Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Any Experience with ATV's from Cabelas or Tractor Supply

Cabelas, Tractor Supply and probably others are carrying ATV's both one seat and SXS I believe they are made in China and look a lot like popular brands, Yamaha, Polaris, etc. Any experience? They are quite a bit cheaper. I don't think a little bit cheaper would get them sold. People would stick with a known quantity. Let me know your experience.
Thanks.

We have a 400UTV from cabelas. I was real surprised in its performance for being a "cheap" SxS. If you want speed, look else where. Decent ride, top speed is around 40 or so. Tranny shifter sucks and it's a PIA to get to the engine though.

Yesterday we were out at the property and Iwas going through roughly 1 1/2' of snow with the drifts over 2ft. It ran great, lock in the front diff and go.throttle limiter sucks in reverse when your infresh snow but it still claws it's way out.

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised.

Keep me posted on how it holds up please.
Thanks

Never had firsthand experience with the Chinese made ATV's or UTV's, but know a couple of people who have. You get what you pay for........

No experience with them, but as Badger said - you get what you pay for. Plus, I will not send my money to the Chinese when their are clear alternatives.

ATV's Catch Fire at Cabela's

The Boise Cabelas has Colemans. It's hard to get info on them other than they're Chinese. There aren't enough reviews yet to know how they hold up. I'd rather go Japanese, though.

Believe they are made by hisun. Lousy resale value, behind the curve power and ride wise.

Trust me, they are no Polaris razr or a can am. For a cheap utility SxS, they work as advertised. We use ours on our families 100acre hunting land and for it's intended purpose, it works. 2 weeks ago I loaded up 200 lbs of corn and soy for the feeders and it was sagging but the suspension is adjustable so I have to crank it up.

Basically, it comes down to what you need. When I lived in AK, I wouldn't think of one of these. I woulda bought a ranger. Here in SW MI, it works.

The one big that would keep me from buying Chinese stuff like that is parts and service availability after the sale. Every time you ask about this the vendor/seller will tell you "I carry or have access everything you will ever need" but nobody ever seems to be a vender of this stuff for long and as soon as they drop the line you loose your parts source.

I went through this with a Chinese tractor once, never again.

A buddy of mine bought an ATV at TSC in in 2006. It is slow and not real smooth but has served him for almost 9 years with no problems. I had the little Kawasaki mule for several years and it was fantastic. I would have to save at least 30% if not more to consider a rebadged rig from China. Cabelas tends to carry things for a while and then stop.

Wal-Mart carries the Coleman 4 whlrs and SxS units. Looks like they come pretty well loaded with winches, etc.

Parts and service are a major. For example, I know a guy who bought a Mahindra tractor (made in India). There's nothing wrong with Mahindra. They're the biggest maker of tractors in the world and they have a great reputation. However, all machines break. This guy found water in the oil from a leaky head gasket. It was still under warranty and they fixed it without any problems but he had to load it on a trailer and haul it to the dealer who was 200 miles away. By the time he went back to get it, he'd driven 800 miles.

After dealing with woodworking machines by Delta- from China, I look at similar machinery like this:

A Japanese ATV will generally last at least 10 years and can still be repaired. Say the original price is $7000.

The equivalent Chinese machine would be lucky to last 5 years based on what I've seen. Assuming it would though, it would have to have a new sticker of $3500 to be a similar value. But getting parts after 5 years would probably be a serious stretch. Al it takes is a single significant part being "NLA" too make the whole thing obsolete.

No thanks.

+1 I could not agree more. The first few years you will think you got a bargain.

I can still buy any part I need for a 20 year old John Deere riding mower or my 14 year old Honda Rancher.......

buy a decent used yamaha or honda. me and my boys beat our yammies 4x4'ing, mudding, hauling, pulling, you name it. if it breaks, i drive 5 miles to the yammie dealer and get a part. fugg the chinese and the scheit they rode in on.

My Kaw is a '99 and all parts are readily available. Plus, other than tune up parts and a starter motor chain, it still has all of it's original parts.

Save your money...

just buy a Honda or Yamaha machine.......