Classics. Marketplace. Prices and bargains

Recently we talked about the discovery of a BMW R60 / 5. That thing had been asleep for about twenty years. And was adopted for a few hundred euros. One of the readers thought the message was heavily dated. Because a BMW for that money? That was something from years ago. Nowadays, a few thousand euros were quickly asked for such a thing. And that could clearly be checked on Marktplaats. The attentive reader was right. As far as it concerns Marktplaats, or if necessary the entire Internet. Everything is being demanded digitally everywhere. And on the Internet everyone is orienting themselves… On the Internet prices. And those are asking prices.

Simply, the real human world

But from our limited universe, the Internet, is Marketplace, is not the norm of things. We simply search - and often find - in the human world. Within the circle of friends and acquaintances. And that does not lead to clicking and waiting for the box to be delivered. But via via you often come to people who do not or hardly present themselves digitally. We now know a trader for whom attaching a photo in an email message is absolutely too ambitious. These are people you go to and your circle of acquaintances continues to expand. This creates a network of people who know each other and want to please each other.

And then you come back to that tension field of prices

One of the editorial mopeds, a 1984 Moto Guzzi V65 that is used as a daily driver, had some problems and needed some attention. When you think Moto Guzzi in the Netherlands, you certainly think of TLM in Nijmegen. That company has Guzzi in all its genes, was one of the first to put used parts completely documented online and used Guzzi parts are shipped all over the world from Nijmegen. But with TLM's hourly rates, it's hard for the owner of an old little Guzzi to swallow.

The prices of used parts

In the professional motorcycle racing world it has been the case for many years that the guideline is that the sales prices are one-third to half of the last new price. At a serious organization like TLM, a lot of work has already been put into the trade before it comes to the webshop. And you shouldn't underestimate the operating costs of a large company. At the end of the song, TLM offers an almost opaque range of high-quality used Guzzi gear for almost all models with the ease of purchase of a mouse click. And that luxury costs money.

And so you will find a battery side cover for € 96,59

But unfortunately that thing is the wrong color. But it is one without tears, scratches or broken lips. In the meantime, a broken side cover is not a disaster. It only detracts from the rest of the bike, which still looks pretty neat. But almost 100 euros? That's serious money. If the Guzzi then runs into an electrical ignition problem, that has priority. As an old WTB myself, I couldn't figure it out. But I had heard good things about Mark Wilmink from Borne through through. Mark turned out to be interested in the weird interference. Because he is not a motorcycle dealer, he is a technician and only repairs Guzzis without injection. And he is curious about weird malfunctions.

The Guzzi was brought to Borne where Mark found and solved something strange

To put the V65C in his files, he did a compression measurement, a compression leak test and checked the lift height of the cams on the camshaft. This gives a nice zero point for the motor of a new customer and gives a clear indication of the condition of the block. The V65C turned out to be more tired than expected. To make it beautiful, the heads will be repaired next winter. Everything well done. Before delivery, the Guzzi was checked for all fluids and pressures. Then the matter was briefly discussed and one of the last comments was “And you don't happen to have side covers for a V65C I guess”.

They happened to be there

New, and also in the wrong color. But there were two for € 30. The apparently high mileage - on the clock is only 40D km - had already been revealed by carburetor problems. Replacement gas factories had therefore already been scored at another one-man company, that of Teun Beuzel from Lochem. And starting and loading from Nijmegen once brought a whole container full of imitation Valeo starter motors from China. They draw much less power than the Lucas starter motor that Guzzi often used. They fit many BMWs and Guzzis. And costs new - with a three-year warranty - € 59. And that's only in the Guzzi world. A world in which Jan Robers from Boekelo is also a benchmark for the elderly. These are all companies that do not or hardly advertise. That is a shame if you have a magazine or a site.

But they serve a niche market and feel comfortable with it

And if you are with one who is worried about whether things are going to get out of hand because he just had six people over the floor the previous day? Then you have a good one. And fortunately there are still companies like that for all brands of classics.

And then there's the 'trade' in the inner circle where an old American's handlebars were swapped for a pair of motorcycle exhaust bends. You just have to find them.

But our approach does not work for everyone

We referred an acquaintance to our excellent friend Kiat Que from Shed 8. The good acquaintance was used to showrooms at A locations. He went to the somewhat vague industrial estate in Arnhem. He had stood for the cause. And he didn't have a good feeling about it. He drove on.

So does something cost $ 100 or $ 50?

If you buy online at the top of the market and want to click risk-free quality? Then you score for € 100. If you look at the (asking) prices on MP? Then at least you know what is being asked. If you just know a lot of people and want to take a little time? Then you can look in the circle of acquaintances or among the acquaintances of acquaintances. That way you get to know a lot of people and finding things becomes more fun, easier and cheaper. Moreover: together you almost always have everything and you almost always know everything. Think of forums, but day filtered by quality and real people among each other. Nice is not it?

The Marktplaats blues vs the circle of acquaintances: