I am looking for used atv guidance, I am not totally new to atv's just have not owned one in ten years. Here are my parameters, I want an atv for hunting and trail riding my area is flat no hills no mountains some wet lands and heavily wooded. I am 58 years old and weigh 280# so I need a little bit of power maybe 500 or bigger, my budget is $3500.00 and prefer to have 4wd with EFI, as I have experienced enough carb problems to last a lifetime due to not riding on a regular basis. I am mechanically inclined if there is a You Tube video on it I can do it lol. Trying to find a EFI machine in my budget has been tough, I am not afraid to travel to find the right deal. I like the Polaris Sportsman, Can Am Outlander and Yamaha Grizzly. Anything you guys know of that I should steer clear of such as snorkled ATV's. Not sure if that is a fair statement since their are probably some fine snorkled machines out there for sale. I just know most people don't spend the money to snorkle a machine just for looks.
Thanks for any and all advice.

 

Anything 400cc or up should work for your needs but I don't know which ones have EFI. My Sportsman 500 does. I don't ride a lot but I haven't had any problems I can recall, except for the ADC crapping out on me twice. The dealer fixed it free the second time. I never used the ADC anyway after I tried it once to see how well it works. But I accidentally turned it on once when I put it in 4WD and that's when it broke. It was making a lot of noise when moving but as soon as I turned off the ADC it was just like nothing was wrong.

 

There are snorkeled machines straight from the factory. Arctic Cat (Now Textron), Can-Am, and Polaris all make dedicated mud, deep water machines. If it was put on and not original manufacturer, I would be hesitant about buying one. Most machines can go as deep as the front rack in water as the air intakes are usually tucked up high near the handlebars. All the machines you've mentioned are good machines. My son and I have had Polaris 500's, a Can-Am 500, 650, and now 1000. Son has a Polaris 1000. Any of these size machines will handle your height and weight. I'm at 340 and 6'3" and have ridden all of the above.

 

How well the machine has been cared for is the big question....maintenance is key! Look for older owners for less abuse and records for maintenance. I kept all my records and original paperwork on my 16 yr old Praire 300 and I took real good care of it, never had an issue with it in 16yrs. It had a carb but drained it if not running it for a while so never had an issue and also used fuel stabilizer. Sold it to the first person to come out and see it. EFI can have issues if they sit for a long period of time. Good luck in your search and remember never buy a machine without a good test ride...

 

Anything with an engine can have problems from sitting around not being used. I've had my EFI 500 for 10 years and all I do is put Sta-Bil in the gas and Sea Foam too now and run it 5 minutes, before winter hits. I need to go out and start mine to charge up the battery but keep putting it off. The engine never has never given me a bit of trouble. As far as snorkels and such go, the farther it gets from factory configuration the less I like it, in most cases.

 

How many hours is too many?

 

After searching for weeks for a used ATV about 90% of the ones on Craigslist or Facbook are priced at a thousand to two thousand dollars more than NADA values, is Nada this far off on price or people just asking way too much. I am not crazy about paying more than what NADA says they are worth considering that this is the source that most banks use according to my banker. Each ATV that I was interested in the seller would get offended when I would mention the NADA Value.

 

IMO they're just looking for some chump they can rip off. I don't know why some people seem to think they can get all their money back when they sell their ATV. As if there was no depreciation at at all over the years. If you buy a $3,000 ATV for $5,000 and it gets stolen, your insurance company will only give you $3,000 for it. They know what it's worth, and if you want a loan from the bank, they know what it's worth too. Everyone except the person selling it knows what it's worth.

 

I've owned 1 Polaris and 2 Arctic Cats with carburetors, other than a 500 Cat that had set with bad gas for a long time, the carburetors were as reliable as EFI. I'm sure if an EFI model sets with bad gas for years, you'll have as many issues. I used to weigh 260 lbs and even the little AC 400 would really haul with me on. If they ask more than book value and you really like the machine, make an offer under book. Money talks.

 

I have found a 2008 Polaris 800 Sportsman with 200 hours that is within my price range about 3 1/2 hours away picture looks like it is in very good condition it has a 2" lift which I am not crazy about and 27" Maxis Big horn tires with 2" wheel spacers, but has never been modified in any other way. He is asking Nada book value and said he is willing to negotiate some. I am going to try make the ride Tuesday to go check it out, Anything that you guys can think of that I need to check, plan on carrying my floor jack to lift it up to check wheel bearings and other suspension parts.
I am also going to post this in the Polaris section