Looking to get a Polaris/UTV

Hey guys,

So... need to ask some questions, so know what to get:

I am thinking of getting a Polaris 500, has to be a crew. My wife is an amputee and does not have one foot or all her fingers, otherwise I would get a couple cheap 4-wheelers and call it done. We also have 2 small kiddos, so...with only $1000 difference between the 500 ranger and the crew, might as well go for the crew.

I actually visited a dealership Saturday and was not anticipating the price, please tell me if they simply are full of it:

1 - I have good credit rating, so should not be that bad. The only thing off on it is we spent 2 credit cards to build our cabin and they are pretty well maxed. Nothing we cannot handle and we expect to have them paid off in the next year or two, but we can use the UTV between now and then.

I was figuring 1-3k down payment, and that is what all the dealerships said is more than enough, till I got to this place and they said they would need 20% down without pulling credit.

They also said the average interest rate is 14.6%, which astounds me as they also did not mention that over the phone.

All in all, I was trying to get a plan to get the payments below 200, whether it was waiting longer and getting a better down payment or getting it financed for 60-72 months (again more that the same dealership told me on the phone and then denied when I got there).

How do you find the best deal? What is the average interest rate and payments to look for on a totally stock 500 Polaris plus the 5yr warranty?

Any tips on when and how and where to buy one?

I live around the Round Rock area and my ranch is in the Rocksprings area. Any assistance / insight would be wonderful.

Russ

I would try to find other means of financing if it were me.

Pass on the warranty, and you don't have to pay sales tax if you have a ranch. I would also try to find other means of financing if it were me.

http://www.hpolaris.com/
http://www.sheffieldfinancial.com/

I hear ya.. I think it was a bait and switch thing.. I get a great story on the phone then the old "well, this is where your payments will be..."

thanks!

Why pass on the warranty? Just curious.

I cannot use the tax exemption with a Wildlife Exemption on my ranch as I do not "sell" anything. I went to the "getreadytexas.org" site to register my ranch and I did not see where I qualified for any sort of exemption, even though I am really only getting the polaris to help me with the work I do on the ranch, not for hunting.

Thanks for the input

STRanch - I'll check those out, ty!

Russ

I've heard Hoffpauir in Goldthwaite has very good prices and moves high volumes. I financed my 800 crew through polaris at 1.9% a year ago. Also didn't get the extended warranty. Factory warranty is only 6 months though.

Knock, knock, knock on wood, haven't needed it so far.

yea, I hate applying for credit.. heh.. I always feel like I am going with my hat in my hand.

We will see how it goes.

Thanks and I will call them! Hopefully I can put enough down and get a good enough interest rate to get below 200.. so the wife will not shoot it down :P

Russ

I bought a Mule and didn't have to put a dime down (I did though) and got a good interest rate. I was going to get my own financing but the dealer ran it through Sheffield Financial and I was happy with everything. Payment was lower than $200 like you mentioned.

Yea, I called Sheffield and they said it would run about 6.99% interest and below $200, which is exactly what I expected.

When we get our Polaris, it will be a 500 EFI totally stock. I do not want to keep adding stuff on, although I would love to have a roof and extra lights.

Ideas on those?

And thanks guys.

R

And.. I just called Haufpower and super straight forward. We ran the numbers and they came back with exactly what I expected.

Good to deal with straight shooters.

Now, to convince the wife.. lol

R

You might check out Tommy Vaughn in Columbus. My buddy bought 2 Ranger Crews from them last summer after they beat Hofpauer's pricing.

I gave them a call. There is not any difference in prices when they all shoot straight with ya, which is fine by me.. heh

Thanks guys. I'll post pics if I con.. er talk my wife into the deal

R

I waited to get a roof and windshield. Didn't want to add to the price until I was sure i would be happy with the UTV. Wish I had gotten them sooner now that I know the Ranger is a keeper.

The windshield was the hardest decision. Lot's of research shows that you'll get tons of dust dirt into the cab with a full windshield. I finally bought a windshield made by fortress in which the top half slides down. Great compromise. I leave the top half down most of the time. Keeps hands warm in the winter. If it's raining or has been raining, I slide it up. Probably take it off during the summers.

