Car boot sales

[Stiff_Orange]

Are car boot sales any good for finding retrobikes or parts? There is a large one local to me every Saturday and I wonder if its worth paying it a visit.

I'm not expecting to find a NOS Klein for £20, I'm more after unlovely and unloved bikes which may have the odd few decent components on them for spares or swaps.

or are they just full tat dealers who think that any old BSO with a Shimano sticker must be a top of the range classic.

 

[mattr]

or are they just full tat dealers who think that any old BSO with a Shimano sticker must be a top of the range classic.

I stopped going to them.

That and hookey gear.

"Yes, of course you've had it in the garage for years, of course it cost you 500 quid when you bought it......."

All whilst looking at ~4k worth of three year old ti.......... yes i called the police, no they weren't interested.

 

[BerthaPog]

Re:

After having my garage emptied, car boot sales was one place we were advised to look. Frankly, a waste of time - signal to noise ratio is very poor. At one of the big ones (easily 500 sellers), there was no more than a dozen bikes in total.

Looking at most of the sellers (all items), large items (inc bikes) weren't that desirable to sell - suspect they take up a lot of space in the car/van vs the money likely to be received.

I suspect that with most people having access to the internets, working out that a few parts might be more desirable is easy (even if not how desirable).

 

[legrandefromage]

erm... oof...

I've been going to car boot sales since a wee nipper, Brighton & Hove and all around the Huntingdon areas.

Yikes, thats 33 years!!!!

Pre-ebay, yes, you could buy loads and I bought loads.

Nowadays, you get the anti-ebay sellers but it is few and far between that anything reasonable pops up.

I've found them to be a good source of sundries - chains, tyres, cables, saddles and the odd set of wheels, mechs and general 'bits'. As to whole bikes, they're either knackered and too worn or absurdly overpriced. Now and again, I pick up a whole bike for not too much, my last one being this Univega for £55

 

[gerryattrick]

Re:

I've had a few good bargains over the years including a Pace RC36 EVO fork for about £25, but most of the bargains have come as incidental buys from people who don't appear to be regulars, rather than me going specifically to look for bike stuff.

Beware of the people who specialise in selling bikes. I stood at one stall a few years ago listening to the stallholder asking this kid, who was selling "his" Specialized that looked to be no more than two years old for £30, "Are you sure it's not stolen now" with almost a "wink, wink" tone of voice. The kid said "No, you know you can trust me"

 

[Ghosty]

Where I live it's only worth it if you want a BSO kids bike, all the car boot sales are rubbish. Can't remember the last time I saw an adult bike of any description. Sad thing is, eBay's no better, it's all new junk, BSOs, Apollo Slants and low-mid range early 2000s junk.
I don't know if I'm looking in the wrong places, but there really don't appear to be many retro bikes in/around Manchester, it's all further afield, and just a little too out of reach (don't have a car).

 

[Stiff_Orange]

Couldn't be arsed going walking around a field looking at tat, so went for a ride instead, came back, had 30 mins on eBay found a NOS Manitou crown and steerer the exact size I was looking for with on 24 hours togo. Won it today for the princely sum of £9.06. There are bargains out there

 

[fettler]

Re:

There's loads of good retrobike bargains to be had! .. . . . . ... Unfortunately, the probability of one being at your chosen car boot on the day you go is slim to nil.
I bet you'd still bring something home you didn't realise you needed until you bought it.

 

[Kell]

I think you're better off looking for the Police bike auctions. At least you know that while the bike may have been stolen at one point, it's now a legitimate sale.

http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/XcAP ... AIN&page=1

Of possible interest to retrobikers is a Saracen Backtrax currently going for £10.50.

http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/XcAP ... ?ID=161340

Of course, the flip side to a site like this as opposed to the thread about granniegear is that because they know nothing about the bikes, they fail to mention all the bits that would/could make a bike more saleable.

And the pictures are way too small to make out any detail.