Buyer's Remorse / Insights?

[OrangeBuggy]

Was just at TSC and they had one in camo siting out side. Was wondering if they sold any. To bad you have had so much trouble, maybe it well get better. Good luck.

 

[pathunt]

Orange Buggy: I have heard that the ones at TSC now are better than the 400 I bought - they are 500 and 700's with EFI. The reliability of the parts on mine (2011) was abysmal. I hope the others are better. Please look for others who bought a 500 and check on their experience.

 

[OrangeBuggy]

Pathunt, I'm not looking to buy one. I was at TSC buying dog treats "they get concerned if the treats start running low" and just happen to see one sitting out front. I didn't get out to look at it or anything, don't even know what brand or model it was.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Bought a new Cub Cadet Volunteer EFI 748cc UTV in 2012/13 ?? Paid about $10,500. It was months later before I realized that I had gone into this uninformed. It seems old inventory hangs around and you may not actually be getting what you thought. My 2012 UTV was actually a 2009. To say I was pixxed off is an understatement.

The UTV is great. Plenty of power, 4WD, Hi & lo ranges, dump bed, roll cage, head banger pads, front equipment rack, makes about 35mph and "I think" about 1400lbs payload/tow - even has aluminum wheels . I added a 40 gallon sprayer in the bed and a hard canopy. I feel like I've used the blazes out of it but the hour meter is around 200+.

My only complaint ... It came with a loose radiator hose that fell off in the field, resulting in an overheat. The engine was self-detonating and it took several minutes to get it killed. This was with less than 25 hrs on the unit and I hadn't even made my first payment. Cub Cadet treated me like a step child and I felt like they couldn't care less about what happened.

Even though I love the UTV - I would N E V E R buy or recommend a Cub Cadet product of any kind to any one. Period!

 

[RandyT]

Sounds like the ones made my Hisun, After they discontinued the 400 and replaced it with the 500. it is like they never made a 400, the parts suppliers act like it never existed, and don't support parts for it.

 

[timswi]

Bought a new Cub Cadet Volunteer EFI 748cc UTV in 2012/13 ?? Paid about $10,500. It was months later before I realized that I had gone into this uninformed. It seems old inventory hangs around and you may not actually be getting what you thought. My 2012 UTV was actually a 2009. To say I was pixxed off is an understatement.

The UTV is great. Plenty of power, 4WD, Hi & lo ranges, dump bed, roll cage, head banger pads, front equipment rack, makes about 35mph and "I think" about 1400lbs payload/tow - even has aluminum wheels . I added a 40 gallon sprayer in the bed and a hard canopy. I feel like I've used the blazes out of it but the hour meter is around 200+.

My only complaint ... It came with a loose radiator hose that fell off in the field, resulting in an overheat. The engine was self-detonating and it took several minutes to get it killed. This was with less than 25 hrs on the unit and I hadn't even made my first payment. Cub Cadet treated me like a step child and I felt like they couldn't care less about what happened.

Even though I love the UTV - I would N E V E R buy or recommend a Cub Cadet product of any kind to any one. Period!

Sadly I feel your pain..Once Cub get the deal you're an afterthought. Experienced this personally.

 

[Interceptor]

2004 JD Gator 4x2
2006 Polaris Ranger 500 efi
2011 Kioti Mechron diesel
2011 Polaris Ranger diesel
All of them purchased used. If I hadn't sold the Gator for more than I paid it would have been a complete waste. It just didn't work for us, too slow, too rough riding, barely enough power to go up hills, no 4x4. We replaced it with the 500 Ranger for a couple thousand bucks more, and wow what a difference. It had a few issues but it did anything we asked of it. I wanted to switch to diesel so we sold the Ranger for what we paid. Couldn't find an affordable diesel Ranger at the time so we bought the Mechron. The Mechron is very well built, I feel the quality and engineering exceeds the Polaris. My wife never really liked it for some unknown reason, and after doing 40+mph in the Ranger, 25mph didn't seem fast enough. So we sold it for over $1500 more than we paid, and for a few hundred more we bought the Ranger diesel. There's a lot I don't like about it, but it is the best fit for us.

