I was planning on getting something new (probably a Honda) sometime this summer. Right now, the '04's are a few hundred cheaper than the '05's (obviously). I assume the '05's will drop a few hundred when the '06's come out. When will that be? Would there be any '04's left even then? Or should I try to get an '04 before the 06's come out since shops will be trying to clear them out and be pretty willing to deal. Thanks for any insight.

Gil

 

Gil,

I would recommend a Rancher 400 AT for your first quad. If you plan on using it more as a work horse than you might want to look at the Foreman or the Rubicon. All of these three machines are great and you will be happy with any of them.

I would buy an 04' now or wait until about November and buy an 05'. Generally the new year models start showing up around November. If you wait until then you may not find an 04' but you will get a better deal on an 05' than you will right now. Either way you really can't go wrong.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Cirviver

 

Which bike are you interested in??? That will make a difference.

Honda did a bunch of updates on a bunch of bikes last year, so I don't think we are going to see any major changes for 06. So, you will probably not miss anything major if you get an 05.

 

Thanks for the response. My budget is probably going to limit me to a 2X4 (unfortunately) so I was looking at the Rancher ES. I ride a friends Foreman 500 occasionally and sometimes a new Griz 660. I really like the Foreman and the way it handles. The Grizzly is just too much bike for me right now and doesn't handle nearly as well as the Foreman IMO. I figure the Rancher is the best I can get for my money right now. I'm out of the country until June so it sounds like trying to get an '04 when I get back will be my best (cheapest) bet?? I'd kinda like to have it to ride most of the summer so I wouldn't want to wait till Nov. for the '05's to get cheaper. Any major differences in the '04 and '05 Ranchers that I should worry about?

Thanks again,
Gil

 

Honda updated the rancher in 04' and the foreman in 05'. If you are looking at the rancher, an 04' will be basically the same as the 05'. I would really try to come up with the extra money for the 4X4. It is not that much more in the overall picture.

I just hate to see you do like my buddy did and get a 2X4 and the first time we went riding he was regretting not getting the 4X4.

Of course it all depends on what type of riding you are going to do. We have alot of mud where we ride and he is always stuck. If you never plan on riding in deep mud or snow than you will be fine with a 2X4.

Good luck!

Cirviver

 

you should really try to get the 4x4. I have an '04 rancher 4x4 and i love it.
Remember, if you go to a dealer to buy one, you can always talk them down a little bit, maybe a couple hundred dollars. Dont settle for just sticker price, they raise that price because they know someone will talk them down.

Also, if you go to Honda's web side, they will list the MSRP price for each of their machines. I bought my 04 last september for 800 dollars less than that. Right now, an '04 will probably be even cheaper than that.

Just some things to think about, and good luck with your purchase.

 

Rumor is that the 06 Rancher 4X4 will have TraxLok selectable 2wd/4wd. That IS worth waiting for.

The 2X4 is more fun to ride tough. It is lighter (in the front end where extra weight does the most harm) and geared taller than the 4X4, but if you ride a lot of mud, get the 4X4.

 

The 04 Rancher AT already has Traxlok, although it is more expensive than the 350 ES.

 

Well, my "budget" already considers a purchase price (hopefully) well below MSRP. Knowing that you got yours that much under MSRP that long ago is nice to know though. Reconranger makes a good point too. The 2X4 is more fun to ride, lighter, etc. Where we normally ride, we're in 2 wheel 90-95% of the time so a full time 4X4 would actually almost be a negative to me. We can get into the messy stuff if we want but we can stay away from it too if needed. Ideally, I'd go for someting with selectable 2X/4X like the AT but right now it's out of the price range. Thanks again for all the input - seems like a great forum here. I try not to think too much about this, cuz it really makes the time away from home drag when you're really looking forward to something, but I'll be sure to let you guys know how things go when I get back home.

Thanks,
Gil

 

Buy out of state so you don't pay sells tax. Although I think you have to register in PA so you will probably get nailed either way.