need some advice for buying a 4-wheeler

[superjay01]

Hello all, I've been riding 4-wheelers for about two years now. Looking to buy my own now. Thinking about getting a used one, looking to spend about 4-5 grand. Would like some sort of 500, 4 wheel drive. Type. What should I look for as far as a used one? How many miles are too many? Any advice anyone can give me is great  thanks all Jason

[markc]

Jason, if you have 5K to spend on an atv then my advice is to buy a new one and not a used one.  Check into some of the new quads and with 5K you won't be far off from the sticker price.  You shouldn't pay that much money for a used ATV especially if you have no way to verify the miles or hours on it.  SOme ATV's do not come with an odometer or hour meter, so you basically are looking for any obvious signs of abuse.  Also, you are looking for how easily it starts, does it smoke, if so what color is the smoke?  Does it appear to have been wrecked?  Etc..etc..   Take a look at the mid size 4X4 quads that are brand new.  I would personally recommend a Yamah Kodiak 450 amoung others as a good place to start.

Good luck.

[old geezer]

Jason, don't know how far you're willing to drive, but in Chatanooga, Tn you can get an 06 Foreman for $5100/$5300, manual/electric shift.  06 Ranchers run just over $4k.

Get a price quote from them, and I've heard there are some dealers who will come close to those prices, but you'll have to look.

[257 roberts]

Buy a new 4x4 Rancher, take care of it and your hunting buddies can fight over when your gone :wink:

[JD11]

I guess there's a few sellers that are picky about maintainance and avoid the abuse factor, but 99% of what I see in my area are totally beat to death.   To bad you're so far away, a buddy talked himself, another friend, me and my wife into all of us buying Polaris 500 HO 4X4s last October.  My wife decided she hates ATVing, wants to sell hers for just what she owes on it.  It has all of about 40 miles on it, less than 9 hours on the hourmeter and all that's down smooth dirt roads.   
  In any event, it seems like all the main brands are high quality nowdays, but most everyone agrees, if the smoothest ride is what you like, the Polaris's ride like a Cadillac.

[lloyd430]

I would have to agree with JD11, my Polaris 700 you can sit an ride-- I rode my brther-in-laws Kawa brute and it was just that brute(al)....Really rough I like the polaris so much better, oh ya a couple of years ago my neighbor had a Yam Grizzly- and mine could walk all over his (in the mud i was in 2wd and he was in 4wd-I was waiting for him!  If you looking for a used Polaris go for a 03 they have the really good Goodyear Rawhides in them- the new stock tires suck!

Lloyd430

[Will_C]

I would strongly urge you to see if you can come up woth a little more $$$$ and get a new machine. I paid $5300 for my 2004 Honda Foreman.
Will

[dougk]

I have a 2001 Foreman S the one with an analog speedometer and manual shift.  Great ATV.

[raktrakr]

oh ya a couple of years ago my neighbor had a Yam Grizzly- and mine could walk all over his (in the mud i was in 2wd and he was in 4wd-I was waiting for him! 

Lloyd430

I'll believe it when I see it

[markc]

I would recommend against buying a used atv based on the tires it has.  Tires are the one most frequently changed items on any atv, and generally the first thing to go regardless of who made them.  If I was buying a used atv, it would not be a Polaris.  If I was buying a new atv, I would consider Polaris along with a few others.

Lloyd,  I didn't realize that Polaris was making a 700 ATV for a couple of years.  I thouht that was new to Polaris???  What year did the Polaris 700 come out?

[Two Bears]

2002 is when Polaris came out with a 700.

They are awesome but if you are going to get one and are thinking of a 700 size....you might just as well get an 800 because the power difference is huge and worth the money.

[salty]

I have a polaris sportsman 500 4x4 for sale. comes with a winch and snowplow.  new tires and rims..   I am asking 3500 for it.  It is a 2000 and only has 1200 miles on it.  It is in excellent shape.  If you are interested email me for pics.  I just took a bunch the other day.

salty600x@aol.com

[Drilling Man]

oh ya a couple of years ago my neighbor had a Yam Grizzly- and mine could walk all over his (in the mud i was in 2wd and he was in 4wd-I was waiting for him!

  Blame that on YOUR NEIGHBOR not the Grizzly!  I have a Grizzly and MY neighbor (two brothers live there) have two Pol.. 700's and i assure they aren't waiting for me in the mud 2 or 4WD!

  Around here Polaris have low resale value and have a higher ownership cost because of constant nit-pickin repairs..

  DM