In the market for an ATV/UTV. Knowledge Welcome

[LUBaseball2]

My fiance and I close on our first house in two months on five acres and I've started doing some research into ATVs/UTVs. Any input on my questions below would be great. I grew up in a rural area and rode friends/family members in the past, just never been in the market and it's been 10 years or so since I've been on one so I'm sure things have changed quite a bit.

Needs:
- 5kish or under.. I want to pay cash (I'm assuming most UTVs may be out)
- Ability to hook up a trailer for yard work
- Something fun to ride on trails

Questions:
Would it be better to buy new/used?
- I imagine this is similar to car pros/cons.. considering it's more of a toy I'm sure you find a whole lot that are beat up.

What Make/Model/Year?

It doesn't snow a ton and may be a little mud around occasionally is a 4x4 worth it?


Thanks for any input!

 

[R.D.P.]

I would recommend sticking to Yamaha or Honda. My recommendation would be Rancher - great mid-size do it all quad that is going to be pretty bullet proof for you and they can be had in the price range your talking about in decent shape.

 

[ford fanatic]

Anything Honda...I've had a few Honda quads and they've all been very reliable. My current 03 Rincon has been rode to hell and back and is still starts every time.

 

[mc01svt]

honda rancher, reliable, inexpensive and will do everything you need it to do. If you can try to get the one with electronic fuel injection over carb

you can forget about UTVs as they are 3x your price range. Even larger big bore 4x4 ATVs are in the $8k-12k range.


4wd is not necessary at all, unless you are just being stupid and trying to get through a 3ft mud bog. For normal riding 2wd is fine

 

[DHG1078]

Hondas are rock solid. My family, while great on maintaining our cars, are terrible at maintaining our quads. I'm talking like oil changes every 5-6 years kind of bad lol. To be fair they don't get ridden as often as they used to though. The hondas never skip a beat.

Don't think just because it's used it's going to be beat up. There are lots of people out there who buy one, use it a few times, and then let it sit forever before they sell it. Just gotta be patient and look. Those ones go very fast though, so you gotta jump on it ASAP. For example, my dad has been looking at various dual sport dirt bikes like tw-200's or dr350's so we can go ride the forest trails near us. We have found several 20 year old bikes that have just a couple thousand miles on them. They go fast though.

 

[black92]

My dad is going to look at an '04 Rhino today and possibly get it. Those should be close to your budget and provide what you want to do.

 

[capnkirk52]

My dad is going to look at an '04 Rhino today and possibly get it. Those should be close to your budget and provide what you want to do.

Can you get a Rhino that cheap? That's a pretty good bargain if you can. I have an 08 Rhino for farm work and it's a pretty good machine!

OP... Two words... Turbo Maverick... Google, purchase, ?, Profit! Giggity!

 

[mc01svt]

My dad is going to look at an '04 Rhino today and possibly get it. Those should be close to your budget and provide what you want to do.

would not recommend the 04' has the older (inferior) 660 engine with the carburetor and funky 5 valve cylinder head. :nono:

The 06 and up Rhino has the 700cc used in raptor and grizzly with EFI, better 4 valve cylinder head and much more efficient and reliable than the older 660. The rhino 700s will definitely be out of the OPs price range, not to mention beat to hell and back.

 

[mc01svt]

OP... Two words... Turbo Maverick... Google, purchase, ?, Profit! Giggity!

I will be getting a turbo maverick just a soon as i hit the lotto. You can get a clean 04 cobra for the price of one of those. I believe they are $23k new.

 

[black92]

would not recommend the 04' has the older (inferior) 660 engine with the carburetor and funky 5 valve cylinder head. :nono:

The 06 and up Rhino has the 700cc used in raptor and grizzly with EFI, better 4 valve cylinder head and much more efficient and reliable than the older 660. The rhino 700s will definitely be out of the OPs price range, not to mention beat to hell and back.

He'll be trading a motor for it and has far less in the motor than what the Rhino is worth. Rhino is supposed to have $3,000 in aftermarket parts and owned by a 50+ year old guy. My '04 Raptor has been treating me well and for basic around the house use, I'm sure the '04 Rhino will be okay. If it were being taking out and run hard on the trail, I can see your point.

 

[Blackness03]

Cant beat a Honda. I put 10k HARD miles on a Honda rancher when I was 14-15. The speedo stopped working at 10k miles and I rode it a year after that before I sold it. Probably had 12k miles on it by then and still ran like new.

 

[SVT-BansheeMan]

a fun atv. a used banshee. cheap parts and no potential failures that comes with 4 stroke race engines.

For a utility atv, Honda rancher 420. Dont even think about anything else.

 

[LUBaseball2]

Thanks for all of the input! Looks like a Honda Rancher is the way to go.

 

[SID297]

My family has UTVs of pretty much every make. They have all been fairly reliable. Polaris seems to be the most popular in their area.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

I've got 5.5 acres but don't really see it as being big enough to need an ATV.

My stepfather has 160 acres and he recently got a Polaris Ranger. Then again he also just bought a John Deere 5045e.

 

[ford fanatic]

I've got 5.5 acres but don't really see it as being big enough to need an ATV.

My stepfather has 160 acres and he recently got a Polaris Ranger. Then again he also just bought a John Deere 5045e.

I have 40 acres, and that gets old real quick. It's all woods, no hills and a couple small streams. If I didn't have friends with a lot of property and trails, I probably wouldn't even own a quad.

 

[RX1Cobra]

Can you get a Rhino that cheap? That's a pretty good bargain if you can. I have an 08 Rhino for farm work and it's a pretty good machine!

OP... Two words... Turbo Maverick... Google, purchase, ?, Profit! Giggity!

I want to ride in one bad... I have a non-turbo Mav and that thing is fast. May upgrade in a few years to a turbo.

 

[Anthony K]

polaris make all others its bitch.
automatic
simply the best 4x4 system out there.
best seat in the business.

get a used sportsman 500. 2012/13

 

[LUBaseball2]

I have 40 acres, and that gets old real quick. It's all woods, no hills and a couple small streams. If I didn't have friends with a lot of property and trails, I probably wouldn't even own a quad.

Yea, we will have 5 that's all wooded that I want to get some work done on but the neighborhood has 500 acres total 250+ will be common land with another 300-400 I can go ride on about 20 mins away.

 

[awful knawful]

Yamaha Grizzly 660/700. Grizzly/Kodiak 450. Honda Rancher/Foreman. Polaris Sportsman 500. Go down to the Polaris dealer. I bet you can get a new Sportsman 570 for close to $5K with a 5 year warranty!