Age make a difference?

[Plower]

I havent been here in a while. Will be moving from NY to TN in the near future. Ive been searching for used atvs. How much is age a factor? Of course condition is key, but was wondering if late 90s and early 00's were worth looking at. Thanks

[wylde1]

There are 3 things I always look at.  Number one of course is the condition, the availability and price of parts round out the top three things I am checking.

[davefrombc]

Age  is only one factor, and  it  can  be  the  least  to worry about .   An  ATV  only a couple of years  old  can  be in terrible  shape  if   used  hard  and not  maintained while  one 30  years  old can  be  in excellent shape.   I  bought  my  1991  Honda  Fourtrax 300 4x4  used  4  years  ago..  The  only  repair  I  have had to  do to  it  is replace the  rear axle and  hubs last week because the splines wore  out on them..  That  is a  very  common problem  on    the older solid axle  quads. The  motor  still  has excellent compression  and doesn't  burn  blue.  Starts with a  quick  press on the  start  button.  The transmission  and  clutch  have also  bee  problem  free.  Regular  oil  and filter  change, and  some  grease   go  a  long way  keeping  the  old  ones running  like  new.    Newer  quads have  more bells and whistles,  but  if  they  are  loaded  with electronics  they also  have more things to  break  down.  It's a lot easier to  rebuild a  carb than diagnose  and service  a fuel  injection  problem  for example. Decide  what  you want , then   go  look  at  what  fills  your bill.. Look at the condition  and see  if there  are service records .  Age   really  is  the  least of the  worries  to  consider.

[freedomflyer63]

I'll throw in my 2 cents,  I know a lot of guys who own the older Honda's and swear by them, also, just my opinion, a manual shift transmission is going to be less trouble in the long run.  I purposed to buy 2 '13 Ranchers with manual shift trannys because I had heard so many good things about them. Had them for two years and not a lick of trouble. FF

[Plower]

Thanks for the replies. Makes sense.

Ill keep looking at older ones then. Thank you.

[Ajmboy]

On 3/1/2017 at 1:48 PM, Plower said:

Thanks for the replies. Makes sense.

Ill keep looking at older ones then. Thank you.

@Plower did you ever find a quad?

[Plower]

Not yet

[Ajmboy]

2 minutes ago, Plower said:

Not yet

Was just curious, thanks for the reply. I keep checking Craigslist once a week cause I'm looking for a kids quad.