Over the last few days I've been looking on EBAY at ATVs, while not in the market I've been watching the activity. I have found what to me sound like a good deal. I've even found Dealers that are selling quads right off the "Show room floor" at $2-3000 less. I would like to buy a 500 model 4x4 cheap and really Modify it up for mudding to visit all the deep holes and visit the local mud runs.

 

I would not buy anything unless it was right in front of me. Even the new models might have flaws.

I would never sell anything over ebay because it's too much of a hastle. The easier sales are made by people within a 1/2 hour of the item being sold.

Some of the "deals" on ebay may be scams.

 

I bought my scrambler on Ebay a few years ago. This was before the Ebay ATV scammers were hitting it bigtime. The key is to have good communication with the seller. I had over 5 phone conversations with the seller going over every aspect of the deal BEFORE i bid on it. I waited until I was confortable with the situation before I put myself out there. Communication is KEY!

 

We bought our 1998 banshee in 2001... No problems

 

I bought my wifes quad on ebay, picked it up at the warehouse, no problem's. Bought my KTM on ebay also, the guy lived about 400 miles away, met me half way. Like BigBadScrambler say's Communication is key. If they dont offer a ph#, move to another auction.

 

I bought my Scrambler off of ebay but I called hey guy a few times to be sure it was on the up and up.I have also sold 2 quads and 2 dirt bikes on there.Only trouble I had was deadbeat bidders and a guy that won the bid and came to get it then tryed to talk me down(told him where he could go)Had a guy from TX come up to IL to get my 400 Sportsman even met him at a ridding park and let him try it out.Made us both happy. My advise would be if it sounds too good to be true it probbly is and find one close enough to pick up and take the cash where if it turns out to be junk you can back out(bad feedback is better than a junk quad).

 

i would never pay anything up front. most auctions have a "$xxx deposit due within 24 hours of auction end". before i bid, i would contact the seller tell them that i understand their concerns of dead bet bidders, but i too was concerned of being ripped off, and there was no way i was paying the deposit. if the entire transaction was be made in person after inspect and test ride, i don't see how you could be burned.. but if they still insisted on the deposit, i'd pass on the deal.

i think a ligitamate seller would wave the deposit, if you make the meeting within a reasonable time frame.

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I agree with you Jommer. If the seller is up-front and honest, he should be OK with that too. As a buyer, you need to protect yourself.

I bought a Blaster with 4 hours of winter riding on it. The seller had about 100 feedbacks and a 100% rating. Maybe 25% of his sells were high dollar items, mostly quads and motorcycles. I talked to the seller B4 bidding ended and came away confident about it. He also posted GOOD pictures. Any way, this ATV was perfect, no scratches, dirt, anything. Probably the best deal I've ever made. Now if you were looking at an ATV maybe 3 years old, you have to have realistic expectations. It will show signs of riding. Don't expect showroom. Still, a one year old quad depreciates maybe 25%, so EBAY is not a bad idea. I wish I had bought my other quad off EBAY instead of new. I figure I would have saved maybe $1400 on a $4500 ATV

 

I bought my 2001 scrambler 500 4x4 off ebay, but i agree you've got to watch the sellers feedback & communicate well & if possible golook at the machine. I also bought almost all the mods I have on ebay & saved a ton of $, but again you've got to be careful.

 

1) Never pay in full and arrange for shipping without inspecting first. So this limits you to only looking at near-by deals. I would not hesitate to pay a small few hundred deposit for owner to hold, but no more than you can afford to lose.
2) Some of the best deals are for quads with lots of extras. This is especially true for Banshees where owners tend to very often spend a fortune before realizing the Banshee is not suitable for their needs.
3) Some of the worst deals are for Honda utes where competitive bidding is usually fast and furious. May as well buy new and plan on keeping it many years.