Fortress also makes a steel roof. Reasonably priced and popular. I went with a pro-box top. Kinda pricey. Came with a radio/ipod player and water proof speakers. Surprisingly very good sound quality. Can't hear it very well when running due to the open cab but great when picnicking, at the beach, or working on the back property. I actually use it (radio) in the garage or when working around the house now. As a plus it's strong enough to stand on which has helped me with feeders and trimming some branches.

I think I am going to opt for getting a roof and lights and possibly a windshield as well, but the windshield may have to wait as I want to keep the price down, as I said.. but you are totally right and I did not think of that, a half windshield would be great to keep the hands warm.

R

I would get the roof without a doubt. It is really nice in the summer when we are driving around filling feeders to be able to keep the sun from beating down on you. I got some lights similar to this for mine Link (but mine were like $40 for 2 of them) and mounted to my roof. However, with all the LED lights out there now, you would probably be better spending extra and getting those.

As far as the windshield, the bottom 6"-8" on mine flips up which is nice in the summer to get a breeze coming through there. The only thing I dislike about it is out at our lease it gets dusty and driving into the sun in the mornings or evenings it is hard to see out of the windshield. Other than that, I really like it.

Just my

Windshields are a PAIN in dusty or rainy conditions. Rain due to no windshield wipers and dust will wrap around and get you and the passengers pretty gritty.
I have one but rarely use it. Thinking about making it a 1/2 windshield and see if that helps.

I just upgraded to a hard top. Have a soft top and it keeps the sun off but at higher speeds it pulls out of the supports and flops a bit. Nothing major just annoying.

The lighting look up in the classifieds for Cypress Legend. He has some good pricing on light bars.

I have an older Ranger with top, windshield, & rear window. The windshield folds down if you want free flowing air. It sure blocks the cold wind in the winter.

I went with a half windshield from Cabelas from $90. I have used full and they are bad. The half was better but a friend told to raise it up about 2" or so above the hood or dash to allow some flow underneath it. Made a huge difference in the dust.

Roof is worth spending the money on...I hated my full windshield and sold it due to dust and dew always being on it when I needed to use it. So I sold it and bought a factory 1/2. It is slightly better than nothing but not worth the money they cost. Maybe if it was 4" taller I wouldn't feel the same.

Lighting and tires would be higher on my list than both a winch or a windshield.

Russ, get the half windshield and the roof, also might consider the rear window. A friend of mine has had 2 Rangers. The first one had no windshield, roof or rear window. Dusty as all get out and if it rained you're SOL. These vehicles are incredible, they can go just about anywhere. His lease is mostly canyons. We have driven it up and down some areas that would scare a billy goat. Be sure and slime the tires. Forget the warranty. Be sure and follow the maintenance schedule too. The ride is smooth as silk. Good luck. Hope to see you soon!

I picked up this last night. I will add the half windshield and roof later.

Right now I have to look at swapping out trailers and upgrading the 10ft one I have to a 12ft one.

The questions is, dual axle or single axle....moving the dual by hands will be a major pain, but it will carry the load easy. The single will be easy to move, but at 3500lb capacity, it sure is towing a lot.

The difference is about 200 bucks.



R

I would go with 2 axles. I did the same thing when I bought my Mule, sold my 10ft trailer and bought a 12ft trailer with two axles. Congrats on the new purchase, you'll enjoy it!

I will use my 10ft trailer this weekend, but as soon as I get back into town, I am selling it and buying a tandem axle 12ft trailer. This will "get the job done" but I want more than that and 12ft will juuuuuuuuust fit in my garage.





Thanks!

Russ

John,

If I were you, I'd go spend $50 and upgrade my straps. Get some 2" wide ones that are rated for a lot more weight than the Ranger. I know it is a long shot, but you'd hate to lose that new ride out of the back of the small trailer on the trip.

Tim

Oh.. lol.. I have those, but they were in my utility box.

R

Dude! You already rolled it?

huh? I have not driven it more than 200 yards yet... have not rolled anything.

