Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's Dealer won't work on Atv over 10 years old.

Friend of mine has a 2004 Polaris 700 Sportsman EFI that will not start. Worked fine the previous day but could not get it to start the next. He thought at first it was the fuel pump so he replaced it. No change. Gets error code 21. A little more checking and discovered no spark. Between working on building a 1940 Ford pickup and working on boat he decided he would just take it to the dealer and have them check it out. I advised him to call dealer first and verify they are not backed up and will check it out. Anyways, when he called they told him they would not work on anything over 10 years old. Is this standard practice? I have heard this may also apply to boat motors. I guess we are becoming a throw away society or maybe because if they can't plug a computer into it they don't have a clue. Tom.

It's not standard practice here.

Pretty crappy dealer.

I know who I wouldn't be buying from, when the time comes......

Thats the dumbest thing I ever heard, find someone else to fix it. I hope its something small.........

I had a shop pull that crap on a generator. Wouldn't even look at it and Diagnose the problem. Said "too old, we can't get parts for it". I said " you are being paid just to find the problem, not fix it." "Well, we will not look at it, if we can't fix it" . (Even though it was the FACTORY who requested the diagnostic. )

Turns out, it was just a faulty coil. @$25.00 and easy to get and swap. I will never take a tool of any kind to that shop again.

Pretty crappy, I would look for another dealer, A letter to Polaris might be in order, they might be interested that they have a dealer that is saying their new machines only have a 10 year lifespan.

My local Yamaha dealer just did a maintenance service on our 1997 Kodiak.

Not at my Polaris dealer, they have my 2003 Sportsman in service right now.

Find a new dealer!

We have a 1996 Kawasaki 300 and a couple year old Polaris 400 and I'll take that old Kawasaki before I'll ride that Polaris. The 300 has big steel racks and low range and I can trust it to start all the time. I fired both up this spring and the 300 fired right up. The 400 had a new battery last year and was dead this spring. No manual start either and I can't trust it. I wouldn't buy another Polaris.

Common issue on that year Sportsman - Replaced mine with this or something similar a couple years ago. LOTS cheaper than factory

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sportsman-700-For-Polaris-02-03-04-OEM-Replacement-Ignition-Controller-Coil-Cdi-/122927607670?fits=Make%3APolaris

That is the nice way of saying we don't want to work on your stuff.

I'd locate someone else...

Time to get a new dealer, not a new machine.

I never even heard of anything like that, i'd make sure to let them know that they will no longer be getting any more of my business nor that of any of my friends.

They should know how to fix by now.

Dealer knows he is not qualified to fix it.

They apparently have plenty of business with newer units

Many dealers don't have mechanics in their shop anymore. They now have technicians.

They would be lost without their laptop.

I can't even explain how I'd react if a dealer would not help a customer figure out a fix for a problem. One of those "buy it from me every 5 years or your'e on your own " kind of dealers. Tell every one you know about that Guy, don't forget to let him know you are doing it. There are better mechanics here on the" Fire"then you'll find at most Dealerships. Most machines these days are made to be used for 20 plus years hard , that dealer won't last long.
Good Hunting and riding
Lj

Some, I repeat, some, dealers will work on older units.

But,,, it's becoming more & more common to hear that many won't.

Not just this or that brand, but several brands. Have head an array of reasons, from hard to get parts, to the machine has lived past it's life expectancy, a possible danger to the rider & dealer refuses to be liable.

I worked in an independent shop for about a year & head these stories weekly.

The solution is simple, either get e new mechanic or a new ATV.

After over 30 years of ATV use and some repair issues I am pf the opinion most ATV shops are good at selling a ATV, but not good at fixing them, especially electrical issues. I also believe they don't employ many truly qualified ATV mechanics, technicians, or what ever else they want to be called. They probably don't pay enough to get good help, which is why most of them are under 30.

