I had a 2000 SP500. It did'nt hold up well, with the way I rode it. Are they getting any more dependable.

 

That's a pretty subjective question. All of these machines have limits. If you ride a ute like a sport quad, you will probably break it. If you don't maintain it, you will break it. Most all of today's makes and models have well documented weaknesses. For example, Bomb and the lack of skids. Solution, buy a set of Ricochet skids. I counted on having trouble with the seat on my wife's X2. Solution, I will seldom use it in 2-up mode. I also added some weather stripping to help with the rattle. Problem solved. An informed buyer formulates a plan to compensate for these weaknesses of the model he wants ahead of time. Those who don't, figure it out the hard way and become haters. All of that said within reason. I work the snot out of both of mine and have had no real problems. A friend of mine has a '97 Scrambler that just recently had it's first major break down. Another friend of mine has an '03 500 and is not big on maintenance and has had surprisingly few problems.

 

in 2000 Polaris's Lineup was VERY full. as a result their quality control was kinda crappy. They did a lot of re-working their lines and cut down on the models they offerred a LOT in the couple years following that. (particuarly in '03 if i remember correctly) Now that they have most of their quality control issues worked out, they're getting more units into their line up again... But anyway, it does appear as if the average sportsman is more dependable these days than the old ones were, just because of potential for quality control issues being higher back then.