Prices of utility vehicles

My wife and I looked at 3 different types of vehicles today. First we drove a John Deere Gator 4 X 2 with a 10HP Kawasaki engine. It drove good and was fun to drive, but with the lack of shocks on the back end it was pretty rough. Top speed 18 mph. Price $5,640.

Next, we drove a more rugged looking vehicle by Terraplane or something like that, made by Agricat. The 2WD one was $6700, including the roll bar. The engine was a Briggs and Stratton 16HP and had a top speed of 25 mph. I didn't like the stiff steering, expecially pulling it out of a sharp turn.

Then we drove a Kawasaki Mule 550, and a bigger 3010 or something like that. I really liked the way both of them drove. Compared to the Gator, they have a bench seat and seatbelts, whereas the Gator has two separate seats. The Kawasaki has a nice cover over the belt drive, whereas the Gator's belt drive is open to the elements. The Kawasaki included a rollover cage. The mules have a rear suspension and a better ride than the Gator, in my opinion. Top speed 20 mph on the 550, 25 mph on the bigger one. Prices: 550 $5600, 3010 $7600 for 2WD and $8600 for 4WD.

We are seriously considering the Mule 550 fro $5600, maybe even a little less. Does this price sound like a decent deal?

For that much you could get an old Jeep, or a shortbed 4x4 mini-truck that would haul more and do more things... Heck, you could get an older small 4x4 for less than $3000 if you looked around a bit.

Those "mule" type vehicles are nice. But, it's like some of the "personal watercraft". For the price of a jetski, you could get a nice used boat.

You are right but you can't get them in a barn. They are also hard on the pastures and any other ground. You are also talking about new price vs. an old thing that you likely would have to do alot of work to. Older 4x4's are terrible starting in the winter and there is alot of maintenance involved, not to mention insurance, registration, etc. When you compare the price of a comparable 4x4 it's no comparison. Take a new 4x4 and compare that to the price of a new gator, mule, etc. About 20% of the cost.

Go with the Mule. My neighbors have one. Ive never driven it, but it sure looks fun when they drive by with a bottle of wine headed to their relatives down my long driveway to the road. They could turn out onto the main road and miss my drive, but why not cut thru one lawn to get to a side road. Let'um cruze thru i say they are great people anyways. They do alot of heavey duty lawn work with it also. Its their 4-wheel, wheel borrow on their property. Also their daughter has a house way off the road and they use the same drivway. So they need a shuttle just to get to the mailbox. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Cost wize i dont know what they paid, but ide guess in the 5-7 grand range. But if ya got it spend it [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]
Have fun looking and choosing
Larry

"But if ya got it spend it ". That makes me think. The $5K or so would put a large dent in our disposable income.

I managed to find a '97 Mule 550 with 500+ hours on the internet for $2900. I wonder if 500 hours is a lot time on one of those?

One thing that is holding me up right now is that I'm starting to get the ZTR bug. My brother in law got one and claims it will mow twice as fast as my 60" finish mower.

But I sure would like someway to put around the property.

Maybe next year........

Ok if ya dont got it...dont spend it [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Sounds like you talked yourself out of it. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img] Sometimes we spontainously buy then look back and say, why did i do that? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] You drove a few and at least ya know whats out there. Used would be good also. Someone else takes the depreciation lose and you get a better deal. Have fun...
Larry

I don't know if 500 hours if good or bad. I expect they would be similar to motorcyles/snowmobiles/ATV's for longevity.

SHF

In upstate NY i wouldnt give them that much for it with 500 hours on it. It will be 5 years old real soon too. That model isint the 4-wheel drive either...right? Is it the origanal tires? Does a belt run them like a torque converter on a ski-doo? The torque converter is the first major thing to go on a sled. Atleast with the older model sleds that i ran as a kid. I could see 2000 for a 95 with 500 hours on it maybe. Me if i wanted one ide probably go new or alot newer than a 95. My tractor and attachment are always new. Not that i got money, but i look at it as. My use, my abuse i know it's care if ya know what i mean. So many people dont maintain things properly its tough to buy used in some areas. Just my 2 cents
Larry

They have a belt, but not sure how it works. Probably is some sort of torque converter or centrifugal clutch.

Don't know about the tires on the thing, but I guess the torque converter is expensive to fix?