As I get older I am less apt to want to ride an ATV when hunting. I had a 2007 Kawasaki Brute Force 650i that had a lot of mods. It was a beast and would go through anything I encountered. But, it was always a pain loading up corn, strapping my rifle to it and carrying all my gear when hunting (yes, first world problems). It would also cover me and my gear in mud when it was wet (the 29.5” mud tires work well but make a mess).

So I sold it along with a few guns and started looking for a UTV. I had planned on buying a new Polaris Ranger 570 which a local dealer had advertised for $9999 (retail is around 12k and $1000 of that discount is a Polaris rebate). Kawasaki offers their low end model Mule for around 10k but it’s off road abilities are limited. Honda offers the Pioneer 500 (which is basically an ATV with a UTV frame) for around 10k new but they are hard to find and do not even come with a bed. I was not willing to pay much more than 10k so I decided on the $9999 Ranger 570. Little did I know that powersports dealers are worse than used car dealers. The dealer added $2100 in fees to that Polaris so I passed on that.

That lead me to the used UTV market. I did a lot of research on UTV problems and decided on a Polaris Ranger. Most of the ones I saw were worn out and abused (for some reason people like to dump mucho money into UTV”s and drive them through mud and water higher than a giraffes behind). I did find a couple that were well cared for but they go fast. Finally I found a 2019 XP900 camo version advertised with only 36 hours on it. But, it was 4 hours away from me. I ended up meeting the guy half way and buying it. It had some starting issues but I determined that was due to the original battery that was still in it from 2018 when it was assembled by Polaris. $160 later for a new battery and it runs great with only 36 miles on it. It’s about as new as I can get and I ended up paying $8500 for it. Not cheap but most in this shape are selling for around 12k.

Anyway, new toy for me to play with and hunt with. Top speed around 45 mph stock and the bed can hold 1000 pounds. I think I can tow up to 1500 pounds. It meets my needs and should last me a while with the little use it will get from me.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBoRdu

That's a nice find.

Was the original owner someone who lived in suburbia and thought he'd use it more? I live in suburbia and the neighbors with them maybe escape suburbia with them 4 to 7 days a year.

You did good. I’d like to find one like that.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
That's a nice find.

Was the original owner someone who lived in suburbia and thought he'd use it more? I live in suburbia and the neighbors with them maybe escape suburbia with them 4 to 7 days a year.

I bought a new Mule in 2021 with no intentions of ever getting it in the dirt. Our neighborhood is full of golf carts and it is a good place to use them. Prices were crazy high in 2021 so I looked at powersports dealers - they were high $$$ too but I found a small dealer who was stuck on 2wd Kawasaki Mules and discounted this one to $9k. Has about 30 hours of joyriding now and it does what we want it to.

Nice find mrv. Yes they are expensive for what they are. For that that kind of money you can find a really nice low hour jeep or small 4wd pickup I keep telling my self.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
That's a nice find.

Was the original owner someone who lived in suburbia and thought he'd use it more? I live in suburbia and the neighbors with them maybe escape suburbia with them 4 to 7 days a year.

Not really (he lived in Kingsville). He said he saw his someone driving one at his friend's ranch and he thought it was cool so he bought one. It sat in his garage most of the time. They are a pain to transport being 60" wide and they require a larger trailer. He mentioned that being another reason why it wasn't used, having to haul around a large trailer.

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
.... Kawasaki offers their low end model Mule for around 10k but its off road abilities are limited. Honda offers the Pioneer 500 (which is basically an ATV with a UTV frame) for around 10k new but they are hard to find and do not even come with a bed. I was not willing to pay much more than 10k....
...Finally I found a 2019 XP900 camo version advertised with only 36 hours on it.

MULW Pro MX 700 would be closest to the Polaris you bought but my have they gone up in price! In 2018 they listed for just over $11K but I payed under $10K for the version I have with power steering, roof, and alloy wheels. It's served me very well replacing a Polaris Ranger 500FI midsize that I never bonded with.
Honda offers the $10.3k Pioneer 520 (similar to the 500) but incorporates a dump bed. I use it a lot in tight places as it's only 50" wide, but it doesn't ride as well as the MULE or your Ranger, nor does it have a differential. The P520 can get up to 38mph while the ProMX is limited to 44mph, both fast enough for my use.

Good find, the Polaris you found looks great! As you discovered, a lot of the used ones have been beat up.

quote:

Yes they are expensive for what they are. For that that kind of money you can find a really nice low hour jeep or small 4wd pickup I keep telling my self.

I don't think you'll find a "really nice, low hour, Jeep or 4wd truck" for anywhere near $12,000 much less the $8,500 mrvmax paid for his. Besides a Jeep and certainly truck are apples and oranges to a UTV.

