Hey guys im new to the forum and have a question. Im looking at trading one of my boats for a 1994 sportsman 400 4x4, asking price is 1300.00. How does rig rate among you guys? What is the good and the bad about this atv? i know its a 2 stroke and im very familiar with small engine repairs. Is part availability good, affordable, etc.. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

 

While they have improved in recent years, even Polaris itself admits they had quality problems back in the day. It is to old, and probably will be more trouble than it is worth....and seems overpriced to me.

 

I agree if you wanted to buy it i wouldnt give him more than 600 bucks for it

 

I think that would be alot for a quad that is 14 years old. They were not as good as they 2002 and up Sportsmans are.

 

You might want to put this question in the Polaris forum. There are a ton of guys in there that know more about the older PoPos than I do.

 

You guys get better deals then us Canadians, I sold my beat up (see pics) 98 350 Big Bear 4x4 with a trillion miles on it with no electric start or working front brakes for $1,800. it never even made the paper it sold from word of month. LOL

 

A friend of mine bought a 99. He's put so much money into it, he could have bought a new one. Parts for those old things are outrageously expensive- and even after many major repairs, my friend's is still unreliable and is still nickle and diming him to death.

Even with the "better" brands, how many do you see that are that old and still in use? Mind you, I drive a 10 year old van with 270,000 miles on it....but these li'l ATVs take a beating...and it seems like the only time they stay really good with age, is if they are owned by the original purchaser and if he takes meticulous care of them. (And those people usually don't sell theirs!).

Personally, after looking at some older used bikes, I'm going to try a new Vbike brand Chinese import. They may not be a Yamaha...but for the same price as a 10 year-old name-brand bike, they gotta be better than an old tired ATV.

 

I had the opposite luck, I bought a 86 250 Moto4, 89 350 Big Bear , 01 450 Foreman and now a 2001 SP500 H.O, all of which worked great for me, I sold the 450 Honda and 350 Yamaha's to friends that still ride them to this day.

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote> He's put so much money into it, he could have bought a new one.</end quote></div>

I could blow my engine up twice and replace it twice and still have it come out cheaper than buying a new one. A good used ATV is like 40% cheaper. A ATV loses 15% the moment you sign the dotted line and the ATV is still sitting on the show room floor.

Many many people on this site who mentioned they sold there previous ATV so they could upgrade rather than there was any problems with there old ones.

 

thanks for all the responses. ill keep them in mind. havent made the deal yet.