In our experience there is little risk when buying used. These things seem to hold their value well, and in some cases we came out ahead when selling. A windshield and roof is a necessity, well worth the cost. A rear window is helpfull in keeping dust and exhaust fumes out of the seating area. Metal vs plastic cargo box, my vote is for plastic. Of the two metal ones I've had, both were peeling and rusting, and they are noisy. The plastic Polaris box is a little more forgiving with my chainsaw sliding around in it. The lock & ride holes are handy for attaching anything you can think of. I have loaded the Polaris bed full of stone using a front end loader, and hauled enough rocks to bottom out the suspension. They are pretty tough. There are differences in the 4wd systems, what's best depends on the application. Each has pros/cons that one must be aware of before purchasing.

 

[ovrszd]

2004 JD Gator 4x2
2006 Polaris Ranger 500 efi
2011 Kioti Mechron diesel
2011 Polaris Ranger diesel
All of them purchased used. If I hadn't sold the Gator for more than I paid it would have been a complete waste. It just didn't work for us, too slow, too rough riding, barely enough power to go up hills, no 4x4. We replaced it with the 500 Ranger for a couple thousand bucks more, and wow what a difference. It had a few issues but it did anything we asked of it. I wanted to switch to diesel so we sold the Ranger for what we paid. Couldn't find an affordable diesel Ranger at the time so we bought the Mechron. The Mechron is very well built, I feel the quality and engineering exceeds the Polaris. My wife never really liked it for some unknown reason, and after doing 40+mph in the Ranger, 25mph didn't seem fast enough. So we sold it for over $1500 more than we paid, and for a few hundred more we bought the Ranger diesel. There's a lot I don't like about it, but it is the best fit for us.

In our experience there is little risk when buying used. These things seem to hold their value well, and in some cases we came out ahead when selling. A windshield and roof is a necessity, well worth the cost. A rear window is helpfull in keeping dust and exhaust fumes out of the seating area. Metal vs plastic cargo box, my vote is for plastic. Of the two metal ones I've had, both were peeling and rusting, and they are noisy. The plastic Polaris box is a little more forgiving with my chainsaw sliding around in it. The lock & ride holes are handy for attaching anything you can think of. I have loaded the Polaris bed full of stone using a front end loader, and hauled enough rocks to bottom out the suspension. They are pretty tough. There are differences in the 4wd systems, what's best depends on the application. Each has pros/cons that one must be aware of before purchasing.

Informative review.

 

[TMR]

2010 Polaris Ranger 800 XP...Mossy Oak Camo...purchased new.

Use for work and play. Three wide seating (w/3 seat belts) was important as Ranger rarely leaves w/o 3 seats full...except when I am working on my land. My use is frequent but miles and hours are moderate as most is on our property.

No repairs at all other than periodic maintenance. Unless you count the tail light I broke

For my land work I LOVE the flat floors and easy in/out as I work on tree seedlings as I see them and jump in and out frequently. Also, dump box is always full of tools, fences or whatever...and I frequently have some type of trailer behind...small or larger.

Only problem I have is it get dirty when I work in the woods!

Since mine is work/play I also considered a Sportsman or a Razor. Razor would have been worthless for work and also very hard to get in and out of MANY time a work session. Portman would have been great for Play but only hold one and I would have had to trailer ALL my tools overtime I went to work in the woods.

For my work/play combination the Ranger was PERFECT. I am a little worried that my teenage grandkids are now using "some"...pretty limited at this point but I am worried about repairs in the future Oh well, I did break the tail light! Tom R

P.S. Was just in Polaris shop this week and I have no motivation to trade "up" to a newer Ranger 900 XP...more speed and smoother among other options son't move me to trade up for my purposes. If I did not have the grandkids and did not need the three seats...the Ranger 500 looks much better now than when I purchased my 800 in 2010. WOuldn't work for me but would survey purpose well if one did not want/need the three wide seating. Tom R

 

[M5farms]

I bought a rtv 400 about a month ago. I looked at every single make and model before I pulled the trigger on it. I wanted a basic vehicle that would work. I could not see spending more than 8k on one and I love the thing. I use it every day Checking cows, running here to there, hauling stuff in the bed you name it will do it. Even pulled a fullsized 2wd truck out of the mud Wednesday afternoon with no problems. I never owned a ATV and had a golf cart I used for years so that's why I wanted one that was similar in size. I do not regret buying it and looking at the more expensive models from Kubota they all function the same and I don't have to have the "top of the line biggest and best" to impress the neighbors.