Used or new UTV

sweeney

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We ended up getting a seasonal spot up at the lake this year and the only good i seen in it was it gives me an excuse to buy a UTV for cruising the campground running to the store the beach etc. I have been browsing the classifieds and auctions sites a bit, but not really sure of the "whatever you do don't buy one of these" type machines. My dad has artic cat prowlers and has loved them for what he uses them for, another guy runs rangers and says buy a 1000 but he never keeps them for more than 3 years, another guy said buy one of the off brand cfmoto/odes etc and just keep up on maintenance. Beings i won't use it for anything more than a glorified golf cart for the majority of the year, im not really sold on having the fastest or most powerful rig. Debating between crew cabs, and single cabs with bench seat in the 700-900cc range. Any thing to watch out for or certain brands that are a no go. For example for what they want for a used 800 ranger i could buy a brand new other brand and i have heard from multiple ranger guys the 800's suck and have all kinds of gremlins. Feel free to enlighten me into the UTV/side by side world.
 


KDM

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Golf cart?? A Carryall 500 with a dump bed can sure come in handy if you're not planning on using it in snow and ice. Just a thought. Otherwise, good luck finding what you are looking for. I've no experience with UTV's.
 

bigcatpike

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Not the fanciest or flashiest but the one I would buy is a Honda Pioneer. If you would want to put a cab and heater on it other brands might have better aftermarkets. Extremely reliable, should last a long time and no belts to worry about. Not impressed with polaris or arctic cat at all for reliability. Can am would probably be in 2nd place imo. Many 40 year old Honda products are out there still running strong with little/no fixing required. New would be nice if possible as used prices have been insane recently.
 

NDbowman

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Polaris is all I've ever had experience with. With that being said I'll probably go Can am next time.
I bought my 900 with 9000 miles on it. It took a little fixing here and there and made it to 25k miles before the factory engine gave out. Put a reman in it that burned oil from day one but still driving it. I've also heard the 800s have issues but so do the 900s. I will say with a 900 you'll change the fuel pump and voltage regulator every 9000 to 10k miles. Bushings in the A arms will also wear out quick, I put aftermarket ones in that last. Factory shocks also didn't hold up but aftermarket ones are pricey but last longer, Factory polaris clutch sucks, I put a duraclutch in mine which operates way better but I have had problems with mine which they warrantied the first couple times but the last time they charged me 500 to fix it.

For the price of used machines I'd say buy new.
 

NDwalleyes

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I am always amazed at the price of UTVs. Was down at the sportsman's show in Bismarck last weekend and for the price of a UTV a guy can damn near by a new pickup. I'd be more inclined to do what @KDM said and go with a Carry-All 500 or similar....or buy a Toyota Tacoma with 200k miles on it.

Buddy bought a CF Moto as the price is much lower than Polaris and the others.... It seems like a pretty lightweight construction. I wouldn't do a lot of off-roading with it, but it would work for tooling around at the lake.
 


shorthairsrus

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ford maverick -- cut the top off it if you want air and jack it up if you want clearance

you can probably put a 200k miles on it - priced the same as polaris overrated overpriced shit.

Look at the gears in a polaris ---thin as a razor blade --- what a joke.
 

watson

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Stay away from the 700 and 800 polaris units, 700 will cook you out of the cab and noisy as hell, 800 had alot of bugs that'll nickel you to death. A 900 is solid and will handle anything you need it to. That being said, you'll pay just for the polaris name. Prowlers need the air intakes re-routed or they'll suck dust and die, 2 of ours did exactly that. I've heard good things about can-ams but no experience with them or Hondas sxs. I bought a polaris general and other than the box being a little smaller I'll buy another before a ranger. It's 2 seats but 3 adults don't fit in a ranger anyway
 

riverview

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i just can't spend that kind of money on a side by side. ive had a few major purchases by telling the wife at least i don't have a ranger.
 

woodduck30

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Sounds like the golf cart is what you need. Golf cart will keep you from being "that guy" at the camp ground.
 

sweeney

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The problem with golf carts are the gas ones are as much as a used utv and they are definitely seasonal, at least I could take the utv hunting or use it at the cabin to haul leaves or put boats in
 


woodduck30

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For sure, the golf cart has not much use besides driving on a path. The value of all that stuff is crazy! Not sure about your situation, but one thing to keep in mind if snow removal is a need, you can put a snow blower on the front of it too. Of course a blower is not cheap. The blades are kind of useless in my opinion. Unless you are moving very little snow.
 

