So I'm looking at a 2008 sportsman 500. 104 hours, 734 miles. Looks really clean, but does have a crack in the plastic. There is some rust on the muffler, and that concerns me. Would that indicate that it has spent a lot of time in the water or mud? Also, he says the he replaced the stator, solenoid, battery, and bendix. He said "there shouldn't be any surprises. $3700 seems like a good price, and I'd really like to pick it up. Thoughts?

 

For such low mileage it sounds like the owner had a lot of problems { stator , starter , etc } , good price for a low mieage machine but the problems he had would concern me . Myself , I'd look elsewhere , with spring coming up there'll be plenty of machines coming up .

 

Yeah that had me concerned as well.

 

Discolored/rust on mufflers isn't a good indication on how it's been treated ,same for the stators on these. Recoil housings are notorious for leaking along with around the rope handles. Water and stators don't mix. May not be abused as dividing miles into hrs,owner is averaging about 7mp,lower than the average of 10 on most machines and usually not a strain on the engine.Replaced several stators like this on non abused machines. That's why they have the drain plug on the bottom of the recoil housing that most people forget about.Don't always judge by a couple problems one machine has had,could actually be a good one. Another good way to tell is the overall appearance also on body work,decals to see if they're all beat up. Could even be a diamond in the rough as they say and may be in overall better condition than some later models that have beat to death. May just need a little attention. Just look close at everything when you're looking at used machines.

 

I've even heard of guys putting a little silicon where the pull rope handle meets the housing to keep water out...

John

 

Here's the craigslist ad. Maybe yall can get a better idea as to what I'm looking at.

2008 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI! Great condition!

 

Exhaust looks like most over a period of time. Body work looks good. Hunters for the most part down here do take care of their machines,could be a good deal as the overall looks of the machine is good. Plus asking at least less than full retail from Kelly. Kelley Blue Book

 

Plus looking at suggested retail and trade in price on Kelly Blue Book,looks like he's alsmost split the difference between them both which a lot of people do.Not trying to talk you into it,but may just be worth looking at if a Sportsman 500 is what you're in the market for..

 

I did that as well. Keeps everything dry inside the recoil yet breaks lose easy just in case you need the pull rope in case emergency.

Looks in good shape BTW.

 

That unit is in excellent shape. The exhaust that polaris uses are not stainless steel, they rust fast.