hi fellow ATV riders . i am a newb in need of some desperate help.
my son is about 8 years old , and we live in australia.

the name brands (honda, yamaha , etc...) are sooo expensive down under and not in my budget .
i am looking at some ATV's on EBAY like this one .
2009latest model LEI 125cc semi auto atv dirt quad bike - eBay Quads, Quads, Trikes, Buggies, Motorcycles, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 08-Aug-09 20:45:00 AEST)


what do you all reckon.
are these ebay ATV's a waste of money ? or does it depend on how and where you ride ?

 

Welcome to the forum radzy !

.. How good are you with a wrench? If youve got some mechanical skills they can be a bargain and a lot of fun..without them they can and most likely will be a night mare...They will always need a bit more attention compared to the higher priced versions...

It would be neat to get some feed back on a model not available in the US..

 

Buyer beware.
Tools in your budget?
Like MWQ said, they can be a nightmare but if your willing to work on em they'll get you by till you can get a better machine.

 

I came very close to going that route and I'm happy that I went for an LT80 instead for my son. It's been incredibly reliable over almost 2 years of my son and a bunch of our friends riding them really hard through plenty of deep sloppy mud and it pretty much starts up at the first push of the starter and the kids ride it until it's out of gas.

The only things it's needed done beyond routine maintenance was to have the mud cleaned out of the front brakes (we thought the pads were just worn) and I had to take the carb apart and clean it because we'd left it sitting with gas in the carb over the winter.

Don't know what prices are like down under, but my $AU .02 says you're better off looking for an older LT80 or a Honda 90 and spending a few more $ upfront. You're going to spend it eventually if you get a generic Chinese bike.

I'd also take a hard look at parts availability. There will always be a few Honda and Suzuki dealers in Oz... There's nothing more frustrating to the kids than waiting around for their bike to get running again.

-rich

 

Ok, well forgive me for saying this, as it is going ot be kind of harsh. Just how much do you value your child's life? Understand that choices you make now regarding buying an ATV will have lasting effect. These are not toys, they are capable of severe injury, even death. When I hear someone wanting to make a purchase based on price alone, and they say they can't afford something etc, I tend to cringe. The natural thing for me is to read more into that by saying I doubt that you have a budget for safety gear too, or at the very least, they may end up with a poor fitting helmet hand me down that is just as dangerous as nothing at all... Please do not feel I am attacking you, and I'l leave the comments about buying cheap knock-offs to others on this list. My point to you is this. The fact that some people cannot afford things is a fact of life. I can't really do anything about that.. but I can ask that you look hard at your situation. If you feel that you cannot afford adequate safety equipment on top of the quad purchase, I beg you to think long and hard about the purchase in the first place. There is no shame is saying no, or saying you cannot afford something. Fact is, I bet there are a lot of people here that will tell you that this is ne of the problems our generation has introduced. Our kids do not know what it is like to have to work and save their money to afford something. We are all guilty of it.
Please do not take offense in the above. This is hard won advice from somone who has made all the mistakes myself... I have been there, I know what it is like to want to do something for the kids, but can't afford it... there is no shame in that.

 

Nicely said..

Hey dragginbutt....That you in the pic? And who is holding you?

 

just because you didnt get something when you were kid doesnt mean you have to stop some one from buying them a atv you never know they ,ight love it and start racing and become starts all im saying is just becuase you didnt get something doesnt mean you have to stop someone else