KDM

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For sure, the golf cart has not much use besides driving on a path. The value of all that stuff is crazy! Not sure about your situation, but one thing to keep in mind if snow removal is a need, you can put a snow blower on the front of it too. Of course a blower is not cheap. The blades are kind of useless in my opinion. Unless you are moving very little snow.
This statement is not really true. My carryall 500 with the right tires can go offroad pretty well. I've had mine going up and down the sidehills of the sheyenne river valley most of the summer carrying fencing materials, water, and just about anything else I want up to about 300 lbs. This is also with two old fat guys sitting on the seat. Now the clearance isn't near what an atv or utv has, but if you chose a relatively obstacle free path, mine will go up about a 30 to 40 degree incline with no problems. On flat ground, the electric dump bed on mine will carry 500 lbs with no issues and I've done it with feed bags. It will handle ten 50 lb feed bags without a burp. Now will it go through snow? Up to about 6 inches, then you run into problems. Will it push snow? NOPE. Would I take it ice fishing? HELL NO!! Would I use it to retrieve a deer down in the pasture with no snow. Without a doubt, YES! Pulling a trailer with say....a half cord of ash and oak fire wood? ALL DAY LONG! I've done it many times. It will pull a 12 inch diameter log of ash 10 ft long or so with no problem on flat-ish ground. I've done it countless times. Recharging takes about 8 hours on mine and I have 8 six volt AGM's. So for a seasonal camp site and for some useful hauling around the yard or farmstead, a carryall 500 is a viable option IMO. Mine is a 2018 and I paid 8k for it. I bought mine from a golf course when they upgraded. Just some food for thought.
 

SLE

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Consider a Kawasaki Mule Pro FX or FXT (2 door / 4 door). These are bullet proof machines that use an actual Chinese car engine instead of a power-sports engine. Quiet, reliable, use an actually alternator instead of a stator for electrical power, and have a reasonable amount of accessories. They are built very heavy, have a nice expandable dump box feature (FXT) and come with one of the longest warranty's in the industry at 3 years, and are typically a little cheaper than the equal polaris, honda, Can-am models. It won't wow you with power, but they will clip along a 45 mph or so and ride like a Cadillac. If you need a full cab or are after more power / performance, I'd look elsewhere as the cab options are super expensive, but based on what you describe, these make great machines. My brother-in-law is into all of the dirt stuff (SxS's, dirt bike's, ATVss) and after several polaris rangers & razors, he swears by our 2016 Mule Pro FXT being one of the best machines he's looked at an been around. I know of one on a Rancher in southern ND that has almost 25k miles on one and the Polaris Rangers they had before were all completed trashed by 6k miles, they also won't own anything else.
 

wslayer

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I agree with woodduck, campers don't really appreciate the noise of SXS running back and forth all the time. Golf cars much more acceptable.
If sold on SXS needs, Honda 500 would be your huckleberry and wouldn't have to sell your first born. Shaft drive compared to belt.
 


Wall-eyes

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Second on Honda very good, Polaris and Ranger need to work on them alot to easy to get a little rough with them cost money. I have couple friends with knocks off not best be nice to them cost was the factor in buying
 

DirtyMike

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Must be embarrassed with their pricing if they aren't comfortatble with putting them on their website
Like with anything we buy here, it's manufactured somewhere and needs to be shipped to where we stand. The mini-trucks are shipped from overseas and the costs accumulate. Whatever their margin is, they must feel like its a fair amount that reflects the amount of work they put in. I'm not associated with them in any way, shape or form. I just want one of them little bastards to save on my pickup.
 

measure-it

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I like the $2000.00 e-truck. I want one.
Don't forget, if you are using your rig at a campground or any Corps land, it needs to be street-legal (lightes, horn, etc),licensed, insured, and driver must have a DL.
 
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