Snowmobiles

So I am looking to invest in one or two used snowmobiles and a trailer this year. I have a budget of $5k, which really limits my options. I’m also nervous to do any serious searching on Craigslist, so I am wondering if anyone has any good experiences with any dealerships they would reccomend.

Stay patient………lack of snow will have many sleds for sale this year.

Private party will be much cheaper than any dealer on the same used caliber snowmobile. It is never fun looking at used stuff trying to find a quality used sled, but I can be done.

I have a beautiful used snowmobile that I would like to see gone cheap. I gave up riding a few years ago and kept it around for ice fishing. I have a couple of them and like using my Atv lots more cause of no snow cover ever present anymore here. It has fairly low miles and I have lots of extra parts for it. The problem is I’m in SD and that’s probably too far away… Unless you would like to try an ice outing here

My dad is thinking of selling his as well. 2000-2002 Polaris XLT, it in really nice shape, not a ton of miles.

They are a dime a dozen for a decent used sled right now.

I would look into a 2-up trail sled, 600cc or bigger. The pool of available sleds will be smaller, but the usefulness of a 2-up trail sled will out weigh trouble of finding one. A couple of the pros are….. Comfortable ride, room for two people, long track, mirrors to watch what you are pulling without having to look back all the time, larger windshield to deflect the cold wind. It also nice to have electric start so a battery is stock and you don’t have to rig one somewhere to power your GPS. Cons are…. Hard to find and heavier are few, I am sure that someone will add more, but I can’t think of any.

Buying a used sled is a tough deal. There are so many wear items on sleds that if you are not familiar with them you would never know. Be careful and take your time until you can find someone you trust with the sled you want. As a novice buyer you may even consider buying used from a good dealer. You may pay a couple hundred more BUT they should take care of you.

I had asked the dealership where I have my ATV serviced if they took in used sleds on trade. The answer was “Yes, but…”.

This dealer said that like a lot of dealers, he was only interested in <3 year old sleds with very low mileage as far as what he’d put on the floor to resell. He would take other sleds as trades, but they went “straight out the back door”. I assumed this to mean to some flippers he worked with and then they sold them on the private market.

I took from this the fact that only the high dollar / high end used stuff would be found on his showroom floor. Obviously, this probably isn’t the case with all dealers, but I have noticed that very rarely have I seen a lot of used sleds at any dealer.

Grouse

Neighbor across the road has 2 on the trailer for sale. I know nothing more than this. PM me and I’ll fwd a phone #….jerr

Thanks for all the responses guys, PMs are being sent to some of you. @puddlepounder that’s pretty much what I’m looking for as you described: 2up, 600cc electric start. Correct me if I’m wrong, but fan cooled is more reliable than liquid cooled when operating in extreme cold (-30 and colder) correct?

I would so no….liquid cooled…always.

Generally people want fan cooled for icefishing especially late ice when it’s warmer and no snow left. If running a liquid cooled you will need scratchers or a well studded track to cool the heat exchanger.

liquid cooled will be heavier and more things that can have issues.

Thanks for clarifying Icenutz!