High Mileage SXS

I was just curious. Just wanting everyones opinion. When you are out shopping for a side by side, what hr/miles would you consider the machine to be high mileage where the motor has about run 75% of its life before a rebuild or replacement?

I would think.... 500hrs and 7500miles......that would be say 8 10hr days per year for say 5 years plus a couple days for cushion.....but there are so many things that go into it.....who knows how it was treated or maintained would play a huge factor.....I think my number treated decent with good maintenance......could be 1/3 of that if treated poorly....

Don't worry T-bag...yours is just getting broke in good. Keep ridin'!

Ok well lets add this then.  Lets assume it looks well taken care of.

rayray wrote:

Don't worry T-bag...yours is just getting broke in good. Keep ridin'!

Oh I know. I am just wondering. I was in a conversation the other day about this and was asked my opinion. I really didn't whole heartily know. I thought I would get consensus of the people here.

From my own experience, I wouldn't want to buy a machine with more than 1000 miles or so on it....less is better.  After that things start to wear out and replacing parts after just purchasing it sux. My first sxs was a Rhino and it had a ton of miles on it and I was replacing parts after I bought it and it never stopped. It had a hard life from the previous owners and it took a while to get it back in shape.

If your just getting into the sport and don't want to spend a ton of money to get started then a sxs with 3000 - 4000 miles on it at really good price might not be a bad way to start. 

These engines now days should last a good 7500 miles or better if maintained properly.

I agree about the 7500 mark on miles, but would also want to know about the history of the machine as well. Each of us have different riding styles & the miles can vary. If I go by my GPS, I average 8 -10 MPH on most of my machines I have had.

The overall condition of the machine, the vibe the owner give off is important..Does he seem like the kind of person who takes care of his stuff? If the tires are leaning way in because of bad ball joints and wheel bearings, then he has most likely not changed the oil when it needs it either.

If I were going used, those are the things to look at. Now, here's what I would expect if all of that checked out ok. I would buy with the idea that there is a chance I will need to rebuild the engine in the near future reguardless of the miles, unless it was just a like new ride that was used for hunting and farm use. Main thing would be look for signs of neglect and damage. Also would not buy from someone who still lives with their parents unless it was dirt cheap. LOL

I know I would never buy a ride from someone like myself.

Honda 10,000 miles is high mileage
Polaris 3000 miles is high mileage

as everyone says, it depends on how it's maintained
I have seen every make that was worn out with a few thousand miles on it
because they never fixed anything.

my buddy has a 2008 rzr with 16,000 miles on it
has the 2nd belt on it, never had motor work
he has replaced wheel bearings once (he greases his)
bushings twice and ball joints and tie rod ends once
he is retired and a grease everything that moves fanatic
he changes oil every 2,000 miles

I have seen ATV's in the past with 10,000 plus miles on them in Windrock Tenn, and only be a few years old,But that person lived not far from the trails and rode them all the time and was a tour guide thru the trails. In the end if it a good deal then high miles is not the issue, its your patience dealing with the repairs.

If properly taken care of, 20,000 miles is easily reached. I know a guy who has over 30,000 miles on a 1999 Honda forum with no motor issues at all.

i have 12,000 on a prairie 700 and 12,000 on my rhino right now

Dang, that's a lot trails

sure is! I have never put over 10,000 miles on any atv I have owned!