NEW PURCHASE
The "normal" purchase of a new bike has changed enormously over the past decade: The simple question "Specialist dealer or mail order?" is an increasingly inadequate description of the options, as the sales channels have converged. The mail order business, once reviled as anonymous, has become more accessible in some cases with good telephone advice, service concepts via local workshops and "showrooms" - but also more expensive. Specialist dealers, on the other hand, have often retreated to just one or two brands in response to price pressure - the more bikes of one brand they sell, the cheaper the individual bike becomes and they also have to charge their customers for smaller services in order to survive. His plus points are the workshop and test ride. An important third player are large bicycle markets with several branches and their own brands, which compete with the mail order business on price, often at the expense of advice and service. Simple recommendations in favour of one of the sales channels are difficult. MYBIKE endeavours to provide objective assessments of technical product quality. However, the choice of the right place to buy has a lot to do with personal preferences - and with the expertise and commitment of the advisor(s).
- + Latest technology, professional handling
- - expensive
USED PURCHASE
The depreciation of new bikes is as steep as a ski jump: according to current estimates, a bike loses half of its value in the first two years, then a further 50 per cent after every four years. The ten-year-old €2,000 bike would therefore only be worth €250. Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows, however, that a ten-year-old bike can be anything between a scrap heap and a treasure. So it all comes down to expertise - and a realistic idea of the price of wearing parts. If "only" tyres, chain, sprockets, brake pads and shift cables need to be replaced on a used bike, parts plus assembly can quickly cost over 200 euros, while new pedelec batteries cost over 500 euros. With many drive systems, e-bike buyers at least have the option of having the mileage and charging cycles read out in a specialist workshop - if the seller co-operates. While a private seller usually excludes any warranty, bike dealers must guarantee for one year (two years for new purchases) that the bike has no hidden defects. With expertise, good instincts and a purchase contract (available to download from adfc.de, for example), buying a second-hand bike from a private seller is still a recommended way to get a cheap bike.
- + Real bargains possible
- - Good expertise required
LEASING
Not buying a bike, but using it for a monthly amount over several years sounds strange at first: some dealers offer "zero per cent financing" for bikes that are too expensive in one go. But leasing can be a tax-saving model: For the self-employed and employees, the leasing instalments for their "company bike" not only reduce their taxable income, they also reduce the assessment bases for social security contributions and health insurance. So if you reduce your gross salary of 3,000 euros to 2,800 euros with a leasing instalment of 200 euros, you pay for your bike from your gross salary instead of your net salary (as with a private purchase). Whether this option is worthwhile is a tricky calculation that also takes into account taxable "non-cash benefits", your own tax bracket, the price of the bike and the amount of your income. Employees are dependent on their employer for this tax-saving model. The employer saves a share of the social security contributions, but in return must conclude the contract with the leasing company (from whose range the employee then chooses their bike). Company bike leasing became attractive due to the equal tax treatment of bicycles and company cars. Informative websites on the subject: jobrad.org; businessbike.com
- + New material, often with service contract
- - Complex cost-benefit calculation
