bluemonster1
LIFE MEMBER ONLY ONCE!!!
Would really like to take a survey here and opinions on your experience on buying your used sled. Was it a pleasant experience or was it a mistake? 
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kysledneck
New member
From Kentucky E bay was my only chioce! My 97 Sx600 pretty much as advertised I have done more to it because I wanted too! Mey 02 ProX 440 fan was a bust! but probably my fault with all the info floating around on the net I could have found the on going problems with a low end bog that just seems to not be fixed!, Traded the proX for my 97 SX 700, It was a trade I wanted because I wanted another Yamaha due to my good luck & this site(and that's no joke) So all in all I have bought 2 sleds & traded for 1 ALL GOOD!
otis700
Member
srx
I bidded on an 02 srx with 135 miles on her during the Spring of 2004 and when the EBAY auction ended with no winners, I sent him an email and offered him 4600.00. He gave me the password to his VT vacation home's garage, and he told me, just pick the srx you want, both had just over 100 miles. He also told me to just send him a personal check after I picked it up. Unbelieveable eh............
I bidded on an 02 srx with 135 miles on her during the Spring of 2004 and when the EBAY auction ended with no winners, I sent him an email and offered him 4600.00. He gave me the password to his VT vacation home's garage, and he told me, just pick the srx you want, both had just over 100 miles. He also told me to just send him a personal check after I picked it up. Unbelieveable eh............
bluemonster1
LIFE MEMBER ONLY ONCE!!!
That sure is trusting or what?Good experience I gather.
Both good experiences, but don't expect the sled to be perfect, its hard for a seller to state EVERYTHING like this panel doesn't line up well with this one, or this seems a little loose, etc. Expect a used sled not a new sled and expect to do some minor tinkering to get it up to your standard.
CdnSxR6
New member
I ended up buying new last time around (leftover) due to being too picky I guess. I drove many miles and spent $$, time and gas only to look at used sleds that were described by the seller(s) as "excellent" or "mint" condition only to find out that they were certainly not "mint" to me. Very frustrating. I know now to insist on seeing recent detailed photos and have a list of standard questions answered before heading out.
Of course price will dictate what to expect in a used sled. There are many good deals out there. One just has to be patient and as always "Buyer Beware" of the rule - "as-is, where-is condition. No warranty or guarantee implied".
On the other side of the coin...I put the shoe on the other foot and went out of my way to describe/disclose the condition of my sxr when selling it. Consequently after a 48 hour deliberation the prospective buyer called me back after I didn't accept his offers and said "I really want to buy your sled, what will it take?". I was confident that I had a great sled with lots of upgrade/addons but respected the fact that he gave up on lowballing and was ready to buy. I dropped the price a couple hundred bucks and he went away very happy.
It is not universal by any means but there are many fellow sledders out there that appreciate what full disclosure means when you're dealing with a 10-12 week season at best. These are the ones that you want to buy from.
my .02
Of course price will dictate what to expect in a used sled. There are many good deals out there. One just has to be patient and as always "Buyer Beware" of the rule - "as-is, where-is condition. No warranty or guarantee implied".
On the other side of the coin...I put the shoe on the other foot and went out of my way to describe/disclose the condition of my sxr when selling it. Consequently after a 48 hour deliberation the prospective buyer called me back after I didn't accept his offers and said "I really want to buy your sled, what will it take?". I was confident that I had a great sled with lots of upgrade/addons but respected the fact that he gave up on lowballing and was ready to buy. I dropped the price a couple hundred bucks and he went away very happy.
It is not universal by any means but there are many fellow sledders out there that appreciate what full disclosure means when you're dealing with a 10-12 week season at best. These are the ones that you want to buy from.
my .02
TimeBomb
New member
i bought my viper used from a dealer, she had about 1500 miles on it in sept. of 02. picked it up on my bday actually 
i got it in canada at knapp yamaha in prescott, ontario (sp.) it was a great used sled experience. good dealer to do business with. if the american dollar was better i wouldn't hesitate to get my next one there. had a problem with my temp sensor when i 1st got it, he took it right back in and fixed it. of course the problem came back and i had other dealers take a stab at and it still bothered, but its fixed now. its tough to get anything used nowadays, i got lucky, the dealer said the guy that owned my viper traded every year and they did all the service work on it.
i got it in canada at knapp yamaha in prescott, ontario (sp.) it was a great used sled experience. good dealer to do business with. if the american dollar was better i wouldn't hesitate to get my next one there. had a problem with my temp sensor when i 1st got it, he took it right back in and fixed it. of course the problem came back and i had other dealers take a stab at and it still bothered, but its fixed now. its tough to get anything used nowadays, i got lucky, the dealer said the guy that owned my viper traded every year and they did all the service work on it. 
blue missile
New member
bought my srx used in uncle henry's, at the time i knew little about srx's but i was familiar with sleds, which helped. after finding out info on here and calling the dealer for crank mods i found out i made a good choice.
bluemonster1
LIFE MEMBER ONLY ONCE!!!
