Polaris and Sportsmans, in general - reliablility

[defleppardsg]

This is probably the wrong venue/forum to ask this sort of question, sorry...

I'm pretty much about to buy a 2012 400 H.O., my first ATV, and a few people I know or meet are trying to tell me that Polaris's aren't too reliable, and that they cost less for a reason.... Does anyone think this is true? Polaris's are substantially less expensive, apples to apples, with other brands.. They're also telling me that Polaris makes their machines impossible to work on, so you are forced to take it to the dealer for service.

I know that asking this question in a Polaris forum is asking for trouble, lol, but everyone on here has been helpful so far, so I figured I'd throw it out there and hope for some honest answers one way or the other. I really don't know anything about these things.

Thanks

[MartyWoodburner]

Welcome!
I know what you are going through...I just bought my first ATV a few weeks ago.
After shopping around I kept coming back to Polaris.
My friend has the 400 HO and loves it...I went with the 500 HO because I wanted the little extra power. Both IMHO are great machines.
I guess a lot of it comes back to what are you going to use it for?

[defleppardsg]

I'm not going to be destroying this thing in the woods, mud, or water every weekend. But I do plan on trailriding and bush-wacking with it. With my cars, I'm pretty particular about maintenance and cleanliness, so I don't worry about my maintenance habits with this ATV, but just the reliability in general, and how mechanically sound these things are..

[bobx2]

Polaris makes a great machine. It is as easy as any other atv to work on and just as reliable. I bet those who have been telling you all this own other brands. ATV owners are as brand loyal as anyone you'll ever meet and will not hesitate to hate on the other makers. I'll admit to being guilty of that myself on occasion. Don't just take everyones word though. Get out and test ride them all, and none will do everything as well as a Polaris. They all do something really well, but give up something in return. In my opinion none ride as well or have as good of a 4x4 system as Polaris.

[blueline15]

Look at resale value of used Polaris atvs. It might surprise you. They hold resale value very well. Poorly built machines do not hold resale value lol.

They do, as all atvs, require more maintenance more often then our cars. If their machines arent reliable, they would not be holding the market share lead for machines sold. It's also simply untrue that the make them so you can't work on them yourself. You can, easily. Polaris will even sell their factory service manuals to anyone. About $30-$70 to buy. I recommend doing so.

There are some poorly ran dealers out there, and they can reflect poorly on the brand itself. Some areas of the country are very loyal to a brand. That happens with all the brands.

[4getful2]

As with all,proper care and maintainence go a long way.
I've had my '02 500ho since '04 and have had good luck with it. One of my friends bought a '09 500ho new and has put brake pads and a new fan just last month. We trail ride where there is plenty of mud and water.
I would not hesitate to buy a new one.
If you do decide to buy, You may want to invest in some front A-arm guards,for no other reason than to protect the cv boots.

[MartyWoodburner]

4getful2...just an FYI the 2012 come standard with cv boot protection

[Clinebo]

My first quad was a '90 250 Trail Boss 4x4. Had it for 12 years before upgrading to my '02 500 HO. The 500 has been an excellent machine. I do the maintenance on it myself. I think in 12 years the only thing I had to do to the 250 was a broken motor mount and a piece on the shifting linkage?

[1of7627]

You'll certainly get an earful, but it's never a bad idea to ask the people that own them what they think and if they either are or would be repeat buyers. I owned two older ('92 and '94) two stroke Polaris models that I bought used before buying the newer ones I have now. Over the years and many miles, several sets of tires and a couple batteries, they were essentially trouble free except I wore out the drive sprockets and chains once on each (not an issue anymore). Of course it helps if you're mechanical and can do basic service on your own machines, but keep in mind that dealer service is similarly priced (labor, anyway) for all brands. Some models are more difficult to service than others (like the smaller models I have, due to limited accessibility), but the current standard size models are no worse than those of other brands (and better than many). As Blueline15 says, resale value speaks well of most Polaris models. The major components are well proven. And, I'm confident your maintenance efforts will be well rewarded regardless of the model you choose. Good luck. - MarkC

[bp405]

i just bought a 2011 sportsman 800efi in september. this is my first atv. i purchased a polaris simply because their the best. i ride my machine quite a lot and do some hard riding. this machine has impressed my every step of the way. i would not hesitate in telling you or anybody else to purchase a polaris atv. if your into watching atv videos on youtube you'll notice the polaris's aren't the ones holding up the pack. ur best bet is togo out and test out all the atv's you can and you'll see what i'm talking about.