I am thinking of buying a 2011 Yamaha grizzly 550 today. The gentleman who owns it has a very nice house and truck he has his PHd and seems to be a stand up guy. The question I have is the atv has 3,500 miles and 365 hours which is a little on the high side specially for the price. Here is what the add says and I will include a link. Is this a ok buy?
thank you guys and ladies for helping me

https://westslope.craigslist.org/snw/5963992796.html


"Save your back and truck plowing this winter. 2011 Yamaha Grizzly ATV, 3300 miles 356 hours, 2015 Tatoo Tracks used 1 winter, includes 4 wheels w/ new back tires and very good front tires, Warn 2500 Winch, Plow Blade(winch controlled), 2" Hitch and receiver, 4 season ATV pulled wagon(works great in the snow to carry provisions to back-country forest cabins!), locking saddle boxes, cargo rack, helmet, plastic coated winch cable. 4 season work and play! Power steering, 4 season tracks, truck ramps included. Must see to appreciate what a great deal this is. Runs excellent, a blast in the snow. Not as fast as a snowmobile, but snowmobile's don't have winches, and you can plow all-terrain and change-over when the snow melts(switching to wheels/tracks takes 30-60 minutes depending on your skill). New K&N air filter, fuel filter, oil filter. Use the wagon for work (has dump release) or for hauling gear into the back-country. Easily worth $13K. All together $8,000 firm."

 

haha, I actually saw that on on CL when I was browsing.

Is it a good deal, hard to really say... so one needs to break it down. BTW, his statement of it being easily worth $13K is if that was all brand new... sure, but it is all used so no way it is worth $13K used.

First, it is a 550 so that does not demand as much money used as the 700. Is the 550 a poor choice? Not at all. But, the clincher here will be how abused does it appear to be? Yamaha Grizzly is a very good and reliable machine... but all based on how well it was serviced over those 3300 miles. 3300 miles would not scare me off on a 550/700 Grizzly, but I would prefer less miles, same with any ICE machine. Don't see a mention of Electronic Power Steering (EPS) unless I missed it. No EPS reduces the price from an equal machine by ~ $1000 as I think that new, it was about a $1000-$1200 option.

Do you want the tracks? Those were probable around $3500 new. If you intend to do winter trail riding with them and find them a value, just make sure you have a buddy with tracks to accompany you on your rides. Getting stuck or having a track break down in the mountainous back country by yourself might come to the end result of you need another machine with tracks to get you out. Won't happen every time but it could happen. If no interest in the tracks and you were planning to sell them, used, consider yourself lucky to get $2000 out of them. I see them come up on CL from time to time and the ads are on there for some time usually as they are asking too much for used tracks... even the ones that are hardy used/like new etc.

That trailer is handy and probably around $300-$500 new. Winch, about $300-$400 new and the ad eludes to wire cable, not synthetic rope (Keep in mind Yamaha offered, from time to time, new Warn winches as a perk for buying a new Grizzly, so I would be hesitant to include that in your calculations). Plow is about $400 - $600 new.

The wheels are all standard OEM and same with the front tires. The rear tires are aftermarket and look to have good tread on them... fronts appear OK but many do not like that front tire and swap them out for CO trail riding.

So, really depends on what you want out of it. Are you planning to trail ride or just use it for plowing? For plowing, you do not need the tracks and could get by with just 4WD and those wheels or chains on the back. My Grizzly 700, I just use 4WD in the CO mountains with a large, 60" blade.

BTW, CO used Grizzly has a tendency to get a bit higher price on them than other parts of the country, just the way it is. By comparison, I bought my used 2007 700 Grizzly with EPS and 1480 miles, Warn Winch, seat back box for $5300 in 2014 out of Buena Vista. I wouldn't say it is a great deal but I also wouldn't think it is a rip-off. Really comes down to condition and if you value those tracks. At $7000, it is probably a good deal for CO.

 

Thank you for your great response and addressing all my questions. I broke it down the same way you did same prices and came up with 7,200 think that's what I am going to offer him. As far as the tracks go I do not know anyone else who has them but I have a lot of friends with snowmobiles. I was plan on doing back country trail riding with them.

 

I would say I value the tracks I plan on keeping it for 5+ years and tracks will provide some winter fun. Plus I have been doing research and it seems you can use them year round if you choose however I wouldn't. But they would be cool on occasion for a slow trail ride in the spring. Definitely not something you see everyday.

 

BTW, make sure and confirm on the EPS. If no EPS, I would not go higher than your $7,200 offer and would go lower, maybe down to $6,500 - $6,800. Those non-EPS models are not in demand and do not command pricing on par with EPS models.

Keep in mind on the tracks, they do break. I was on trail and a Rzr had them. Sure enough, he sheared the bold that holds the track upright and the track spun around. He had to remove the track and strap a log to the hub and a sort of skid to get himself out. Also, I would prefer the Grizzly 700 for use with tracks at altitude but I'm sure the 550 would do fine. Bigger is always better, right?

 

Definitely will check on that I imagine it has to have power steering I don't think you could have tracks without it. If it doesn't it is a no go no matter how cheap I could get it for.

 

OK, looked at the pictures again and it is EPS. Says Power Steering above Grizzly on the sticker located on the fuel tank plastic. Just verify the EPS is there as you can buy those stickers aftermarket. I'm sure it has it, just be sure.

 

Question if I get it for 7,000 it's in as good condition as it looks and I maintain it that way. What do you think the resale value would be in 2 years? How does a Yamaha 550 grizzly hold its value?

 

Thanks good eye !!

 

Hard to say really. What I can tell you is I could most likely sell my Grizzly for virtually the same money, right now, that I bought it for with the same options it came with. But, as time goes on, newer models come out and those could be more desirable which will drop the used market prices.

Like, will Yamaha ever release a multi-cylinder, high HP Grizzly to compete with Polaris and Can Am? They almost have to.

Colorado is a weird market though for used utility ATVs. The prices seem to hold here well because they are still very popular and there are many AWESOME places to ride in this state.