look at the 10 digit of the vin. If it's a 2 then its an 02, a 3 is (yup u guessed it an 03)

 

The first year was a 2003 so I am sure that is what it is. There are no glaring problems with the SP 600 (or the 700) in that year. Some people have experienced a higher than normal incidence of torn CV boots except I have only seen one. Some people claim the front differential is a weak area, again, I have yet to see any problem and I beat the crap out of mine - including a significant amount of plowing. As far as ATVs go I would say that is a very good bet in terms of reliability. If the price is right I would jump on it or tell me where it's at so I can buy it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img])

 

2003 was the first year the sportsmans got rid of most of the grease zirks. My 02 700 had 24 and I think they got rid of all of them but 3 in 2003. Not to say this is a problem, I was pissed when I had an 02 with all those zirks. But when I saw a 2003 600 with 4000 miles, all of the non-greasable bushings were shot and it sat all loose. They eventually put 4 more of the zirks back on the 2006 model's inner a-arms for a total of 7 on mine.