Hi,

I know I am taking a huge risk buying a Chinese ATV four wheeler but an American (i.e. Yamaha, Honda etc.) is not in the budget. My 8 year old twin boys are asking for four wheelers from Santa. We can only afford one. Our budget is $1000. I am asking for advice as to the most reliable (if there are any) Chinese ATV and the best website to order from (with best customer service/parts etc.). I know everyone has bad opinions of these, but this all we can afford for now, so I am asking for advice. Thank you in advance.

 

For $1000 you can buy a very reliable use yamaha, honda, polaris 90cc 4 wheeler and save yourself and boys a lot of disapointment.

 

I just searched Craigslist in my area and have found 2 yamaha, 1 suzuki and 2 polaris ATV 50cc to 80cc all under $1000 and looked to be in great shape. Do yourself a favor and go this route.

 

80 cc yamaha atv, 4wheeler

 

This helped alot as i was also considering the same. Will now look for used,

 

I have dealt with vbike in 2008. I got good service. I even had a warranty issue and it was taken care of promptly. I see now that they are now A BBB Accredited Business since 01/30/2010.
V Bike, LLC Business Review in Edmond, OK - Central Oklahoma BBB

I believe there ATV line is built by TaoTao. I am looking at purchasing 2 more atv's this spring and will probably purchase from them again.
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Chinese ATV's are not for everyone. I would recomend that you know a bit about mechanics if you purchase one. They are easy to work on and parts are cheap and easy to get, but you will need to have some knowlege on these types of things.

 

Papahouse has a valid point. If you live in an area where used name brand quads are plentiful and cheap then by all means consider this option. It is part of due diligence. But in my area there just isn't any name brand quads available at such cheap prices.

I second ghcoe's opinion that chinese quads are not for everybody. You will have problems, but as long as you buy a "me too" generic chinese quad then parts are available for cheap from numerous sources. If you like saving some money, and are able (and willing) to fix problems that will crop up, then chinese quads are an option.

My chinese quad (with a 150cc GY6 engine) has had problems, but all in all I think I got a great deal. I've got thousands of miles on my quad and it still runs great. Swing arm bushings needed to be replaced (I made my own), a voltage regulator (about $15.00), a rear brake switch (replaced with a used honda switch off ebay for $5.00), and the whole air box/carburetor interface had to be redone after the rubber hose that connects those two disintegrated. I built my own system with copper plumbing parts, a brazing torch, and tubing from McMaster Carr (maybe $20 for mine and my neighbor's quad that had the same problem).

I listed the above so you get an idea of typical problems, and give you some grasp on whether you're up to tackling these type of problems yourself. The list does not include self inflicted problems like replacing the handle bars and brake lever assembly because I rolled the quad.

So while you're looking at Craig's list in your area, don't forget to scope out used chinese quads. You might be able to get *two* used and running chinese quads for way less than $1000. Stay away from non-running quads unless you're really confident of your abilities. People who get in over their heads on chinese quads usually screw them up royally before finally listing them on craig's list.