What have folks found about the reliability of the Outlander 800? I've read reviews on another forum (individual reviews, not professional ones) and some complain of "leaky CVT, weak battery, saggy front springs, less than adequate visco systems, beer can frame and fickle winches." I see one for sale locally on Craig's for $4k and wanted to know if I should buy it.

 

Can't speak for everyone, but my 06 has 6000 miles of rough trails, sand dunes and a little racing. I have skids and the Can Am gas shocks and couldn't be happier.

 

I've read the same stuff that Knukey has read. I found a brand new 2007 Outlander 800 with a 2up seat at a dealer for $6,900. Sounds like a great deal for a brand new machine, but keep thinking why is this machine still around since the '10s are about to come out. They also have a 650 for $5,900 brand new. Would like some more input from other owners of these.

 

I found this after posting this queston:

Outlander 800 Known Problems

These dudes are to high $$ to have a list of problems this long IMO.

 

The most common problems to most people are the floorboard brackets and the SST frame getting dented too easy for their liking, along with their Visco system not engaging fast enough when it's needed. The problems that were on the site posted in the previous post happen too, but these three are the most common.

 

I have had my 06 for 3 1/2 years and couldn't be happier with it. IMO, alot of those are blown way out of proportion. I have never had skids on mine and I do have a baseball size dent in the frame but it has not caused any issues. The battery being weak is not the problem, I believe it's not enough output from the stator when winching with a load, there is not enough power being sent out to keep up with the draw from the winch, to power the ECM, fuel injection, and ignition under a hard pull. The helix exploding I seen on the list, that was my outlander they were referring to and that was caused by the shift linkage being out of adjustment. There is and always has been a drain on the CVT, it is the lower rear bolt in the CVT, the fix they refer is is adding a yamaha style drain plug but the rubber grommet you have to install will not allow all the water to get out of the CVT and just a mist on the belt will cause it to slip. The weak springs were more of an issue on the XT models with the 2 stage springs, the lower short spring would collapse.
They did have an issue with plastic and the seat melting from the exhaust and you can get a bigger heat shield installed, they also had an issue with the heat from the exhaust warping the CVT inner guide and the inner guide leaking water at the o rings where it mounts to the engine. Most of the 07's came with the updated guide from the factory and the o rings sealed by pulling the clutches and inner guide and using a little bit of silicone.

 

Can Am is a company that listens to what owners say and correct the problems. That list is from 2006, the first model year. Most of the issues were taken care of by the 08 model year. The Can Am is still the most advanced performance utility quad available and the 2010 moidels have notched the bar up even higher. I would not be afraid to buy an 08, providing the price was good enough to offset the depreciated value of a 2 model year old quad. Good luck in your quest.

 

were for the 2007 Outlander 800XT:

Vehicle Reviews for 2007 Can-Am Outlander™ 800 H.O. EFI XT

The 2006 reviews were a bit harsher:

Vehicle Reviews for 2006 Can-Am Outlander™ MAX 800 H.O. EFI

Granted these are NOT professional reviews, only user reviews so they must be taken with a grain of salt.

I'm in the market for a used late model ATV. If Can Am didn't get their stuff straight until 2008, I'll avoid the prior years.

 

I purchased a used '06 OL 800 with ~8300 miles on it at the beginning of this year. Crazy amount of miles and unsure if any work had to be done to it before the last owner. But so far the only problem I encountered is the brake switch going out. I do have a small leak out of my rear end by my right drive shaft, so I suppose I will need to replace that seal soon.

But I am still grinning ear to ear riding it compared to my OL400. Don't get me wrong the 400 been a good machine for me, and now my wife rides it. I needed to step up to a larger machine to make plowing a little easier and one that would keep up with the Kingquad 700's the rest of the group that I go riding with has. I am no longer in the back of the pack. With this beast I am now in front!