Surely you can. I saw an original late eighties Jeep with under $80k recently for under $8k. I sold a nice gen 2 Toyota 4wd pickup with low miles for its year for under $5k not long ago. So there are tons of bargains out there for stuff like that. And as far as apples and oranges. They will do everything these overpriced utv's will do including hauling and plowing snow. Plus you can do tons of things they can't with a real rig. Just say'in.
I know many have. I had a Kubota RTV500 that I really liked but had an issue that was hard to diagnose, therefore wasg going to expensive to resolve.

Utv's are outrageously expensive for what they are.

Mrv got a nice deal though. Try putting a cab on it and add a winch if it does not have and a snow plow. He would be approching $20k in doing so. Its nuts. But hey, I get it.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Surely you can. I saw an original late eighties Jeep with under $80k recently for under $8k. I sold a nice gen 2 Toyota 4wd pickup with low miles for its year for under $5k not long ago. So there are tons of bargains out there for stuff like that. And as far as apples and oranges. They will do everything these overpriced utv's will do including hauling and plowing snow. Plus you can do tons of things they can't with a real rig. Just say'in.
I know many have. I had a Kubota RTV500 that I really liked but had an issue that was hard to diagnose, therefore wasg going to expensive to resolve.

Utv's are outrageously expensive for what they are.

Mrv got a nice deal though. Try putting a cab on it and add a winch if it does not have and a snow plow. He would be approching $20k in doing so. Its nuts. But hey, I get it.

I actually thought about an old jeep but you can't use vehicles on state land where I hunt. Atvs and utvs are permitted. It rarely snows here and I don't have to shovel sunshine so no plowing for me. I watched a video about the new Ranger 1500. It runs 40k or more depending on how it's set up. I'd never pay that money for one. They aren't making them if nobody's buying so someone's spending 40k on utvs.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Surely you can. I saw an original late eighties Jeep with under $80k recently for under $8k. I sold a nice gen 2 Toyota 4wd pickup with low miles for its year for under $5k not long ago. So there are tons of bargains out there for stuff like that. And as far as apples and oranges. They will do everything these overpriced utv's will do including hauling and plowing snow. Plus you can do tons of things they can't with a real rig. Just say'in.


Utv's are outrageously expensive for what they are.

A 40 year old Jeep with 80K isn't my idea of a "really nice, low mileage Jeep", but whatever. If an old Jeep or truck does what you want by all means that's what you should have.
I've owned Wranglers, I just sold my 2014 Rubicon last year for $27,000. A Wrangler won't do anything I use my SXS's for, other than when I drive them on road which isn't often. As far as on rough roads, most SXS's smoothly glide over trails at 20 mph that I'd be bouncing around inside my Rubicon or Tacoma at only 5 mph. There are many places a SXS can go that a Wrangler can't, much less a pick up.

Expensive? What isn't? Motorcycles, ATV's, Jeeps, SXS's, they're all expensive new. Just because a beater truck makes more sense to you than a new SXS does not mean it makes any sense for someone else, anymore than saying a beater SXS makes more sense than a new truck. Apples and oranges.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Surely you can. I saw an original late eighties Jeep with under $80k recently for under $8k. I sold a nice gen 2 Toyota 4wd pickup with low miles for its year for under $5k not long ago. So there are tons of bargains out there for stuff like that. And as far as apples and oranges. They will do everything these overpriced utv's will do including hauling and plowing snow. Plus you can do tons of things they can't with a real rig. Just say'in.


Utv's are outrageously expensive for what they are.

A 40 year old Jeep with 80K isn't my idea of a "really nice, low mileage Jeep", but whatever. If an old Jeep or truck does what you want by all means that's what you should have.
I've owned Wranglers, I just sold my 2014 Rubicon last year for $27,000. A Wrangler won't do anything I use my SXS's for, other than when I drive them on road which isn't often. As far as on rough roads, most SXS's smoothly glide over trails at 20 mph that I'd be bouncing around inside my Rubicon or Tacoma at only 5 mph. There are many places a SXS can go that a Wrangler can't, much less a pick up.

Expensive? What isn't? Motorcycles, ATV's, Jeeps, SXS's, they're all expensive new. Just because a beater truck makes more sense to you than a new SXS, does not mean it makes any sense for someone else anymore than saying a beater SXS makes more sense than a new truck. Apples and oranges.

Nice ride! Those things eat up the terrain and if you get stuck are a lot easier to get out then a Jeep.

Sure ridewv. Try to compare a $27K used Rubicon to a $27K new Polaris Sxs. And tell us the Sxs is a better a better unit. Sure thing. Not for me Brother. And I am not a huge Jeep guy. But whatever.

You're trying to compare $27 of apples to $27 oranges. Or like trying to compare a $50K used F550 dump truck to a new $50K Rubicon. What's your point?