Recommendations for a ATV

[Roccus]

Ya quick start, just wait until the repair bills show up.   Maybe for the old ladys washing machine, but nothing I own will ever get that.

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It's only a real issue in a 2 stroke motor... where it can wash oil off the bearings and provides none of it's own lubrication...

[346xp]

I ended up finding a 99 Honda foreman 450es. As others have said, decide what's important for you. I fish on lake Winnipeg in some cold temps. Dead batteries are quite common up here. The Honda has a pull start back-up, carbureted with a choke. If you get a battery start only machine, invest in a portable booster pack. Can save your butt.
Fwiw...I had a 2001 450es and it was a good machine.....only issue I had involved the electric shift system not always working.... ended up being the battery, it still showed 12.3 volts but the esp  system requires the full 12.6 or so volts . Another minor concern was the connector on the angle sensor, located at front of transmission beside shift motor I had to remove it clean and re apply dielectric grease every so often...if you ever have issues I would check these items first.

[redneckdan]

Butane from a lighter refill canister works good for a starting aid. Propane torch set on high with no flame, in front of the intake while cranking works good too.

[augergas]

For me, smaller is better. I had a big Polaris that you could barely fit in the back of a pickup. I don't like pulling trailers, like to carry my flip over and scooter in the pickup so when I get home I just run in the garage and that's that. I think the Honda Rancher size is perfect (I actually have a Yamaha Kodiak which is the same size). You can run the thing up the ramp into your pickup with no drama. Scoot it around by hand and have plenty of room for your auger, buckets and other gear. Then I carry my one man flip over (I think it's a clam X, a pretty good sized one-man) on a hitch hauler. I don't have to take the hitch hauler off to load and unload the scooter with a tri-fold ramp. The disadvantage to smaller machines is their capabilities in deep snow and slush. You can help that quite a bit by chaining up with good chains. I use heavy duty light truck chains cut down to the wheeler size. Obviously, a big ATV with big tires and a ton of power will blast through snow much better and carry large loads better too.

For a one man fishing operation, I think it's the only way to fly. No trailer, plenty of room, can pull right into the garage without unloading. No fear when loading the thing into the back of the pickup. Real big ATVs can be sk=etch as heck loading into the pickup.

[Uncle Al]

I was looking at some year end deals on new atv's and called about one that included a "free winch and plow" as did all the different brand atv's that this place sold. When I asked him for a price that I could take to the bank he quoted me $2000.00 more than the advertised price. I had to ask why, and was told, that's the price. Oh well needless to say I still don't own an atv.
Looking at used quads most of the sellers want more than retail for theirs, and won't take a lower offer, and these quads are selling.

[PerchN2040]

I ran into the same problem looking for an ATV. The used 4x4 wanted top dollar and who knows how much abuse it had. Most dealers would add on a bunch of fees to the price of the ATV. That said I ended up with a new 2016 Honda Rancher after shopping for a year for used and new. My advise is to call dealers all around and ask for a out the door price on a specific ATV you want. If they won't give you a out the door price you can probably get the same machine cheaper at another dealer. I drove a little over an hour and out of state to buy mine. No dealer around me could come close to the price I got.

[augergas]

There is an abundant supply of older used ATVs and thanks to city dudes all wanting them but having no place to use them, many of them are in new condition. Even when they are 10 years old they haven't hardly been used. I don't see any reason to pay more than $3k for a good used unit.