Help me choose

[jayhkr]

Ok, so after getting shot down 3 times today by dealers not wishing to negotiate on pricing (mind you I had 55 Ben Franklin's in my hand to get a '11 400/500 Sportsman) I have to resort back to craigslist for a new quad. I have narrowed it down to these 4 quads. Each of them have their pros and cons. I will list them in order of what "I" want in a quad.

1) 01' Polaris Sportsman 500HO 4X4 w/ snow Plow
LOTS of extra's. Has everything that I'm looking for in a quad but it IS 10 years old and the owner can only guess at the amount of hours/miles put on it (around 2500-2800) But I do like the plow, storage box, and winch options on here. Not to mention the upgrades. Did get him down to $3700

2) Polaris Sportsman 700 Twin
Not much in the way of extras but a much bigger engine considering it's a V-Twin. Might be able to talk them down to $3600-3700.

3) -----2005 Polaris Sportsman 700 EFI 4X4 & only 750 miles-----
Big engine, EFI so no need to worry about choking and recently fully serviced by the dealer. He is willing to negotiate a bit so I was thinking $4800-4900. Does have the front cargo area (small one, but adequate) but the price has really shot up here. Not much left over to add anything, if anything. But it is newer.

4) 2007 YAMAHA GRIZZLY 4X4 400
This one I switched gears on a little. Went with a Grizzly which I'm not 100% familiar with as far as their 4wd goes. Does have a winch and is the newest of the bunch but also the smallest engine. Price in between everything else so a little room to work with by adding a cargo box and maybe a plow system later on. Just not super keen on them as I've never ridden them before.

Ok, so with that said I need everyone's advice here. I'd love to hear the pro's/con's and what suggestions I could hear. I also would want to know if I would have any issues finding parts for some of the older models in the case that something does go wrong after a while, I don't want to be hunting down parts forever. So if you had $5,500 TOPS what would you do. Mind you I do want 4wd, a winch and cargo system. Eventually a plow setup and a long lasting quad. (I know I don't want much). Thanks for the help guys! I look forward in hearing your responses!

[blueline15]

That '01 looks very clean. Im shocked. If it were me, with what you told me, I would pull the trigger on the '01 for $3700 as long as it is as described because with the accessories it has, thats seems to be a great deal.

For all three polaris, the check over will be the same.
-Check oil level, color, and cleanliness
-Check all fluids for that matter
-Check CV boots for rips
-Check all rubber bushings and hoses for cracks or breaks
-Compress all 4 corners of suspension. (any weird noises, does it compress and return back up?
-Start motor, does it start good
-Ride it, any clicks, squeaks, squacks, or unusual noises?
-Is the take off smooth?
-Does it ride straight?
-Steering tight?
-Does it stop good, both brakes feel good?
-After its warm, any fluid leaks?

There is more, but you get the idea. If anything seems unusual, dont be afraid to ask it here if you go check it out. We can usually as a group help decide if its normal or not. With good maintenance, these things will go a long time. Parts are usually good for about 20 years. So you should be good there. About 10 more years of parts supply.

Carbed/EFI. EFI will give u easier starts in the cold, and runs better at all elevation, no rejetting needed. The beauty with carbed is you can work on it yourself, rejett it yourself if needed, where as EFI has to go to the dealer. If you have no intention of working on this machine at all, the EFI becomes a viable option, if you like to work on your own stuff, and you are not planning on riding in above and below 6500 feet a lot, then carb should suite you just fine. There is minimal to no performance gain between one of the other.

Single/Twin. Meh, its a personal preference. Singles are fun because they have plenty of power to push, pull, climb, rip, plow, yank, slide, and crawl through just about everything, while still allowing you to be heavy on the throttle. The twins have more low end grunt. So you have to be more gentle with the throttle. Some people love this, some people hate this. I would ride both a single and a twin to see what kind of person you are, or if it matters. I have meet people who will only own a twin machine, and i have met people who would only own a single machine. That choice is very personal, but either are fine, IMO. I feel its overal a mute point other then personal preference. Twins will idle and run a little smoother, but consume more fuel.

Sorry, i dont really know anything about the grizzley's. Never paid attention to them, except for they use a limited slip type front differental. So the way i understand it is on the fly 3-wheel drive, but must stop completly to lock out the front diff and get 4 wheel drive. Doesnt sound fun to me...haha! Could be wrong there though. I do know their build quality does tend to be high, so overall it shouldnt be a pile of crap. How is your local yamaha dealer? How is your local polaris dealer for that matter? Good service department, knowledgable parts staff?

