Buying an ATV

I've narrowed my quest down to a Honda Four Trax Rancher.... haven't decided on 2x4 or 4x4.
Question- do dealers usually come off the price on new atv's? Went and looked Saturday and was quoted the MSRP plus tax and registration, no other fees? Is that normal?

Anyone?

Yea that is normal, no registration. There is not much markup on ATVs so they won't deal much. You could probably find a better deal used but depends on time frame and budget.

a 4x2 is not worth it. Pay the premium for 4x4. If you use it once to get you out of a jam, it pays for itself

Yup. Get the 4wd version, and a good winch. It's kinda like having a parachute. You may never need it, but when you do, you really really do.

And, I remember that my best deal on price was just across the border in Louisiana. It was worth the drive.

Several of my friends have purchased their ATVs just across the border in Durant OK. I think they deal a little plus you save on tax.

I sold my Polaris Sportsman and got a Honda - never looked back. Doesn't have the power of the Polaris, but I'm not fixing broke stuff anymore. Not gonna get a lot of discount from Honda, but if you buy at the end of the year, you can get some discount if the dealer is looking to move inventory for next year's units. Get 4x4, you'll need it more than you think. Agree with 603 on the winch. Use it once and it paid for itself. When you get in a jam on a 4x4, you usually aren't in the easiest location to get some help. I've had a couple of long walks in the past to get back to the truck. Wont have an ATV or UTV without a good winch (had a discount winch and it didn't work when I needed it too - rusted up on the internals from all the water crossing).

Make your ATV deal in Ok and save cash. I purchased a Honda in OKC in Sept. They discounted from MSRP, no taxes if you have a Texas DL, and there was a Honda promo for merchandise that they subtracted from the cost. I made my deal on the phone.

Well worth the drive from Austin.

Drifter AT, what was the dealer name?

If you really need 4x4 then get it. However I've had 6 4 wheelers in the past and present. A couple of them have been 4x4. In the last 20 or so years, I used it a couple of times. I PERSONALLY haven't found that it's worth the extra $.

Right now I have a 2013 and a 2014 Honda 420 cc Ranchers and neither is 4x4. I recently bought the 2014 because it was $200 off due to being last years model. My roads, after the floods, are pretty rough and I kinda hate to take my PU on them. The downside to Honda is ground clearance but I pick where I go so have no problem. Add a real trailer hitch.

I also PERSONALLY like to buy locally from the dealer who will being doing any service that I need. However, that should be minimal on a Honda.

I just looked and my final price, out the door on the 2014, was $6,070. I have no idea whether I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere.

I bought both from Fort Worth Motorsports. When it came time for the initial oil change there was a question about which filter mine had. So, they gave me an extra one and told me to bring back the unused one when I got around to it. That's unusual.

I did a lot of shopping around. All of my previous bikes had been Yamahas but they are about $1,000 more than the Honda. But, I would never turn down a Yamaha if the price was the same. My last ones were stolen and had over 10 years of trouble free riding and working over some pretty rough terrain.

Go to ATVTRADER.com and search for the model you want-there are dealers on there and they post discounted new ones. It will give you an idea on pricing. Never pay MSRP for an ATV, car, truck, etc. Case in point, not to hurt Dave's feelings above, I saw more than one in the $4700 range. I do agree that 4x4 is not a huge deal but YMMV-if you think you need it and can afford it, I'd get it. Like TC said, the one time it gets you out of that big jam it may be worth it.

If a fella hunts rocky land, he might make a case for no 4wd and no winch. But, I've had my Yamaha Big Bear 400 (4wd and winch and 9 inch ground clearance) in some serious mud that you couldn't even consider crossing with a 2wd ATV. In deep heavy mud, two things matter - 4wd and ground clearance. And then there's the winch, which the 2wd folks will absolutely need, and need often. The 4wd folks will likely need the winch less, since they'll get stuck less, but when you do stick that big heavy 4wd, you had better have a good winch and maybe a great winch.

These days I don't play in the mud much, but I still use the winch from time to time. My wife will stick her zero turn more than you'd think, so I have to winch her out. And the winch is useful in fence repair.

About 10 years ago, or maybe 15, I went over to Louisiana to visit family. At that time the whole family was watching a video of a mud race of ATV's. They'd watch it again and again because they knew all the guys driving and because my brother had a big Arctic Cat entered, with his dealership foreman driving. Well, no way I could avoid watching, so I got beer and sat down. The race had stock ATV's and customs and they were in major league Louisiana mud up to the top of the fenders. The ATV's I was expecting to win did poorly. Honda's did really bad. I was shocked, so I started asking questions about the units that did really well, which were Arctic Cat, Polaris, and Yamaha. It all came down to ground clearance, and specialized tires. You could add the tires to any unit, but without at least 9 inches of ground clearance (12 was better) you were toast.

I have used 4wd many times in the Gator and the winch once. I was glad to have the resources.

Hoof $ Wings, I purchased a 2014 Honda TRX500FPA with Power Steering in September 2014 from Oklahoma Honda-Suzuki @ 3400 S. Sunnylane. Tremendous savings compared to my local Honda dealer in Austin.[b][/b].

QSYB: OUCH!! I went to ATVTRader.com

That was a good price- 2016 Rancher 2wd with electric shift $6100

No way I would ever buy a 2wd ATV. I use them for when I don't want to walk and take them places the truck can't go. I've always had a winch but seldom needed it thx to 4x4. Always had Honda Foremans, that aren't the fastest or tallest but dang reliable and just keep on trucking

I agree 100%, but the local dealer(1) isn't coming off MSRP and (2) one did come off $200, but with their added fees, I can drive to OKC and back and still save money

Why not buy a lightly used one and save yourself a bunch of dough?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/snw/5190926472.html

This.

I bought a nice used rancher from a forum member. If you have time to wait you can find a decent one here on THF. They are listed for sale quite often.

Depending on your hunting location I would never let a 2X4 shy you away from buying if the price is right. We have never used our Ranger's 4 wheel drive at my in-laws West Texas property. No need with all the rock.

try to find one left over from previous year , got my Honda rancher 400 4x4 900.00 off of msrp .

In my opinion Honda is the best overall then Suzuki, I have had several all 2wd 250's and have went thru anything and everything, they are easier to load in a truck, if you flip it over its lighter to turn back over, the 2wd turn sharper then 4wd, if its bad enough you need 4wd find another route or you don't need to be in it. 2wd are cheaper, the best thing is to find a dealer and the model you like and ask them when they are having DEMO days, test drive that model, day after the demo day buy cheaper due to it is a demo and they can not sell it at the new price anymore, these dealers in Oklahoma do have demo days so keep it in mind, it might be worth looking into, good luck

If you're the type of guy who doesn't mind going around mudholes, rather than through them, a 2X4 may be all you need. I've yet to get stuck with either of my 2x4 models.

On the other hand, if you see every deep mud hole as a personal challenge, by all means get a 4X4.