Check out Highlifter.com. Go to the Polaris section, then make up your mind after reading a few posts.

 

If you want the best made atv on the market go with the honda. They have a 700 rincon efi that will be on the market around the first of the year.

I have had them all. Been riding atvs since 1983. By far the best is honda. I currently have a 03 rincon with over 8000 miles on it. And bought a kawasaki 750 brute force a few months ago. The brute is a great running machine and looks sweet but it is not going to have the reliability of the honda.

Polaris would not even be in the consideration of a new atv for me.

 

That is a good price for the 2 Polaris machines! I have a 2002 500 HO and it runs circles around Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha machines of equal or lesser CCs. (faster and goes more places) Polaris makes a good machine that lasts if you do preventative maintenance. If you neglect them, they will break down. The 2003 may be the first year with less grease points and permanently lubed bushings which means you need to look closely at them. Also check the wheel bearings and tie rod ends for play. Your deal sounds like a good one to me and I would go for it!

 

I agree Red. I have owned Honda my entire life up until this year. I had a Rubicon that NEVER let me down. I just got tired of being beat to death by the ride. The quality of Honda is first rate, and I like the Rinny, but no Low Range changed my mind. I looked around and finally purchased my AC. It has me sold on their product. It looks good, runs better than my Honda, and rides like a dream. Too many extras to list. I was the first to have AC in my group, and now there are a few more that jumped on board and I get asked all the time if I like it. I may not be the fastest in the group, but I don't have any problems getting to the other side of a mud hole either. There are several Po Po's in our group and they all have had their hiccups now and then, but overall, have been good. PM is the key with Polaris.

 

Edit:
Nevermind, figured it out...

 

Ive owned two Polaris's, a 97 300 Xplorer 2 stroke, and a 01 325 magnum. They werent bad, but definetely werent good. They are probably the most comfortable 4 wheeler Ive ever driven, and they have good ground clearance, but thats about the end of their high points. I had to many parts break than should have, they just arent built as strong as others Ive seen. The transmissions were a major turn down for me. Besides not really like automatics, you would have to sit there for what seemed like 5 hours to let the engine totaly unrev before you could pop it in gear. I was left in bad positions more than once waiting for the darn thing to go in gear. Not to mention when the RPM's were at idle speed, the things still didnt go into gear worth a crap. You gotta jam them into gear to get them to go.
I traded the last one off for a 04 Honda 450 Forman. 100x better than the Polaris's IMO. It will easily take on stuff that would have made those Polaris's literally break apart. Much stronger and reliable. Shifts awsome, and not a single problem yet. I dont expect to have much problems, these things are tough as heck and just wont break. Heck, my neighbor even had a Honda 300 with 25,000 miles and didnt do a darn thing to it. Ive never seen a Polaris with any high amount of miles. Most high hour/milage Polaris's I see are sittin in an ATV boneyard. I see way more Polaris's in shops than any other brand too.
My father has a 98 Suzuki Quadrunner. Pretty nice and pretty tough, but at 11,000 miles its starting to go to heck. Leaking oil, steering falling apart, and at about 5,000 miles the bearing on the back driveshaft went out, then again a few miles back. Has had a couple problems with the carb too. But you would be pretty hard pressed to find someone who puts an ATV through more crap than my father, Im impressed with how well its held up.
Before that he had a 93 Kawasaki Bayou. Nice little machine, I remember the front bearing on the driveshaft went out after a couple years, other than that I dont remember a whole lot about it. I was a pretty good little machine though.

Ive had no experience with Yamaha myself.

That doesnt sound like to bad of price to me. If its something you are wanting, I probably wouldnt pass it up. As much as I bash Polaris, they work alright, and they have improved over the years since I last owned one, but I personally will never own another.

My next atv will be another Honda or a Suzuki. Might give one of the new Arctic Cats a try. I dont really know much about the new ones, but I think they look cool

Good luck.

 

$7,000 is a good asking price, but due to it being polaris thats a bad call...... i agree with everyone else. Honda is the way to go if you want a durable ATV now...... if you want a kick *** motocross bike, You need a yamaha

 

I have riden a few polaris atv's and honda's as well. Both seemed to provide a good ride the honda's seemed a little more stable to me. I currently own a Bombardier Outlander 330 HO that has the rotory engine. Plenty of power and has hauled me and a couple deer out of some pretty steep valleys with no problems. The ride is great to on this atv and is very stable. Just my .02$ though.

 

I will not buy another Polaris. The battery died (no warning) and the alternator overcharged the system and blew all lights/ bulbs and could have ruined the 4-wheel drive lockin mechanism (common problem on older models) Mine will not use the engine to hold back the machine when going down hills. Most of the time it will not go out of 4X4 without backing up, one wheel stays locked causing very difficult steering. Starter brushes are a common repair problem. Speedometer drive gear broken.. Several friends have had fan temp switch failures, infact mine is now wired to run all the time (Switch $50) I must use expensive synthetic 2-stroke oil or the plug fouls. I think I have almost 40 grease zerks. The machine must be at complete idle to get in any gear. I know mine is an older model but polaris has been in this business for many years and even one as old as mine should not have had so many failures. Next one will be a honda. Parts are very expensive. The best thing about Polaris is they have a great advertising program.

 

The raptor is a blast to own. One purchase I never regret making. I got an 2005 660.

 

Hey, I ride up at Windrock myself. Ride at Teleco also. Both are awsome rides.

I ride a Honda. I almost purchased a Polaris when I bought my Foreman in '99. (!!!Close!!!) Glad I got my Honda. I've rode with them all, and it seems to me the Polaris tears up an awful lot. I couldn't tell you how many times I've jerked them out of the woods. Mainly it's the belt drive though. Depends on where and how you ride it more than anything though.
I also had a 400ex that was built. Put way too much money in that bike. I played...I paid.

 

I would get the YFZ450 and the Honda Rincon, but thats just me.

 

Just found out they both sold last night. May be a blessing in disguise since I don't want to be wrenching more than riding. Thanks for all the input, I guess I can start looking for a Honda 4x4 now.

 

^--- Agree'd..... the YFZ450 is a beast

 

I had an '04 YFZ, but sold it when I was offered more money than I paid. Not to mention, I hadn't ridden it in months. I had alcohol injection, GYT-R slip-on exhaust, One Industries Graphics Kit, +2 swingarm, +2 A-arms, intake and exhaust cams, and 10 paddle tires. Let's just say, with a dry weight of 350lbs. (probably less with the aluminum A-arms and swingarm) I smoked every modded Banshee or Raptor I ever came up against, and ran circles around the *new* Polaris 500, Honda TRX450, Honda 400EX, and the Suzuki LTZ400. Straight out, it was the baddest machine if the bunch. I would recommend a Yamaha YFZ450 above any other bike. Even box stock, I hung with mildly modded Banshees. Not too bad for a 439cc 4-stroke.