I am a thrifty guy though with my money, and i dont like to stretch myself thin, nor buy more product then i really need. So, i would still go with the what looks to be very clean '01 for $3700. Put the remaining $1800 back into my account for thinks like parts, tires, riding gear, ect. That way you can get a good helmet, get boots, ect, and it becomes very fun to ride because you are not spending every penny you make just to ride. Its more fun that way, IMO.

Thats my long winded 2 cents. Curious to see what way you go.

[Razorback]

I think I'd go with #2.

2 and 3 are basically the same machine, other than the efi and the body. They both have similar miles/hours. So if it were me, I'd go with the older one and use that extra $$ for wheels/tires, clutch kit, etc. I'm kinda partial to carb'd machines anyway... easier to work on.

[WalkinTarget]

Originally Posted by Razorback

I think I'd go with #2.

Love the yellow Sportsmans ! That was my first choice, just for its visibility in the woods, but what do I end up with but a Mossy Oak !!??!!

Buying used is always a crapshoot, but follow the checklist on what to look for and you should be fine. I much prefer to buy from an older seller (the older the better) than a teenager, as we know that the younger kids can be VERY hard on their gear.

[atvman2010]

i'd go with number 3 only becuase its looks very nice, i love red sportsmans and i like the newer setup they made in 2005.

[PoPo 8o0]

I would go with number 3. I own a sportsman 800 which is basically the same machine as the 700, just a little more cc's and i have owned a kodiak 450 which i pretty much the same as the yamaha 400 and the sportsman is way better. I would avoid the 500 because its 10 years old and really isn't worth 3700 even with those extras. I have went riding with people with the 500 and they really wish they had spent the extra money on a 700 or 800. keep in mind that a sportsman weighs 700+ pounds so you will want the extra power for all the weight, not to mention if you are putting extras on it, it will weigh even more.

As for reliablility, the yamaha is probably the best. I had 14000km on my kodiak and it was still running strong the day i sold it. I have had some minor problemes with my sportsman but i have been told that the 500's a more reliable then the twins.

Where i live (New Brunswick) an older sportsman 500 usually sells for around 2000-2500 and a 2005+ 700 usually sells for 4000-5000. I would tell you to go and test ride both of them but if you did that then like any red blooded male you'd take the 700.

Anyways, just my thoughts, good luck.

[jayhkr]

Thanks guys, that's an awesome checklist that I will adhere to when I go out to view some of these. I too was leaning on either #1 or #3 IF I can get #3 down in price. But I think I'm going to take a look at #1 first, test drive it a bit and see what it's like. Kind of makes me wonder a bit though, he's had it posted for just under a month and hasn't sold it yet. I think I'm going to drop #4 as I'm not super particular to Yamaha's in general. Might as well drop #2 since both 2 and 3 are similar but #3 is newer. So now I've narrowed it down to a '01 Sportsman LOADED with possibly minor work needed to it. Seems to have been taken care of quite well by the list the owner sited. Or an '05 Sportsman that would leave me with maybe 500 extra for a winch but is much newer and has 1/4 the miles/hours on it. I need to get my lucky quarter I think! Fortunately I have riding gear so no worries about affording that. Thanks again everyone for the input! It helps me put things in a different perspective.

[500pr3d]

It looks like its been very well taken care of for the amount of hours on it!
Ive always liked the way the older sportsmans looked. But i would really look at the 4wd.#1 for sure

[utahjaun]

i ride a 500
all of my buddies ride bigger twins
mine will go any where theres go and use less fuel doing so
i have had to pull my buddies over some snow drifts that i made it through and they could not granted his is a king quad but he has better tires and more cc than me
if you were buying a snowmobile i say 800 or nothing
but realy y would you need more cc in a 4x4 atv inless you are a mud bogger

[jayhkr]

Well my wife brought up a VERY good point yesterday. She has a Sportsman 300 and if I were to get the 700 model she would be afraid that I would go into areas she couldn't. Since we enjoy to ride together I am dead set on the 500 model. Should be able to take a look at it Monday or Tuesday. I'm looking forward in seeing just how good a shape it's in! Thanks again for all the great replies. Lets hope this works out the way it should!