I have a chance to buy a '05 sportman 500 HO for $4500. I currently own a '06 sportsman 700 and love it, but I promised my wife that I would buy her one within the year. The bike has 60 hrs on it and 230 miles. It does not have a scratch on it, and looks brand new. What do you guys think? Are there any problems with this specific model? I don't know much about the 500, but it looks like a pretty good deal. Anyway any help from some of you 500 owners would be much appreciated.

 

I paid $3,400 for my 2003 500HO this year after looking around for quite some time. It had 430 miles on it. The best time to buy is during the winter. Where do you live?

As far as the machine, I love it for its power and ruggedness. More power is always better but the 500 has plenty.

 

I live in Louisville Kentucky. I went out and looked at a 2003 Sportsman 400 that had 34 hrs on it with a winch, itp rims, swamplite tires and was in perfect condition. He was asking $2500 and I went to the bank and returned the next day after we made a deal when that d$ck decided that he wanted to keep his bike. I really, really don't want to pay $4500 for a used bike, but I can't seem to find anything that is in good shape for under $4000.

 

I paid $4500 for a used 2005 Polaris ATP with the same 500HO engine a year ago. Other than an occasional hard start (gets cold up here) it has been great. It had all of 20 hours on it with about 40 miles. The guy just used it around his home. Great bulletproof engine. If you could get him down a bit more it would be a great deal.

 

I have a 05 500 HO and really like it. I would not sell mine for $4500 but then again it has a lot of options on it. Sounds like a good deal to me and according to all the Polaris dealers you talk to the 500 is the most popular ATV they sell.

 

The 500 is bullet proof. I have 700hrs on mine......

 

I have both the '05 carb and '06 EFI versions of the 500. I have 1500 miles on the '05 and never had a single issue. I would highly recommend buying one.

It is the same machine as the '07 that you'll pay $6K plus tax for, plus the '05 has EBS and a very simple fuel delivery system.

The only advantage the EFI has is cold starting, and where you live that's not a big issue.

The gas mileage is almost the same and the EFI's are run at a much higher temp (for emissions, and economy) so they rattle like crazy at full throttle.

I hope this helps...

 

Just take the 700 stickers off yours & replace them with 500 stickers. She won't know.

I always gauge it off, what would the machine cost me "new" today?? That machine is practically new. In MN, a new 500 would run in the low/mid 6K's with tax, title, & license. Does it have a winch? If it does, there is another $500 you don't have to spend. It's a solid deal. You could ride the machine for 2 years & it would still be worth $3800-$4000. The 500 is the #1 selling Polaris atv for a reason.

Have you looked on Craig's List? Best sight for selling/finding used atv's!