R

I think he may be refering to the inverted pic with the kids. I was gonna ask if you got the euro version. Steering wheel on the right...

Oh...lol... Gotcha, nah, the dumb phone took the pic upside down so had to flip it, no idea why it turned out that way. On the road and heading to the ranch now!

I had mine laying on it's side within 6 hours of picking it up.

I bought a 2013 ranger camo crew 800 back in December from Hendershot in stevenville. Great guys. I actually live in lubbock but my brother bought a 2012 LE 800 from those guys. Hence the reason I went there.

I would also check with your banker. I had planned on financing it with my bank but didn't.

From my experience, don't buy any accessories from the dealerships. Just like a car, the dealerships have very little room to adjust the MSRP on new models however, they make a killing selling accessories and labor on installs.

Get online and do research. Just like this forum. You can learn a ton of pros and cons about the accessories.

Since I bought mine, I have added......
Cheap plastic top (plan on getting a pro box but rather get a bunch of other accessories before I drop $1800)

Half windshield - Eliminates dirt blowback and you can see over the top when they get dusty. Has a curve at the top that helps push the air over your face. Not too bad on cold days. No different than hanging out the side to be able see because of a dirty windshield.

Tire slime - works pretty good so far. Warning. Drive slow for a bit after it has been sitting. Let the slime even back out.

Back bumper - looks more than anything.

Tool bag - cheap left over tools that I need around the ranch

3" lift - have bottomed out a couple of times over rocks. Looks.

40" LED light bar - plashlights.com. Found the website here on THF. "Polaris" version for 24" is about 800. Got the plashlight 40" for 450. 19000 lumens

2 - 4" LED plashlights work lights mounted on the back. 49.00 each.

Wish list
Pro box top - searching the Internet every couple of weeks to see if I can get a steal.
Custom Rims - about $300. Waiting on the stock tires to wear out.
Kevlar tires - will wait until the stock tires wear out

Since you have a place up just north of mine with similar terrain, I can tell you from experience that your rocky/thorny land will be TOUGH on the rubber. Got new tires and they look well used in no time at all. Add a tire plug kit and compressor to your must have list (even after slime). Kevlar is definitely something to consider.

You bet.

I can already tell how the rocks and brush is wearing those quick. But I have not had any leaks YET!

The rims and tires will surely come before the pro box.

I actually forgot add the air compressor to the list. Didn't even think of a plug kit but will absolutely add that as well.

We have a trip planned for Colorado. I'm pumped to get it out and "explore".

Looks like you've got an awful lot of weight behind the axle with it loaded like that, did you get any "tail wagging the dog" when you got it up on the highway?

Also, I'd second the post about the strap. If you only had that one holding it on the trailer, that's not good. You want to have at least one redundant back up. I use 4 straps to hold my RZR on my trailer. Hell, I use 4 straps on my four wheeler in the bed of the truck, and the tailgate is closed; but I'm somewhat paranoid after arriving at my destination one time to find my old golf cart in an entirely different position than when I left the house. Fifty dollars in quality straps is only a small percentage of the value of the vehicle, or other vehicles on the road if it comes off.

Well I lied. Bought the ProBox top and a winch today. Also added a plug kit and compressor. Walmart has a tire repair kit that comes with the compressor, plugs, and slime for about $65. Comes is a handy little case that easily fits in the storage compartment under the back seat.

Kevlar tires only comes in 12" rim size and a slim width. My plan is to buy black custom rims and tires with slime. I will use those for trail riding. I plan to put the kevlar tires on the stock rims and swap out depending where we go. For example, kevlar during hunting season. Custom tires while on the trails in Colorado.

For all you Ranger owners, how to eliminate the dust in the cab problem:

Buy some high density foam like you would use for a sofa. Get a piece long enough for the width of the seat. Cut it about 4" wide.

Stuff it in between the opening of the bottom seat cushion and back cushion. This is where most of the dust comes up in the cab from.

Half windshield with the curved lip on the top is definitely the best setup.

Back windshield.

This will eliminate the dust in the cab problem.

If you have a Crew, stuff the foam in the back crew seat. No need to in the front seat.