BTW, the Arctic Cat uses the Suzuki 500 motor and it is bulletproof.

 

What's you trails like. Up here in Northern Ontario Canada , the trail are rough, narrow, hilly and twisty.
No ATV can go over 20 mph for more then short spurts . A 1000cc is not getting anywhere faster then a 300cc.

Buy used, let some other guinea pig get it off the show room floor and lose that $1000 value before he even gets it home and unloaded.

 

To correct a statement above Some arctic cat use the Suzuki engine not all sizes. If you can stretch you budget out a big more it may pay off in the end. Spending a few extra $$ may get you a much more reliable machine. Instead of one that your working on every weekend and in the end spent the same amount of money.
You could also finance a new machine some of the deals out their are pretty good right now. My local Arctic cat dealer just told me the 2015 ac 500 is just over $5000 CAD. I guess the new CEO is really aggressive. Im riding a 2014 5000 with 5000km of good riding on it. Just replaced all bushing and 2 ball joints and a belt. The belt was my own fault

 

Awesome information so far, thanks so much for the input. I'm in Utah and within 30 min in most directions of mountain trails and within a few hours of dunes, though I expect mountain trails to be my primary target. One question I have is, how much should I care about EFI vs carburetor. As i've been surfing the listings I have found some older gems that have been really well taken care of but obviously will have carburetors. If I am ok with some miles I can find newer machines with EFI and lots of extras. At this point I think I'll spend between $4k-$5k as it looks like I can find something pretty reliable in that range. Any brands I should just stay away from?

 

If you want to spend 5K, might as well buy a new Polaris Sportsman 450HO. Its got the same engine as the Sportsman 570, just tuned a little differently to make more power on the low end. I've seen them priced at about 5K locally brand new. The base model Can Am Outlander 450L is about the same price too. I have a friend who has one of those and really likes it though he opted for the DPS equipped model which costs a bit more. Either one of those would be great quads and both have EFI.

 

If you can swing it the EFI machines are the way to go.

 

Well, my max spend is 5K. I'd love to go new, but the "extra" expenses that come with buying from a dealer of some sort always push it too high. I've had to make a deal with my wife to make this happen and if I try and venture too far outside of that my dream might get stamped out.

 

If you can find a good used one under 5K, I think a Grizzly 700 would be a great choice. Here's a nice 07 model close to me for $4200 with power steering and some extras like a winch and some nice wheels and tires 07 700 Yamaha Grizzly. If you can find something like this close to you, I think you would really like it.

 

Thanks for all the input guys, I ended up finding a great Polaris Sportsman 800, it's a 2005 with just 700 miles on it and tons of extras! I also picked up a great 6x12 trailer with tool box and spare tire.





2005 Polaris Sportsman 800 V Twin EFI

 

looks nice and clean. 700 miles is barely broken in. Must have been a hunting only quad. For kicks I just checked my local craigslist and found an 05 Sportsman 800 with 854 miles on it for $4000. I guess low mileage older near mint condition quads are out there, just have to be patient to find them. Almost makes me want to sell my Grizzly and buy it. The Sportsman 800 has quite a bit more power. And the Grizzly has been a bit disappointing in its reliability since I've owned it. I think the previous owner really abused the crap out of it.