I've had good luck with buying used. I bought my '00 500 used five years ago and it has been a real reliable machine. taken into consideration it was taken really good care of by the previous owner. A lot of it has to do with how the previous owner took care of it. If they did regular maintenance and didn't beat it.

 

Hey R!

Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances. An dems da facs, Jack.

 

Quite a debate here......there are certainly some horror stories out there as well as good luck! Personally, I buy new because I don't have the time to look for a used one which is likely not the exact one I want but is a good price so I make some concessions, and I don't want to take the risk if there is something wrong with it that they are not telling me or don't realize.

However, with that said, I don't think a person could go wrong buying a used one if you look it over very closely and ride it to make sure everything works well. I mean, I know everyone that has bought a used one from me has been very happy and laughed all the way to the bank!

 

I like to compare the features on every major brand and don't even consider the no-names. I always know which one or possibly two models I want before I get ready to buy one. I want what fits my needs perfectly, not just one that's good enough for now. That narrows down my chances of finding a used model that I want. If I can test ride the quad I may hear or feel something that's not right, but people who know how many cars I've rolled over don't like handing over the keys to anything. That leaves me only complete strangers to deal with. I'm also not a mechanic and even if I look at it I know I'll miss something. It will come down to luck, like Russian Roulette, and I know I'll be okay most of the time. Or at least I would be if it wasn't for the family curse. I may buy a used quad if I ever find the model I want but so far I've only bought new ones. Now I need one that will handle my Glacier plow because I'm not buying another plow too.

 

I bought my '03 sportsman 700 from my local dealer. they go over them completely before they sell them. if it needs something, they'll tell you. I never had a problem with it and the guy I sold it to loves it and hasn't had a problem either. my warrior, I bought off craigslist. it was in decent shape but needed some work. he was asking $2500 and I got it for $1600. since then I've put another $600 in it. its awesome now.

 

Around here it just doesn't pay to buy a year or 3 or even 5 year old ATV. They hold their value extremely well around here. Even ancient 4x4 ATVs that are simply beat to death rarely go for under 2 grand.

Say I'm going to buy a new big bore machine. I can get a new machine for 8000 and a 2 or 3 year old one is 6000 or more. I'm going to spend the extra and just buy the new one. I get a newer machine with newer technology with a warranty. I really don't know how many times the old machine has been sunk, if it has been rodded all to hell or beat to death. With a new one I'm getting a known quantity.

There are exceptions of course. I bought a machine from an older gentleman who I knew had taken good care of it. Got it for a fair price and it didn't have a lot of miles on it. even then i still had to make age related repairs to it that weren't apparent with a simple inspection no matter how thorough.

 

WOW all these answers are good and I can understand the guys wanting to buy new---but--- The one thing- myself included that nobodies mentioned--- is the fact of NOT wanting or affording monthly payments. I'm not sure how old everyone is who answered but from personal experience PAYMENTS SUCK, the day I finished paying off my mortgage on the house I swore never to get into payments again! The house was worth it but to pay for a recreational vehicle 12 months a year for 3-5 years is crazy to me and I just flat out refuse to pay 8-10 grand(by time the extras are on) for a part time use toy--just my own penny's worth of thought.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Around here it just doesn't pay to buy a year or 3 or even 5 year old ATV. They hold their value extremely well around here. Even ancient 4x4 ATVs that are simply beat to death rarely go for under 2 grand. </end quote></div>

Not here in Canada Ontario. My friend bought bought a new zero miles 660 Grizzly off a girl who won it in a raffle draw. She lost $1500 from what it would cost at the dealership . It would of been a better deal if she would of at least took it for one ride and got it dirty.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: MaineWheeler

WOW all these answers are good and I can understand the guys wanting to buy new---but--- The one thing- myself included that nobodies mentioned--- is the fact of NOT wanting or affording monthly payments. I'm not sure how old everyone is who answered but from personal experience PAYMENTS SUCK, the day I finished paying off my mortgage on the house I swore never to get into payments again! The house was worth it but to pay for a recreational vehicle 12 months a year for 3-5 years is crazy to me and I just flat out refuse to pay 8-10 grand(by time the extras are on) for a part time use toy--just my own penny's worth of thought.</end quote></div>

you better have a real big bank account or a high paying job not to have payments lol. and yes i hate payments too.

 

I bought the wifeys Hawkeye used from my dealer here in a similar manor to TLCs story, it was a raffle prize and had 9 miles on it but I saved over $1000 from new! Best part of this is I have a GREAT dealer that warrantees it like new!
Needless to say, when I wanted a new SP 400HO, I went back to him and purchased new...I may have purchased this one used but since I wanted the 400 HO and it's in the first year of production there wasn't going to be a realistic chance of finding one used!
I have come to a point in my life where I don't like to compromise! I like a good deal as much as the next guy, but I will no longer settle for something that doesn't meet my wants and needs exactly...life is too short!