I’d say find a new dealer. I have a neighbor I am good friends with that had a Polaris General, that they local dealer refused to work on as he did t buy it from them. He bought it from the dealer about 25 miles down the road. What’s funny though, he sold the General and bought a new Ranger from the dealer that refused to work on the General. I will say I’ve never had a problem, but I do most of my own maintenance.

if you worked in a repair facility on ten year old atv/utv models you would totally understand...by that time every back yard mechanic in the county has worked on it and your tasked with fixing his work along with what else is broke because it wasnt like that when they brought it in....yeah right

at $100.00 dollars per hour it doesnt take long to get upside on some of the junk out their and have a bill larger than what the unit is worth

Yep some dealers are not so great. Had a shop here screw me over on a $50 part. Service tech wanted to comp me and admitted it was their fault and service manager would not budge. Told them gee I have bought 1 new street bike, 2 new atvs, 2 new trailers, a used enduro, lots of tires, numerous helmets, boots gloves etc like $45-$50k and you are going to screw me. They would not budge and have not seen a penny since. Switched all my business to 2 other shops. Funny thing is one of my freinds is tight with the owner and read him the riot act about it and still crickets. Guy is making too much money.

pension

There is a lot of truth going on here but I think 10 years is too new to refuse. I have heard of shops refusing to work on 20 year old stuff. When a shop finds things other than original issue, customers think they are being ripped off or scammed. If a customer passes on other recommended repairs and then there is another problem, the customer blames the shop. A UTV/ATV takes up a lot of floor space in a shop waiting for parts too.

Honda shop in my area gave me the same crap.Kept me on the waiting list for 8 weeks before letting me know about it.

Wow, my 1996 Kawasaki air cooled 300 with those big steel racks, high/low range, alternate rope starter is my work horse up north. It rides a little rougher than the Polaris, but all it has ever needed was a new battery. There is something to be said for simplicity.

My wife has a MY2005 Polaris MP700 that died. Local dealer said too old to work on. Found a local shop who specializes in older machines. They rebuilt the carb and she purrs like a kitten. Prices were reasonable. Win Win.
I'm going to be getting a Polaris Ranger Crew XP1000 Northstar next year and I'm not going to the local dealer.

After working at automotive dealerships for
some decades, I can tell you that many of
the new types of owners are investment groups
that care less about any kind of service.
Their goal is to move units out the door and
make more money arranging financing and
selling accessories. Most wouldn't even have
a service department or body shop if it wasn't
part of the franchise agreement

yep that is correct...they are going the way of car dealerships big time....

when you decide to buy elsewhere because you dont like or understand the local guys policy on repairing older units dont get mad when he puts his customers first he is only doing what you are and looking out for his self and employees...

what it is that the dealer can not get factory parts that old so the manufacturer will not let a dealer put after market parts on their machine

Local dealership told me the same thing a couple of years ago. They will not work on anything that is over 10 years old. I asked why. the service manager told me Company policy. He said its hard to diagnose older units. If they cant plug into it and read a code there lost.

There's that and - 10 year old atvs, sleds, UTV, motorcycles often have had multiple people work on them. Unknown what kind of butchery they'll find once into it and 100/100 times when they do and get back with the customer on a "time and materials" quote, you're 1500 into the work and the customer goes "that's too much, its 12 years old, may as well get a new one" - while you've basically rebuilt their wiring harness after 12 years of "cousin's putting in a spotlight on the quad this weekend" work.

Good place to be when you get to select the business you take.

Those era polaris could be had with a Ducati ignition that was garbage. They do exactly that....but before going too far, check the reverse switch and brake switch.

Mine had the good ignition, but it had a bare spot in the insulation and would do the no start occasionally. I tore it down to replace the ignition and spotted the bare wire right off.....been a super solid machine ever since.

My 1982 Mariner outboard (made by Yamaha) runs like a dream, but I wanted, not needed, a water pump last year, dealer said bring it on, called the next day. "It's ready".

Service on a UTV/ATV is different than repair.
All shops have oil. Most buggies use the same oil and air filter spanning 10 years easily. I seem to recall a thread here where your manhood was called into question if you didn't change your own oil in your truck. Then the thread went into the master mechanics class of every repair getting the DIY treatment. Why wouldn't you service your own ATV/UTV?

My ATV dealer is a local, 2nd generation family-owned, independent business with ATVs and UTVs as just one of their product lines. They'll repair/service older stuff and will even take old machines as trade-ins. They won't refuse to work on old stuff but will warn you that parts can get expensive or become unobtainable.

My brother has a Yamaha Grizzly which was imported from England by its previous owner and has to be 15 years old . Gets serviced at the Yamaha dealer no issues.