Living in the Northeast poses some snow issues from time to time, along with broken snowblower issues from time to time, so I came to the conclusion that I want an ATV. I figured why get another snowblower when I can do more, and have more fun with a quad, so I narrowed it down to a few specs:

1. 4x4

2. Feul Injected

3. 400cc or higher

4. Reverse

5. Automatic preferred

6. Winch & plow preferred

6. Price is up in the air, $2-3k used, $5k new



Anything I should look out for? Anything I missed? Any brands to avoid?

You will find people can be quite polarized when it comes to quads. They love their machine and dislike many others. But many of the makes are very good.

In my area, the guys I ride with are very experienced deep forest trail riders. Breaking down can mean an overnight in the bush. They view CanAm as being the top performers and reliable. Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda are all good, and very reliable.

Whne I first moved here, they told me they had a rule... Anyone on a Polaris or Arctic Cat going into the bush with us has to first get somebody on a CanAm, Suzuki, Yamaha or Honda to agree he will tow them back out when they break down.

I doubt you can find a new 400 with a plow for $5k. A $2-3k used machine is going to require a bit of work. You might need to boost your budget to get something in good shape.

shoot for a CAN AM. All Jap brands are fantastically good as well. Popo is a nogo. Artic Cat should stick to sleds.

shoot for Grizzly 700, Outlander 650XT, settle for a Honda Rincon/Rancher/Foreman.

Moose RM4 Plow system.

you will have fun plowing.

The best deal I have going right now, and I need to let the guy know by tomorrow, is a 2007 Honda Rancher liquid cooled 420cc 4x4 fuel injected, 20 hours, but looks like a rough 20 hrs, no instrumentation & a Warn winch, negotiated down to $2850.00.

Pricing varies widely depending on location, so I think that's a decent price but only you can decide.

An '07 Rancher is definitely a decent quad. Reliable. 20h is nothing on that unit. The 420 Rancher was a more basic machine - not a lot of flash, but that's good for you - simpler maintenance and fewer issues with the stuff you can't fix yourself.

Warn winches are OK, and are absolutely essential for plowing. If you haven't used one yet, note that it's the winch that raises your blade, and lowers it with gravity assist.

Go see him with cash in your pocket. Decide up front how much you'll be happy paying and don't take any more cash with you than that. Put $2000 on one pocket. Put the balance in another pocket.

Be respectful and friendly and don't run down the quad. As you walk around it, touch the things that are wrong with it and need work but don't say anything negative.

Offer him the $2000 - hold it right out there. Tell him it looks like a nice unit but you can only afford to pay $2000.

See where that gets you before you go for the other pocket.

He didn't want to go down from 3k at all. Just having a hard time finding anything fuel injected & 4x4 around 3k.

A quad w/a plow makes winter a LOT easier. We have a 2003 Kawasaki Prairie 650, v-twin. You may be able to find one of these cheap. We do nothing to this thing, have had it since 05. No problems whatsoever. The thing is FUN too.

Now may be a bad time to buy, people know winter is coming and people selling have an advantage.

Well, I ended up with a '08 Polaris Sportsman 400 2x4/4x4, auto, 455cc, carb, liquid cooled, 135 miles, winch, plow, 30 day warrantee.....