Hi Adam: Don't worry, there are tons of ATVs on the market at any given time. I found Craigslist here in the Denver area to be a good market resource. I think there were over 500 ATVs for sale yesterday when I looked.

Adam, you will find greg74 to be an excellent resource on ATVs. He has lots, and lots of good recommendations. greg74, how did you learn all about so many different ATVs? You're amazing.

David

 

I am reading some contradictory information about mileage so was hoping to pick your brains a little.


Someone is selling a 2005 Polaris Explorer 500 HO.
He is trading it in for a new one on Thursday, the dealer is giving him $2400 in exchange but he said for $2500 its mine. He said it's in excellent shape, every maintenance has been done at the same dealer with all records and paperwork to show me. The only thing negative is that is has 12,000 km on it. (That translates to around 7450 miles). For a 12 year old machine, that doesn't sound like a lot to me but I am new to these things.


Do these tend to need rebuild after a certain mileage, or does the maintenance tell me that it's still an excellent machine?
I pretty much have to go tonight and decide... hopefully someone can chime in before the end of the day to give me some advice. (I just saw the ad and spoke to the guy this morning).

 

That is a high milage machine. It all depends on what kind of miles they were. Trail riding, creek crossings, rock crawling, mud pits all take their toll on the machine. They aren't built like pickup trucks.

You have probably checked the NADA ATV site and got the average retail for this model machine at these miles.

I would be leary of an ATV with that many miles unless I was willing to accept the breakdowns and overhauls that are likely coming.

David

 

In regards to your looking for an ATV....the 2 stroke model 350 you were referring to is going to use a lot of fuel...an awfully lot when compared to a good 4 stroke engine. The asking price didn't seem to bad based on my area and the pic looked nice. However a 2 stroke does need a rebuild every so often so I would pass if your going to do any distance riding. The John Deere machines in my area are not good sellers at all, even the newer side x side machines are looked down upon in the JD lineup so go with caution there. The last model you were looking at has a lot of miles on it!! Could be a good machine if all the proper care was done correctly but that is a big question there.. In time you will find a good machine at a good price and the longer you look the better educated you will get!! I see many newbies jump in to soon before they get educated enough to know a good from a bad machine and those really "good deals" can get real expensive quickly. Keep shopping and keep asking questions then you will know when the right machine comes along and at the right price.