I keep thinking about getting a four wheeler for farm use. A 250-400 rancher would get me by just fine. However with the rise of the RZR and other Side by Sides, i've been seeing quite a few Gators for sale at a reasonable price.

Anything to know about them, I have heard they are slow. How is parts availability? Pain to work on?
General opinions.

Still got my eye open for a dahautsu hi-jet, not like i'm in a hurry.

Rice burner running gear with a green body. JD doesn't make much of its product line in America any more. For any serious work, try to find one with a diesel engine and a power dump bed.
Jerry

I have an 850D with 600 hours on it and it is a colossal piece of crap. I own a snow removal company and also have a Ranger 900. I am working on buying another Ranger and launching the Gator. I would buy Rangers all day before I got another Gator.

Cons:

Heavy AF
Slow
Prone to failure
Expensive to fix

Pros:

You can tell people you own a John Deere and buy a hat.

Had some at a place I worked.

Liked them about as much as the Kawasaki Mules.............they generally got a person from point A to point B. Had to drive them a good 1/4 to half mile to get to the other side of the project multiple times a day. Seemed to be about as problem free as anything we had on site.......in other words they sometimes broke. But, realize, it was a large project and multiple drivers with different driving habits. Almost all paved too, so I can't speak to their mud capabilities.

We had mostly 4 wheel versions, and I think the other part of the project had an old 6 wheel version. All lasted multiple years (6-8), some are probably still running.

Geno

I've had one for 3 or 4 years, 825 I think. Gas burner, power steering, power dump bed. It's great for around the farm work. Runs about 40-45mph down the road, that's as fast as I want to drive it. Part are easy, but as usual, green parts are pricey.

Its a Ford - Chevy argument. The 825 and 835 have a Chery engine that is tough as nails unless you bog them and play in water. Ive worked on them for 24 years. The only engine failures Ive seen are from dusting them by not changing air filters.
All brands have belt and clutch problems if they are mistreated. Im not a fan of the Diesel gators

Farmer told me the other day his 825i has outlasted a mule and Ranger and still going with close to 2000 hours on it

I have a 4 X 6 Gator it is a working monster, no problem putting a pallet of fertilizer in the back or pulling a 8 foot cultipacker, if you buy a toy, then don't expect it to work like a man, John Deere makes toys and tools , make sure you know what you are buying !

I have a 2008 620i gator. It has about 1200 hours on it. Replaced the drive belt once and the front axles. The axles are expensive from JD but you can get both for less than $200 On eBay. I have cattle on about 12 sections and not many roads. Mostly use the washes for roads or go across country. I carry fence tools, chain saw, chains, etc in the bed. Has an electric dump bed when needed. It gets me where I need to go. I have been pleased with it. I run Sea Foam in the gas and can tell a difference if I don't use it. It is not as fast as some of the others but where I go fast is not an option. Usually crawling around in FWD or in deep sand. I usually cover about 15 to 20 miles in a day on the ranch.

I know a lot of people who have Gators, and they like them, for the most part. I also know some of those people who got rid of them, and bought a Ranger, because the Ranger is faster. I have a 2013 Polaris Ranger 500. For what I do, it's ideal. I have tractors for jobs that require pulling some type of implement, so I don't have to do that. I use mine mostly for hunting, checking the cattle, and running around the farm on. I've got almost a 1000 hours on mine, and it has been virtually trouble free.

If I was in the market for another UTV, Polaris is where I'd look first.

I know you asked about Gators, cant help, don't know anyone around here that runs a Gator, but, a buddy has had an 07 Yamaha 660 Rhino that he's totally beat the hell out of for 13 years, worn out several sets of tires, that thing is a tank and just keeps going, he's a farmer and a hunter, another neighbor has a big 800 EFI Polaris Ranger, it's been a hell of a machine for him too, he's a farmer cattle rancher, matter of fact, his Ranger is parked out behind one of my shop buildings right now, I let him cross my pasture going up to the NW corner so he can work on his North fence, running East and West, I rode up there with him last week, that big Polaris is smooth riding with plenty of power and traction, he had a pretty good load in the bed too, consisting of steel post driver, couple three bags of quickcrete and sand, rolls of barbwire, and other assorted fencing tools.

What Gunner said.
I bought a 08' Rhino 660 new and have run the piss out of it, hauling firewood out of mtns etc.
Runs like the day I bought it.

My shadow will not darken a John Deere dealership again...….their service department sucks.

If I ever consider that type of machine, i'll damn sure be looking for a low hour 07-08 Rhino 660 Raeford, this kid [probably 35 now] has ramped that thing several feet in the air, headed for the mountains with cases of beer, an ice chest full of bolo and hot dogs, plus an extra 5 gal container of gasoline back when he was younger, he'd stay up there raising hell all weekend.

This. We call our 20 year old 4X6 Granny because she has been there so long. Slow yes, but if something has to be done, she is the one to take. And we have Polaris, Honda, etc. NOTE: Not impressed with the cheap 4 wheel JD. Have a couple of those and they are the last ones used. But Granny is always good to go!

I have seen a lot of John Deere products being listed on craigslist and facebook marketplace that feel very scammy.

The older Gators were very good machines, designed for field use, not for road and trail running up and down at 45 MPH. I know some people that have had excellent results out of theirs. JD tried to compete with the Ranger line, and some of the other UTV's that are mush faster than the Gator, and in doing so, have been turning out a less than reliable prodcut

Yep I had one and it was a ROUGH RIDE...

Yea I have the 825i also. It has been a workhorse with no problems for 6 years.

I have a Polaris side by side, it’s handy for hunting!

I have a 900RTV Kubota diesel. Probably 12 years old. Only problem I have with it is when the grandsons come in and say,"Papaw. we need your 4wd diesel truck to tow the Kubota out of the stock tank". How did that happen, "We don't know Papaw, we just turned our head while fishing. The next we knew it was in the water". OF COURSE! I was born yesterday and couldn't understand! I'm regular on oil and all the filter changes along with the hydraulic fluid and filter. It has a dump bed, 4wd, and 4 wheel diff lock. It also has hydraulic lines with disconnect to operate other tools. It ain't fast and rides rough, but it serves our purpose. I have replaced the rear tires.

I rode the Baja 1000 with a group of Rino's. They were not in the same class as the CAN-AM's I was on motorcycle and could not get past the CAN-AM on the salt lakes. +100mph

Revived an old post for new comments
Have a brother that has 1 gator and another that owns 4 they've had no major issues. The 1 machine is I think a 2004 with over 8500 miles and he just recently had to change the clutch on that one. I just ordered mine today an 825M with standard power stearing and I added the power dump,front&rear windshield and roof. Hopefully I didn't make a mistake. List for 19.600 and made the deal at 18000