Would you do this deal?

[ruffruff]

I have the old fart bike thread but I thought this was a different topic.
My wife and I rented Rad bikes today....she loved it by the way...so now I'm in the market for two!

The rental shop was nice and friendly like the guy a lot. He says:
"In October we will be selling off a couple of bikes out of the fleet."

He implied that they would be year old bikes for $1k.
So here is my pros and cons list:
Pros:
Bike is setup
no shipping horror stories.
about $500 off new price. Don't know if he would charge me tax or not??
Should be able to get two bikes for $2k

Cons:
No warranty
Battery has X number of cycles on it.(shortened life).
Wear and tear of a rental bike
Tire wear

The bikes look really well maintained and he says he does keep them well maintained.

So my question is....would you take this deal? 2 used fleet bikes for $2k

 

[MarkF]

In the long run I don't think your are saving anything. Your trading perceived shipping issues with worst, used bike issues. For me I would go the new bike route and know it hasn't been run like you stole it for a year, so having the potential to last longer for the extra money you paid. I guess it would help to know if there rented every day versus a couple times a week.

 

[AHicks]

As one that does all of my own work, I'd be pretty tempted by a deal like that. Just remember that RAD has a 200.00 discount when you buy 2, so these bikes are only 400 off the price of new.

As you're working with a dealer, there's also the potential to strike up a "deal". What if he were to sell you bikes that still had a couple weeks of warranty left on them?

A year old bike that's not all banged up and rusty, that IS well maintained, has a lot of life left in it. Parts, other than the battery, are generally pretty cheap. As far as the batteries, they're only a year old. Even if abused, they still have a lot of life left in them.

Just remember, this opinion is from a dyed in the wool DIY'er. If you have to count on having any required work done for you, this isn't likely anywhere near as good a deal.

 

[CodyDog]

I would think that rental bikes are more abused than buying a used one owner bike. I guess I would also ask why the bike are being pulled from the rental fleet. My preference would to buy new if possible.

 

[smorgasbord]

My wife and I also rented a couple of RadPower bikes - for a couple months. We returned them in better shape than we got them. How?

Tuning. My bike wouldn't go into low gear. My wife's front brake lever hit the handlebar before fully engaging. My front fender rubbed. I oiled the chains, adjusted the brakes to be centered and close enough to not rub, but to have enough travel to really brake.

That said, the bikes still had rust, all sorts of paint chips from falling over, etc. I wouldn't buy a ex-rental car and I wouldn't buy an ex-rental eBike unless it was extremely cheap. You shouldn't be getting $400 off, you should be paying $400.

 

[ruffruff]

Let me add this....might be just personal justification.
The rental shop is in a town where there are basically only level tar trails. There were people in the shop renting after use that looked like they were not the offroad types---I'm just speculating but guessing ----90-100% of these bikes don't see anything but tar trail riding.

 

[jim6b]

As a point of reference. I bought a Vado 3.0 demo/rental with with 550 miles on it (50 of which I had rented and rental fee was refunded). The dealer treated it as a new bike sale with full manufacturer's warranties and all service in first thirty days, no charge.

Note, this was done in mid-February, the deadest time of the year and the dealer had to sell the bike as old models were no more and the new versions were coming in, i.e. a demo of a model that no longer was for sale was worthless to them.

gl with your deal

 

[smorgasbord]

90-100% of these bikes don't see anything but tar trail riding.

So how many miles on them? Didthey get dropped on pavement, or their gears shifted while pedaling hard, or get rained on, got returned without anyone telling anyone what happened, or the techs maybe oiled the chain regularly but then again maybe not, and if they can't shift into low gear no-one notices (happened to me and my wife's rental), and gosh knows how many cycles used up on the batteries that were always charged to full, and probably left in the hot sun, and you'll pay tax since it's a local said and, yeah, they're only selling a few so guess which ones they'll choose to sell?

Saving $400 on the Rad bikes my wife and I rented would not be worth it, and I do almost all my own wrenching.

 

[Johnny]

Imo you are focused on saving too much, these bikes are already entry level bikes, you can buy 2 new ones for 2800 I believe. That extra 800 savings is honestly not much.

As others stated do you know the condition of the battery?
You wont have any warranty that is a significant disadvantage to begin with.
You are talking about tire wear , that means those things actually have significant miles on them and were rentals.

It is easy to end up with a used Radrover costing you more than the new ones.

Buying used makes sense if the bike is well maintained and/or preferably a higher quality bike to begin with. Buying a used Vado can be a good experience , Rad from a rental fleet not so much.


Again I think you should not focus on saving the most upfront, in the long run you may regret it.

 

[AHicks]

I think this new vs. used is a matter of perspective. As one that does all my own work, RARELY would I ever seek out a warranty claim, especially if it meant taking the bike to a dealer. That hassle just not worth it to me - and - I just prefer to do my own work. It's part of the hobby for me.

If I need to depend on a dealer for my service needs, that's a whole different story when considering warranty.

 

[ruffruff]

I grew up on the farm, I'm definelty a DIY guy, but I think I'm going to pass on the deal after all..if nothing else than the kid at Christmas feel when the boxes arrive!

 

[ruffruff]

So one last question, is there a "season" for new bike releaseses?
I bow hunt and new bows always come out in October.

If I order a 2019 this month will the 2020's be released soon?

 

[AHicks]

It'll be sometime this fall. For '19, they took a few popular suggestions and incorporated them into the new bike.

As an example, that's how they got the new 11:32 freewheel gear set. Prior, it was difficult to peddle fast enough to get much over 16-17mph. Now, with the new gears (that many of the older bikes have now been updated with) 20mph in top gear easily do-able for most of us.

Hard saying what's up for '20. Could be nothing!

 

[harryS]

Depreciation on ebikes is steep. That price is too high.

If I were a rental guy, I've probably be overjoyed to pay $1400 for a RAD, rent it for a season and get $1000 back for it before the warm weather ends.

 

[DavidBer]

Chances are that contractually they have to sell them for $1,000 each. That’s probably part of their ability to rent from rad. So don’t think you can get a better deal from them.

The value prop is all up to you.

 

[ruffruff]

Yep,

Chances are that contractually they have to sell them for $1,000 each. That’s probably part of their ability to rent from rad. So don’t think you can get a better deal from them.

The value prop is all up to you.

Yep, that's correct. I read the rental agreement online. Clearly states they can't sell them for under 1k.
BUTTTTT
YAAA it's a done deal!

Just bought a BikTrix Juggernaut Classic. Pre-order was $1999 I got a 5% of coupon so out the door for
$1899! I figured the 750 mid drive was a better setup and included fenders and rack.
And what really sold me was Roshan. I asked a question on their website and HE literally answered it at 10PM!

Another thing, when I was thinking RadRover the first thing I did was Google Rad upgrades! That was a clue for me!!!