Are ATVs/UTVs overpriced?

[livemusic]

Price a utilitarian sxs/UTV, it'll be $20k or more. Priced a ClubCar Carryall 1500, it was $20k. Nothing fancy, a work machine. Same thing, a John Deere Gator was $23k. One of the fast, trail-riding machines that have less utility but more speed and off-road capabilities, it'll be $30k and more. This sure seems like a lot of money. But the market has evolved for both types such that there is a LOT of competition, many choices. Do you think these machines are crazy overpriced or 'worth' what they cost. Do you think that there is enough competition that the market has them priced fairly for the quality of the machine, they are built robustly, or do you think all the manufacturers are just greedy and making way too much money? It bugs me to get 'ripped off' but OTOH, am curious if market dynamics always keep prices in check... or not so? Can greed ever manifest itself in a competitive market? Collusion would be hard to accomplish with SO many manufacturers.

I could start a similar thread about pickup trucks. Problem is, seems to me, they are way too dang big these days and there's too much 'stuff' on them. Perhaps they are very well made, lol. I guess I got my money's worth out of my 2008 Nissan Titan, have 250k miles, still going.

 

[ruffdog]

If people are willing to pay these prices, the prices will never go down.

 

[ArlyA]

Yes but they might be coming down. At least some. We paid 22K for our BRP 6x6 in 2022. Now you can get it for $3000 less. Now I"m being sent manufactures sales flyers with 2K rebates on new ones.

 

[Rdrcr]

If people are willing to pay these prices, the prices will never go down.

Agreed!

And, to the OP, yes!
I feel that ATV/UTV’s are a poor value for your money.

….an unfortunate cost of recreation and utility….

Mike

 

[ArlyA]

Agreed!

And, to the OP, yes!
I feel that ATV/UTV’s are a poor value for your money.

….an unfortunate cost of recreation and utility….

Mike

All we do is work. Is there an alternative to this atv? (I'm kidding, there is none and been in this business many years)

 

[livemusic]

Agreed!

And, to the OP, yes!
I feel that ATV/UTV’s are a poor value for your money.

….an unfortunate cost of recreation and utility….

Mike

OTOH, I must consider this... a friend recently said to me, "An ATV is one of the most amazing inventions ever. A critter doesn't stand a chance with these things." He was talking about hunting/fishing.

And then something like the ClubCar Carryall 1500 or John Deere Gator... they do have tremendous utility. I think they should come standard with electric or hydraulic dump beds and that would make them tremendously MORE useful. But... $20k to $25k for one? That seems about twice as much as it should be but I suppose I must be wrong about that, else, the market would have the price there? When you compare $20k to $25k for one of these machines to the cost of a small truck, these machines seem way overpriced. But I am not a market or product expert on such matters. I don't know how much 'economies of scale' come into play... how many pickups are manufactured versus these outdoor machines? Furthermore, perhaps these machines are much tougher and durable than I am giving them credit for? I know my 2007 Honda Foreman 500 is rock steady dependable, trouble-free.

 

[JeepHead]

I purchased a new 2024 Honda Rubicon ATV is September of this year and paid $11K for it. At the time, they had a new Honda Pioneer 700 SxS for $13K. Looking back, I wish I had purchased the SxS and was foolish for not doing so. My GF was really pushing me to the SxS and even said she would pay the difference but, I didn't listen to her. She reminds me of this every time she climbs on the back of my ATV.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Unless size is a consideration, IMO, the money is better spent on a pickup truck

 

[JeepHead]

Unless size is a consideration, IMO, the money is better spent on a pickup truck

ATV's and SxS's will go far more places than a pickup ever will. Mine also pulls my 5x8 trailer stacked full of hard woods out of my woods regularly. I wouldn't even consider using a pickup for what I use my ATV for...

 

[arto98607]

Buy used one.

I bought a used year 2001 ATV for $700 about 12 years ago, since I was not sure how much use I would have for ATV?

Over the years I have found it very useful tool and that's all it is for us.

It still serves us well.

 

[tacticalturnip]

They're great, they're useful, everyone loves them- that doesn't mean they're not overpriced. Everything is over priced; let's not pretend that inflation and the overall devaluation of the dollar isn't purposeful.

$20k was the starting MSRP for a GMC Sierra in 2004, and back then, prices often ran under MSRP.

Now, 20 years later, we can just all get fu-n time'd.

 

[livemusic]

I purchased a new 2024 Honda Rubicon ATV is September of this year and paid $11K for it. At the time, they had a new Honda Pioneer 700 SxS for $13K. Looking back, I wish I had purchased the SxS and was foolish for not doing so. My GF was really pushing me to the SxS and even said she would pay the difference but, I didn't listen to her. She reminds me of this every time she climbs on the back of my ATV.

I have the 2007 Honda ATV and also a 2008 gasoline Gator for the 2.8 acres at my house and a 2009 diesel Gator for my 50-ac woodlot. I bought all of these used. Come to think of it, I bought all three of these used and the total cost was $12k. The Gators are work vehicles and also, for trail-riding with a friend, the solution, unless it's a female, whereby the ATV is more fun for me, lol. I do like riding the ATV just for riding sake sometimes. I hit about 35mph or so and that's fast enough, lol.

These machines are great for in the woods because they are smaller than a truck. Of course, if you are not a tight trail, a truck can haul more!

What I would love to have is an electric SXS/UTV due to their quietness for riding slow around my trails. Trees are a hobby, lol. Believe it or not, I just saw one by 'Kandi" at Lowes, of all places, and i was impressed by what I saw. But... $10k. And most electric ones are 2x to 3x that price. I think Polaris makes one that is $30k+.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I have a 2020 Suzuki KQ750 I bought after my 2009 KQ500 got squashed by a tree from high wind event. I haven't put many miles nor hours on it since, but it's a nice tool to have during spring cleanup of the yard and other chores needed. I still have less than 330 miles on it I think.

 

[5030]

In todays hyper inflationary economy, even a package of ground chuck is overpriced. At some point something has to give and I predict it will be the economy in general and the reset will be either deflation or outright depression.

The inflation spiral has to end at some point and again, I feel that point isn't that far in the future either. All one has to do is look at credit card debt and at defaulted on loans to get a good feel for what is about to occur.

I see the major credit card providers just raised their outstanding balance rates to over 25%. No way can anyone ever pay off an outstanding balance at those rates and don't tell me that everyone on here pays off their outstanding balances every month because I know that is a lie.

We do but we also manage our buying habits carefully. Somehow I don't believe that is the norm today anywhere and on here as well.

 

[Torvy]

Anything that is still being sold is not, by definition "overpriced". Expensive? Sure. Prices always seek equilibrium.

We bought the Chinese one because it was literally half the price of the equivalent "US" model. Not a fan, but we use them for work. Otherwise, we would have skipped it. We have a pickup, not the same utility. There is some overlap, but only about 15-20%.

 

[deserteagle71]

They are overpriced. So is everything else these days. Well-equipped pickup these days is ~ $100,000. But as others have said, as long as people are willing to pay the price the manufacturers have no incentive to not keep raising prices UNTIL we stop buying.

The OP asked about robustness. As long as you leave them stock and don't force them to do what they were never engineered to do, they are quite dependable. Case in point...I own a Can-am Defender side by side, so I spend a little time on the Can-am forums. The Defenders come with either 28" or 30" tall tires depending on the particular model. On the forums one of the first things I see is proud new owners wanting to know how to fit 35" (or taller) tires on their new machine. Then a few weeks later they are back on the forums complaining bitterly about the poor build quality because they just busted suspension components on their new machine. People, the machine was never engineering to run huge tires which put a much bigger load on the suspension!

Versatility. There are very few days I'm not using my Can-am around my place, doing various chores. I also have 2 trucks, but the smaller size and nimbleness of the Can-am makes it my preferred chore rig. I'd have to be very careful traversing my desert acres with a truck. And when I need to get away I load the Can-am on a trailer and take it on mountain trails where no pickup dares follow.

If it's an either-or situation then yes, I'd vote for the pickup. But if you can swing both you'll be surprised at how versatile the side by side can be.

 

[Snobdds]

Yes they are overpriced, but if you need one, you need one.

When everything has gone up by 30% in 3 years...it's going to be no different for ATV/UTVs.

 

[Runner]

For many years I wanted a SXS but always said the prices were crazy and I would never pay that. So then, last year, I bought one anyway.....

 

[ArlyA]

You couldn't wrench this "over priced" machine out of our hands.

 

[tacticalturnip]

You couldn't wrench this "over priced" machine out of our hands.

Folks on here wouldn't be the types to try; the fellow that would try to separate you and your property isn't all too concerned about inflation.

[EDIT]: I want you to know I drool over that damn thing, lol. The wife wants a side-by-side one day, and I tried endlessly to talk her into a 6x6 like yours, and it was like talking to a wall.