How Do I Know If a Quad is Good?

How can you tell if an ATV is any good? What do you look for when buying a used ATV? These are valid questions for anyone thinking about buying a pre-owned 4-wheeler.

Partzilla's ATV expert John Talley does live Q&As on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern, and in this session, one viewer buying a Honda TRX400 needed some advice on how to tell if a quad is good.

ATV Quality: What to Look For

I’m going to buy a Honda TRX 400. How do I know if a quad is good ?

John Talley: I believe we did a video on what to look for as far as buying a used unit. In that video I go through what you should be looking for when you’re considering buying one. But as far as the TRX 400 in general, it’s a good machine and those things are bulletproof. Personally, I would go for one that has not been modified, if you can find one, because a lot of people modify them almost immediately. But my rule of thumb is that the closer to stock you can find, that’s going to be the most stable format to start building off of. 

In the video above, John provides diagnostic steps on evaluating a used ATV, UTV or motorcycle, as well as some tips on how to bring an old powersports machine back to life. Watch the video above to get a comprehensive used ATV checklist of things you need to look at when you get your hands on a used machine, including what to look for in the oil, the fuel system, the electrical system, the frame and suspension, and the wheels and tires.

If you don't need an entire checklist of how to evaluate a used ATV but just need tips on one particular area of evaluation, here are the highlights to look for in the video above:

Oil change - 0:30

Fuel system - 1:17

Electrical system - 1:51

Suspension & frame - 2:44

Wheels and tires - 3:30

Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.