Ordering a Trek 5200

Robert Chambers wrote:

I don't know if I buy that they can't come up with a 2003 in your size.
They have little incentive to if they can get you to pay a few hundred
bucks
more for a 2004. I was ordering a new Trek 5500 towards the end of last
year and got caught in this little game for a while, too. I made it clear
I was also looking at other bikes at other dealers and that it made little
difference to me if I had to take a walk to the other store and get the
other bike. And the bike I wanted magically materialized from somewhere.

I don't normally like to deal with my LBS that way, but they've been a
revolving door for personnel lately and my years of loyalty have come to
mean nothing to the bubble-headed kids they try to run the place with now.

Bob C.


They checked with their computer and they had no 2003 5200's left. They did
have a 2003 5900 on display that I took for a test ride, but it was too
small for me and even with an end of the season discount it would've been
out of my price range. So my only option was to order a 2004 5200 if I
wanted a Trek in my size.

The Trek web site lists the 2004 5200 as having a suggested retail price of
$2749.99 US. Which comes out to about $3735.42 Cdn. Do dealers follow the
suggested retail prices all that much, or do they tend to price items
lower?



J. Spaceman

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 06:42:15 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:


Might have been the case with your 5500, but '03 5200s most assuredly do not
exist in any of the TREK warehouses, in any size.

5900's are on sale. G

Barry

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 06:42:15 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:


Might have been the case with your 5500, but '03 5200s most assuredly do not
exist in any of the TREK warehouses, in any size.

5900's are on sale. G

Barry

jason- After test driving various road bikes I am thinking about ordering a
2004 Trek 5200 from my LBS (they don't have a 2003 5200 in my size so
I have to order next year's model). The price should come out to
about $3500 Canadian, give or take a hundred dollars or so.

Would I be pushing my luck if I asked the dealer to knock a couple
hundred bucks off the price, or kick in a decent pair of pedals for
free (say Speedplay X2's or something)? BRBR

This bike is in demand, bike shops work on a very low margin w/o factory
kickbacks ala the car inductry. I would be happy to say no to you and just sell
it to the next guy.



Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

jason- After test driving various road bikes I am thinking about ordering a
2004 Trek 5200 from my LBS (they don't have a 2003 5200 in my size so
I have to order next year's model). The price should come out to
about $3500 Canadian, give or take a hundred dollars or so.

Would I be pushing my luck if I asked the dealer to knock a couple
hundred bucks off the price, or kick in a decent pair of pedals for
free (say Speedplay X2's or something)? BRBR

This bike is in demand, bike shops work on a very low margin w/o factory
kickbacks ala the car inductry. I would be happy to say no to you and just sell
it to the next guy.



Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

The Trek web site lists the 2004 5200 as having a suggested retail price
of
$2749.99 US. Which comes out to about $3735.42 Cdn. Do dealers follow
the
suggested retail prices all that much, or do they tend to price items
lower?

It depends upon location; there are parts of the US where dealers charge
considerably more than the suggested retail, and other parts where it's
closer to the norm. Our shop is in a pretty competitive area, with many
shops going out of business (due to high rents and labor costs, plus a bunch
of things covered in other threads) so the pricing is closer to $2500US.

Still, a difference of a couple hundred dollars may not be as significant as
the difference between dealers. Expertise in sizing is worth a lot, as well
as the quality of assembly and after-sale service. A really good shop
*wants* to see you come in the door if you have a problem... because they
want that bike under your tail end, not sitting in the garage. That's worth
quite a bit.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

The Trek web site lists the 2004 5200 as having a suggested retail price
of
$2749.99 US. Which comes out to about $3735.42 Cdn. Do dealers follow
the
suggested retail prices all that much, or do they tend to price items
lower?

It depends upon location; there are parts of the US where dealers charge
considerably more than the suggested retail, and other parts where it's
closer to the norm. Our shop is in a pretty competitive area, with many
shops going out of business (due to high rents and labor costs, plus a bunch
of things covered in other threads) so the pricing is closer to $2500US.

Still, a difference of a couple hundred dollars may not be as significant as
the difference between dealers. Expertise in sizing is worth a lot, as well
as the quality of assembly and after-sale service. A really good shop
*wants* to see you come in the door if you have a problem... because they
want that bike under your tail end, not sitting in the garage. That's worth
quite a bit.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

In article ,
(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote:

Give the bike shop a break, pay what they ask, it isn't a car lot,
with all the factory kickbacks.

spoken like a true bike shop owner...totally unbiased. I'll stick with
finding the lowest prices online and saving a few hundred dollars.

In article ,
(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote:

Give the bike shop a break, pay what they ask, it isn't a car lot,
with all the factory kickbacks.

spoken like a true bike shop owner...totally unbiased. I'll stick with
finding the lowest prices online and saving a few hundred dollars.

Jason Spaceman wrote:
After test driving various road bikes I am thinking about ordering a
2004 Trek 5200 from my LBS (they don't have a 2003 5200 in my size so
I have to order next year's model). The price should come out to
about $3500 Canadian, give or take a hundred dollars or so.

Would I be pushing my luck if I asked the dealer to knock a couple
hundred bucks off the price, or kick in a decent pair of pedals for
free (say Speedplay X2's or something)? It's been awhile since I last
bought a new bike, back in Sept. 1997 to be exact. And I remember
back then the shop knocked $400 off the price of the bike, mind you it
was near the end of the season when many shops usually mark down
prices anyways.




J. Spaceman

When you want to make a deal it will never come on the product you want. It
is on another product that somebody will dump the price because nobody is
interested. I doubt anybody will dump the price on a 5200 today.
Last year I wasn't looking for a Trek 5200 particularly and just happened to
run into one. The price was right and I bought it. Had I been looking for
one it would have cost me full price ;-(

Today I am looking for a Trek Fuel 100 frame ( 19.5" if somebody sees this )
and there are none to be had, in my part of the world anyway. So if I want
one I'll just haver to order an 04 and expect to pay full price. Of course I
will ask my LBS what his best price is before I close the deal.

--
Perre

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