The rear brakes on my Xplorer (rt foot), even when properly adjusted are only about as useful as dragging a foot. This brake I beleive was only designed for use as an emergency...good thing. Also knowing 3 other riders of Xplorers, I have noticed if you give it any throttle just before putting it into gear, it will grind. You might want to check out that quad again with the owner. Xplorers are very tough quads.

 

"Don't forget to use the clutch."

LOL! That's a good one...
That woman must have been smoking something good. That pedal is most certainly the rear brakes, as many have said. If you want proof of it (other than following the brake line to the rear caliper), squeeze the handlebar brakes, and then push on the pedal; the handlebar lever will put up some added resistance; it's fairly tough to pull as it is right now, but I've grown accustomed to it.
As for the mileage, I would be a bit concerned if the speedo/odometer don't work, but the truth is, on most occasions, Xplorers are EXTREMELY reliable. I believe somebody on here has one that went 5000+ miles without a rebuild.

As for the brakes... I hear lots of people complaining about going through brake pads like crazy. I've got 1800 miles on my Xplorer, a good amount of which has been in mud, and a lot of it has been with me driving, and I really like to use the brakes. I'm still on the first set, and there's still a LOT left to them. I guess perhaps mine is equipped with the heavy duty pads (it's a '99, maybe they were all fitted with the HD pads that year), but I know that they've lasted, and still perform quite well. Just thought I'd share that with you.

My personal advice is to see if you can find another one for a similar price, and if not, I'd probably buy that one.

 

make sure you talk to the owner next time, lol, clutch on an auto, and all atv clutches are lever not pedels, she must have been sniffing somthing, anyway,
as a proud owner of the polaris 400 engine i tell you this is one tough engine, starts right up, never gives any problems, barley fouls a plug, ive been on the same plug for 2 months, and its STRONG AND FAST, my scrambler is very reliable and i contribuet that to my regular maintainance and washing, and greasing, ect. treat her godo and ride her like a polaris, and it will not brake

 

I traded my 2000 Kodiak for a 2000 Xplorer.
The Kodiak steers easier, more "nimble" in the tight woods, but being that narrow has drawbacks, like turning over easier going sideways on a hillside (that happened to me trying to turn around on a hillside with my Kodiak).
The MAJOR drawback of the Kodiak vs. the Xplorer, is the Kodiak is WEAK in the power dept. This is the main reason I traded, to get the extra power of the 400-2 stroke. Plus,I like the Polaris 4wd system. All 4 wheels lockup when wheelspin is detected. The Kodiak only has a 3wd system (open differential). And, if a front wheel is off the ground, it will be the one trying to pull, while the other one just sits there.
I'm now able to go through mud holes with the Xplorer that I got stuck in when I had the Kodiak.