I got my 98 SRX 600 at the Illinois snow show in Sept 2002. I was going in looking for a Poo XCR, but I saw this sled and couldn't pass it up. Actually got it from Road Track and Trail in Big Bend, Wi. The only thing I missed was the rails were shot at the bend and I still have no idea if the crank update was done. At the time, I didn't know about both issues. I bought a used skid from this board and have been using the original skid for parts ever since. The previous owner had the clutch dialed in perfectly, and the sled has never given me a problem. A great deal.
This summer, I bought a blue Viper ER from DanQ on this board. The price was right and it is in great shape though the miles are high. Can't wait to get it out on snow.
This summer, I bought a blue Viper ER from DanQ on this board. The price was right and it is in great shape though the miles are high. Can't wait to get it out on snow.
Well my used sled deal was great, but cost me lots of money. I quess that is my fault for not being able to not tinker. I bought my sled from a fellow TY member, and he was honest about the sled, and was priced right. Maxdlx
98/02SRX
New member
When I bought the 98 MSRX for the wife it was a nightmare! I must have had it back to the dealership 5-6 times for the same thing. "We can't re-create the problem" It was a wire shorting out causing one of the cylinders to go dead. This is from the same place I've bought all but 1 of my sleds and the same place my parents buy all their sleds so they took it back everytime and gave me a Warrior until the MSRX was done.
aSRX600guy
New member
I bought a 94 ZR580 around 98. it was just out of the shop from getting carb work (new boot, clean and inspection), so I figured it was good to go.
I rode it home that night, went riding the next day, and it droped a piston skirt the first time I opened it up.
It turned out what should have been a 270 jet was a 210. so I hauled it back to the dealer that worked on it (the cat place in Hancock, MI) and the mechanic had the balls to say he'd been working on sleds for 20 years and no one ever said he made a mistake before.
They refused to do anything for me!
I rebuilt it myself (that wasn't the first time the engine had been apart either) and it was running for crap, so I tore into the carbs again a month or 2 later and found the needle wasn't seated right.
Boy that was some carb cleaning and inspection from mister perfection.
when I finaly got it running right, I dumped it the next year before it had a chance to do something worse.
other problems I didn't notice in my overeagerness to get a sled that was more powerful than the old fan cooled was the shocks were toasted and the brake light didn't work. I never fixed that stuff, but I did have the frame welded were the lack of shocks caused a crack in the engine cradle area.
From there I bought my then "new" holdover 98 SRX600 on 1/2/99, another lemon thats still broke right now (second engine failure in less than 3000 miles stock).
I rode it home that night, went riding the next day, and it droped a piston skirt the first time I opened it up.
It turned out what should have been a 270 jet was a 210. so I hauled it back to the dealer that worked on it (the cat place in Hancock, MI) and the mechanic had the balls to say he'd been working on sleds for 20 years and no one ever said he made a mistake before.
They refused to do anything for me!
I rebuilt it myself (that wasn't the first time the engine had been apart either) and it was running for crap, so I tore into the carbs again a month or 2 later and found the needle wasn't seated right.
Boy that was some carb cleaning and inspection from mister perfection.
when I finaly got it running right, I dumped it the next year before it had a chance to do something worse.
other problems I didn't notice in my overeagerness to get a sled that was more powerful than the old fan cooled was the shocks were toasted and the brake light didn't work. I never fixed that stuff, but I did have the frame welded were the lack of shocks caused a crack in the engine cradle area.
From there I bought my then "new" holdover 98 SRX600 on 1/2/99, another lemon thats still broke right now (second engine failure in less than 3000 miles stock).
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Vmax540
VIP Member
Altough,I wrote this for sled restorations alot of it is relevant especially #6 ! 
#1 The Parts sled you drove 300 miles to get Will have all the Same broken parts regardless, of his description.
#2 Do Not keep track of the hours spent during restoration…. This could be suicidal.
#3 A full and complete sled restoration Will cost 3 times what the sled is worth.
#4 Upon finding that elusive part after many, many hours on the internet, 32 phone calls and 103 emails later the guy Will know exactly how Valuable the part is.
#5 Any part you throw away Will be the one you could of used for a trade.
#6 On a 1-10 scale remember to Divide by 2 when the seller gives his rating.
#7 The sled you spy in a back yard, on the ground, under a pine tree, with the hood removed, uncovered, and full of 11 years worth of pine needles, mice nests and moss will be Nothing short of a family Heirloom And have a lot of Sentimental value when talking price.
#8 Your local new sled dealer will give you that Confused, Crazed look when asking for any part over 5 years old then, promptly lead you to the showroom.
