be no problem. That's one of the better reasons for buying one.

We had a 38' Holiday Rambler for a few years. It was a well equipped diesel pusher (mobile dlx. condo). While we had it we had to have the turbo replaced ($$$), the batteries, and 2 sets of tires ($$$), but that was about it. Other than the tires and the turbo, it cost us less than 10k for the 8 years or so we had it. The trick is to avoid the first 3-4 years of depreciation. That, and take really good care of it....

 

[BKing]

We were going to get a diesel pusher to use in retirement, mostly my wife’s idea. Once she figured the operating costs, depreciation, campground fees and overall work involved with owning these we decided to get a nice SUV and travel to various Airbnb’s and VRBO’s. This has been very enjoyable especially with the ebikes going with us.

 

[retiredNH]

We were going to get a diesel pusher to use in retirement, mostly my wife’s idea. Once she figured the operating costs, depreciation, campground fees and overall work involved with owning these we decided to get a nice SUV and travel to various Airbnb’s and VRBO’s. This has been very enjoyable especially with the ebikes going with us.

Yes, every time I've done the math, especially if you consider fuel and destination transportation, motor homes seem to be more of a lifestyle choice than an economical choice. And the fact that we retirees need to use the bathroom at night make things even trickier.

With motel rooms, you do have the problem of noise from adjacent rooms. But don't you have a similar problem in motor home parks and campgrounds from adjacent campers?

The only use case I can think of for motor homes is having a self contained one that can go to more rustic campgrounds in national forests where there's no lodging for miles. But how common is that?

 

[gtpharr]

RV'ing is a lifestyle choice and not one you get into to save money. It is very nice to be able to travel to different places and carry your own bedroom, bathroom, and indoor/outdoor kitchens with you. Our motorhome has a washer & dryer so no laundromats for us while on vacation. One trip may have you in a beautiful wooded state park with all the privacy and space that you could ask for. And the next trip could have you at a luxury resort with all the amenities you could ask for.

You meet some of the nicest people in campgrounds and they are all pet friendly. Lots of people belong to RV Camping clubs and travel/camp with friends on a regular basis. Sitting around a campfire in the evenings with a nice bottle of wine is a nice way to relax in the evenings. A 3 month trip around the country can easily be done on $15,000 or so. I know people who spend that on a 7-14 day cruise. I can't imagine what that would cost staying in motels and eating out most all the time.

The increased sales of RVs has greatly outpaced the development of new campgrounds. It is getting very hard to find RV sites on short notice. In most cases, it is best to make reservations a year or so in advance. We have found the average cost for a decent RV site with full hook ups starts around $35 per day and runs up to $110 per day for something really nice. There are lots of good deals at state and national parks as well as military recreation facilities.

 

[BKing]

We’ve never had a problem with noise on our new travel method. At campgrounds there is always someone packing up at 7am it seems. All motor homes are self contained but the holding tanks have their limits. Two or three long showers and the gray tank is full. Boondocking is a popular thing, lots of books on it but it requires expensive solar and battery systems that have poor longevity. You have to bring water and use very little. The bathrooms can’t be used unless there is a dump station. What we saw at the regular campgrounds were the 60 to 75 crowd for a week or longer and the 30 yr olds come in on Friday for two nights and party half the night. We don’t miss it because we can stay in the same areas in luxury. It takes work to find good VRBO’s etc because many are not good. The price tells the story, pay $80 or $100 a night and it won’t be very good at all.

 

[soyabean]

The thing about "resale value" pretty much goes with everything, not just ebikes:

Don't buy an item thinking it must keep value after time.

It's not a brick of gold you buy and leave stashed away for a rainy day.

Your return on investment will be on usage, the amount of true value and purpose it gives you.

If you buy a new window air conditioner for $200, used it for 5 years to stop you from dying, then you have amortized its costs of $40 a year to keep you alive from heat death, and can be discarded or resold for $25-50 whatever.

If you buy a new lawnmower for $200, used it to cut your lawn for 5 years, again, you got a beautiful maintained lawn at $40 a season.

