A coworker who I've been shooting with is slightly downsizing his collection, and offered to sell me his Remington 1911 R1 (he's got two other 1911s including a Kimber, and I guess he decided three's a crowd). He mentioned that he paid $599 for it new, and it's in very good condition and shoots very well (I've shot it and enjoyed the hell out of it). It's been used, but not a lot; his Kimber 1911 is what he shoots most often, and I think the Remington was something he kept with him when on the road in his fifth wheel. As much as the sensible part of me is telling me I'd be better off for my first handgun with a polymer Springfield or Glock or whatever, I really liked that gun A LOT and I'm probably going to buy it off him.
But I'm not sure what to offer for it. I know cars have this massive depreciation hit as soon as they're not new anymore, but I know guns aren't cars. Considering it's in great shape and shoots very well, should I just offer him the $600 that he paid for it? Offer him $500?
This is a friend as well as a coworker and I don't think either of us wants to haggle. I don't want to throw money away, but on the other hand, I want to give him a fair price for it and not "drive a hard bargain" just to save a few bucks. And this being my first used firearms transaction, I have NO idea how this works.
But I'm not sure what to offer for it. I know cars have this massive depreciation hit as soon as they're not new anymore, but I know guns aren't cars. Considering it's in great shape and shoots very well, should I just offer him the $600 that he paid for it? Offer him $500?
This is a friend as well as a coworker and I don't think either of us wants to haggle. I don't want to throw money away, but on the other hand, I want to give him a fair price for it and not "drive a hard bargain" just to save a few bucks. And this being my first used firearms transaction, I have NO idea how this works.