#9 The amount of Force necessary to remove/loosed a rusted part after 10 days of soaking with PB Blaster, taping with a hammer and heating will be equal to the force necessary to make the part unrecognizable.
#10 Your Friend who stops by to help on the restoration (Beer in the Frig.) will insist on helping you install that hard to find part (while you’re on the phone) with a 12 pound sledge. After the part is no longer of any use (unlike the upside down piston ashtrays) he will then change his demeanor to an apologetic 4 year old who can’t understand what went wrong ? ! ?
#11 B.T.W. you Will find the exact sled in Pristine unrestored condition for ¼ the cost 2 weeks after finishing your project sled ! Hope you enjoyed the process !
#1 The Parts sled you drove 300 miles to get Will have all the Same broken parts regardless, of his description.
#2 Do Not keep track of the hours spent during restoration…. This could be suicidal.
#3 A full and complete sled restoration Will cost 3 times what the sled is worth.
#4 Upon finding that elusive part after many, many hours on the internet, 32 phone calls and 103 emails later the guy Will know exactly how Valuable the part is.
#5 Any part you throw away Will be the one you could of used for a trade.
#6 On a 1-10 scale remember to Divide by 2 when the seller gives his rating.
#7 The sled you spy in a back yard, on the ground, under a pine tree, with the hood removed, uncovered, and full of 11 years worth of pine needles, mice nests and moss will be Nothing short of a family Heirloom And have a lot of Sentimental value when talking price.
#8 Your local new sled dealer will give you that Confused, Crazed look when asking for any part over 5 years old then, promptly lead you to the showroom.
#9 The amount of Force necessary to remove/loosed a rusted part after 10 days of soaking with PB Blaster, taping with a hammer and heating will be equal to the force necessary to make the part unrecognizable.
#10 Your Friend who stops by to help on the restoration (Beer in the Frig.) will insist on helping you install that hard to find part (while you’re on the phone) with a 12 pound sledge. After the part is no longer of any use (unlike the upside down piston ashtrays) he will then change his demeanor to an apologetic 4 year old who can’t understand what went wrong ? ! ?
#11 B.T.W. you Will find the exact sled in Pristine unrestored condition for ¼ the cost 2 weeks after finishing your project sled ! Hope you enjoyed the process !
SRXtrafast
New member
I got my 2000srx7 from the same dealer as Timebomb and just a couple weeks after he did. One problem I had was fouling plugs at first [you know, just had to start it every time I walked by] and talked to prev. owner and he had jetted richer. I think it was good to 70 below. Went w/stock jetting and that made the difference. Also had an electrical issue w/wire harness and had to retape it in the base. Overall a good exp. I'd do business again w/them.
300 miles and BOOM
not just boom, I am talking BOOOOOOOOOOM
not just boom, I am talking BOOOOOOOOOOM
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Jigg
New member
I bought my sled for $2300 two years ago (it's a 99 SRX). I had a LOT of problems starting it for the first two years, nothing i tried seemed to work. It'd start after about 30 pulls, and sometimes after 3 pulls, basically whenever it felt like it.
Last winter (after putting on probably 150 miles total since i bought it), the sled wouldn't start at all. Tried everything i could think of. Turns out both the stator and the CDI were bad. $500 later, everything works as it should.
This was my first used sled purchase, and it was a learning experience. When i buy another, i'll know a lot more of what to look for.
Last winter (after putting on probably 150 miles total since i bought it), the sled wouldn't start at all. Tried everything i could think of. Turns out both the stator and the CDI were bad. $500 later, everything works as it should.
This was my first used sled purchase, and it was a learning experience. When i buy another, i'll know a lot more of what to look for.
YamiSmurf
New member
Purchased an 02 viper about 3 months ago. Sled was advertised as in excellent condition and it was as described. Haven't ridden it yet, but everything looks/starts/runs perfect. Let you know in a few months how it performs on the trail.
Great experience. I've always said "I'd only buy new, but this experience has changed my mind and wallet.
YS
Great experience. I've always said "I'd only buy new, but this experience has changed my mind and wallet.
YS
woolyviper
New member
I bought my viper as new old stock in 2005 for $5999. I put it on the Yamaha Card and took it home without ever giving the dealer a nickel. The dealer made the transaction pretty simple and easy - I've since bought a Nytro and a Floe trailer from him since.
woolyviper
New member
Now on the other hand, my son bought a 98 zr600 arctic cat with 2500 miles on it, this was a clean sled and looked perfect. He drives it about 2 months and burns down one of the pistons. i put a new piston, jug and head on it and I run into the former owner and he lets me know he was running the jets two sizes under stock (nice time to tell me). 1400 miles later, the crank rod bearing let loose ( I suppose from the previous burndown). I rebuilt the motor and never had another problem with it -woolyviper said: