I remember back in the day when you wanted to look for a used ATV for sale the first step was to take a trip to the local gas station or convenience store and picked up a newspaper, a mini-merchant and a Cycle Trader. Then you went back to the house and spread the publications out on the kitchen table and started a search for the best deal on a new quad.
Well, as we all know those days are long gone and now it’s a totally different method of finding an ATV for sale. There are more sources to check, the market is bigger and there are more resources to help buyers be aware of what kind of machine their buying. I’m so glad that we’re not forced to browse those ads with one black and white image anymore.
On this page you’ll find all the resources we use to find good used ATV’s for sale.
Marketplaces for Used ATV’s For Sale
Craigs is a great marketplace to start a search for a used quad. I find some of the best deals on Craigslist. I found a sweet deal on my sons Suzuki LT50 using Craigslist…well, I should say, “Santa” found a sweet deal J. What I like about Craigslist is, is that it’s easy to find stuff locally for sale. What I don’t like about it is, it’s a little cumbersome if you have to start searching cities around your area because local results weren’t to promising. When searching on Craigs, be specific in your search term. For example, don’t search “used ATV”, be more specific like “Grizzly 700” or “Honda 450R”.
Originally Ebay was the best place to look for used ATV’s, but then Craigslist came along (which was then bought by Ebay). Now, I think people post on Craigs first because it’s fast and free. At the same time Ebay started getting flooded by dealership ads, which isn’t all bad. But Ebay really stepped up to the plate with powersports by getting it’s search options optimized like it had for the Automotive section, now it’s way easier to target the exact type of machine you want to buy.
What I like about Ebay when looking for a quad is you get a mix of private seller and dealer ads. The dealer ads you need to look for are the ones where they have last year’s model at a deep discount to just get rid of it. That’s the perfect deal, when you pay used prices for a brand new machine!
What I don’t like about Ebay is it’s hard to come by a bike that you want and it’s local. Most of the time when I find something I like it’s a 4-5 hour flight away, so that’s when you have to decide if you’re comfortable buying an ATV that you don’t get to test ride. Look below for tips on How to Buy an ATV Over the Internet.
This website looks like they used an API (Application Programming Interface) to aggregate Ebay and Craigslist listings into one simple format that’s easy to navigate ATV for sale ads. You can search by Make- Model, by state or by city. They also feature a map tool that allows you to look at a state and then zoom in on a particular region, once you zoom in enough just scroll over the “for sale” icons and the ad information will appear. This feature makes it REALLY easy to view lots of ads quickly. What I don’t like about this site is that a lot of the times the images from the Craigslist ads don’t show up in the ad information, so then you have to go to Craigs and find the ad to see the images posted by the seller, kind of annoying after the 5th time. But Quad Hunter is still a good tool to really cover some ground fast.
This is a newer website developed by the owners of RacingJunk.com. The inventory on this site for 4×4 ATV’s is kind of low (currently); the sport ATV inventory is considerably higher. But the inventory is mostly private ads and most likely you won’t find the same quads for sale somewhere else on the internet. It’s easy to navigate so it’s worth a look see.
Don’t really care too much about this site for used quad searches because it seems that 99% of the ads are just dealer ads selling new quads, very few private seller ads. But if you want to search local dealer new ATV inventory, then check this site out.
ATV Forums
Check out ATV forums, members are always posting up rides for sale in the classifieds section.
More resources to help you in your search for the ultimate used off-road machine.
ATV Pricing Information
KBB (I already selected ATV category, ignore the “Motorcycle” in the title text)
This is a pretty accurate tool to get a round about figure on a used good condition bone stock model. I did some cross referencing with some ATV ads and it’s not perfect, but close for the most part. Majority of the time KBB was a little low, about $100-$300 compared to the asking prices.
When using this website it’s kind of difficult to find the right model of ATV you’re trying to get info on because they use all the technical model specifications from the manufacturer. For example, Yamaha Grizzly 450 is YFM45FGW GRIZZLY – 421cc…makes it a pain. But once you find the model you need NADA offers a lot of additional information that KBB doesn’t offer. I found the pricing estimates to be a little more accurate here as well.
ATV Insurance
It’s always good to check how much insurance will be on a ride you’re eye balling. Check ATV insurance rates at GEICO, Progressive or Rider Insurance.
ATV Shipping Services
JC Motors specializes in ATV, UTV and Motorcycle carrier services. That’s all the drivers deal with are powersports shipments, so they know how to properly handle an ATV while loading it, hauling it and unloading it to make sure it arrives as it should.
Secure Payments & Transactions
An escrow service is the best way to buy a used ATV from out of state that you don’t get to physically inspect before taking possession. With this method everyone is protected and terms are agreed upon by both parties before the transaction occurs. An escrow service will hold your payment to the seller until you receive the machine and get a chance to look it over and make sure it’s in the condition you expected it to be in. Once you are happy, you notify the escrow service and funds are transferred to the seller.
Tips on Buying a Used ATV off the Internet from a Private Seller
These are tips to consider when you want to buy a quad that you don’t get to ride or inspect in person before you take delivery.
ATV Title
- If a title is not included in the purchase get the VIN number from the seller, call your local police department and ask to run the VIN to see if it’s got history (stolen). Then call your bank or DMV to run the VIN to see if there is a lien on the machine. This could save a world of headache and money if things were to go bad down the road, so take the extra steps.
Photos
- Take note the atmosphere around the machine. Is it in a clean garage? People I know that take care of their rides have clean organized garage. These guys also tend to fix everything on their rides at first sign of wear and keep up on the regular maintenance issues.
- Is the bike clean? It’s amazing how many people won’t even bother to wash their quad before they try to sell it. If it’s dirty in a for sale ad, then it’s dirty ALL THE TIME. That means they don’t care and don’t bother to keep up on regular maintenance. I wouldn’t spend one second debating the subject, move on.
- Look at the frame, check to see if there’s any paint missing. If you see a spot try to determine if it’s from an impact. Look for a dent or tweak in the tubing. This is more prevalent in the front of the machine on the A-arms and front bumper.
- Look at the rim of each wheel. Are they bent? If so, depending on how bad the impact was it could have bent the axle or spindle. If you spot this in a photo simply inquire and express your concern to the seller and ask if the bent wheel resulted in any other damage behind the wheel.
- Factors that can lead to determining if an ATV has been flipped are, bent handlebars, broken plastics, bent or broken brake and clutch levers, bent bumpers or a dented exhaust. If you notice one of these just ask what happened that resulted in the damage.
Video
- As easy as it is these days to shoot, post and share videos I wouldn’t think twice about asking the seller to give me a short video showing the quad starting, running and riding it around.