The ebike will give you much joy and pleasure, things that are important in this post-pandemic era. When it comes time for you to upgrade and you need to get rid of your old one, it would be wrong to be upset how it lost so much monetary value. You "spent" that on you and your life and the fun you got out of it.

 

[bones774]

In my short time on this site i've noticed a large % of high end, esp. R&M ebikes in the for sale section and always wondered why? They lost interest? too much $$$ invested in a "bike"? Considering they are a small % of total market there sure are a lot for sale.

 

[soyabean]

In my short time on this site i've noticed a large % of high end, esp. R&M ebikes in the for sale section and always wondered why? They lost interest?

Folks with money do what they do best: buy stuff on impulse.

The pandemic has made and still is making people just "try something for fun".

They buy a Trek because it has to be in par with the rest of their trophies. They get bored of it, and move onto something else they can spend money on.

And this is all a good thing. These people make up a good bulk of revenue in all industries.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Folks with money do what they do best: buy stuff on impulse.

The pandemic has made and still is making people just "try something for fun".

They buy a Trek because it has to be in par with the rest of their trophies. They get bored of it, and move onto something else they can spend money on.

And this is all a good thing. These people make up a good bulk of revenue in all industries.

same with the low end bikes. realize bikes take some work to ride and there was a reason they were not riding to begin with.

 

[soyabean]

same with the low end bikes.

But folks that buy a Movelo mountain bike from Walmart for $89 don't think about resale value.

When someone convinces themselves "I'll buy this Ford because it has great resale value" is merely making the dealership happy.

 

[zipur]

The thing about "resale value" pretty much goes with everything, not just ebikes:

Don't buy an item thinking it must keep value after time.

It's not a brick of gold you buy and leave stashed away for a rainy day.

Your return on investment will be on usage, the amount of true value and purpose it gives you.

If you buy a new window air conditioner for $200, used it for 5 years to stop you from dying, then you have amortized its costs of $40 a year to keep you alive from heat death, and can be discarded or resold for $25-50 whatever.

If you buy a new lawnmower for $200, used it to cut your lawn for 5 years, again, you got a beautiful maintained lawn at $40 a season.

The ebike will give you much joy and pleasure, things that are important in this post-pandemic era. When it comes time for you to upgrade and you need to get rid of your old one, it would be wrong to be upset how it lost so much monetary value. You "spent" that on you and your life and the fun you got out of it.

Exactly! Some people fish, camp, golf or sail it’s all about enjoyment. For me and my family it has given us time together that is priceless. To have an activity whereby the wife can share your joy is a blessing. Bring in the kids or grand kids an it’s golden. That is why I paid for an E-Bike @ 60years old! This enhances out times together. So I could care less about resale, I just want a product that works and allows me to keep up with the kids.

 

[PedalUma]

Exactly! Some people fish, camp, golf or sail it’s all about enjoyment. For me and my family it has given us time together that is priceless. To have an activity whereby the wife can share your joy is a blessing. Bring in the kids or grand kids an it’s golden. That is why I paid for an E-Bike @ 60years old! This enhances out times together. So I could care less about resale, I just want a product that works and allows me to keep up with the kids.

I know people who enjoy a $100+ bottle of wine when eating out or go to a Ballet or Concert. For me the experiential is what this is about. Ebikes make me feel great. It is not about what I got, a commodity or possession. You can't hold the experience of surfing in your hand. Because I also do new creative things with bikes I like the inspirational ideas too and the idea and ideals that I am helping to do my part to get another stinking car off the road for our planet and grandkids.

 

[theemartymac]

In my short time on this site i've noticed a large % of high end, esp. R&M ebikes in the for sale section and always wondered why? They lost interest? too much $$$ invested in a "bike"? Considering they are a small % of total market there sure are a lot for sale.

I'd be interested to know how many are just upgrading as well. One other thing about luxury buyers is they often have the means and desire to always keep the newest model. High-end cars tend to have a rapid depreciation compared to most others, as the target market doesn't want used, and the bulk of the interested used market lives a measurable step down the economic ladder (else they'd be buying new).