New old guy

[Frank in MI]

Thanks for accepting me!

Haven't got a side by side yet, but have been shopping.   

Any advice welcome & I am on a limited budget, so haven't decided yet on new or used.

 

[Scott Meszaros]

depends what you want to use it for.......if working around house, which is what i use mine for,  i would go with kawasaki mule..........not a speed demon, but it is a workhorse............and given that you rarely see any comments about mules on this site, i would say one of the more dependable................

[Joe Breaux]

I have a Massimo MSU 500..Utv....Tractor Supply...I wish I had spent the extra $$$ and bought the Honda..I spent more repairing it in the first 3 months because Massimo doesn't honor their Warranty at all. Mine broke on first day at mile 00001.Spent $ 2k and 6 trips to shop to get to work.  Massimo never paid a dime. So I highly recommend you ignore the "deals"  at Lowes,Tractor Supply and Home Depot on the Chinese brands. I also have Honda  and CF MOTO Atvs that are excellent machines.

[Nutcase]

You didn't mention if you are a mechanic or not. I have a Joyner Trooper 1100 which I bought for $3k and it has worked out well for me, but i know how to work on it if there is a problem. There are no other shops around that i even know will work on it. I also have a Honda Pioner5-1000 and a Honda Talon which I lover but they are $12k and $17K, but bulletproof. I would stay with the name brands and don't touch the Chinese knockoffs that break and no body will work on them. You also didn't mention if you want it for recreation or as a work vehicle. The pioneer works well as both, but the talon is strictly recreation but it is a blast. Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, razors all seem to be pretty good machines.

[Alien10]

Unless you own or have regular access to wide open country, those "rockets" are a waste of money.  Like many, if you need a machine to do work around the property, speed is your last concern.  So Scott is spot on.  I too have an off shore UTV, a Hisun 550 (Coleman Outfitter stickered).  About 90 hours of hauling firewood, pulling down dead trees, fetching rounds out of the forested hillsides and hauling dirt, mulch and cut tree limbs and bush in the bed.  It's a little on the "crude" side as far as operation and engine, but so far has been "OK".  I operate in low range 100% and it is plenty of speed.  Only thing so far is that the E-brake has failed.  I think the caliper is froze up as there is plenty of pad left.  Just haven't gotten into it yet.   Overall, its just OK, not excellent.  You might consider upping the budget as suggested by Joe B, and get a bit more quality build.  However a lot of features are options on the big name brands.   Personally, I'm not excited about buying used. Just too much unknowns there on this type of equipment.  Just a few opinions here.  Good luck in your search and purchase.