John Deere Buck 500 4x4 atv

Any of you have experience with these? I am going to a sale tomorrow and one of these is there. Apparently Bombardier made these but they were only made for 3 years. What is parts availability? Good machine? etc.

parts at any Bombardier Dealer.

I have one. It's my first and only 4 wheeler i'll ever own. Depends on what you want to do with it. They are made to work not play. They are gear driven so no belt to slip. I've cut down good sized trees and pulled them off with mine. If it can't pull it it'll dig 4 holes in the ground and burry itself trying. Couple times I put 3 people on it just to get traction to get a tree started. Once it gets going it doesn't stop. It is full time 4 wheel drive so it takes big turns. My cousin has the Bombardier Traxter which is the same machine without the JD stickers. We've both had similar luck with them. They are pretty cold blooded in the winter. One of the big reasons they didn't sell very well was because people thought they were ugly. They have a step through design so you don't have to swing your leg over them. I personally like that design and wouldn't have one without it. They don't make any version of them anymore so if mine were ever to give up some day it'll be the last one I own. Since buying an RTV however the Buck isn't used as much though. The RTV sits 2 people comfortably and has a box to carry stuff in so it's become more convenient. I still won't get rid of the Buck however. I can't help to much with parts because other than filters that JD carries so far the only thing I've needed was a starter. I tried JD and it was available for $500. I got the exact same starter from Amazon for $50. It had a little electrical problem when it was new and the JD dealer I bought it from couldn't seem to figure it out. I tried taking it to the nearest Bombardier dealer and they told me they weren't allowed to work on it because it was a JD. I can't remember exactly what they said now but something like copy right infringement or something. Might have been just them not wanting to mess with it I expect. Anyway the JD dealer finally found out what the problem was and I've never had any problems since. Overall I've been very satisfied with mine even though like I said before I wouldn't buy another. If something where to happen to my RTV i'd have to run out and get another to replace it.

Taken just the other day.

Sounds like a good machine. A little worried about the cost of repairs and would prefer EFI but if it stays low I may bid.

John Deere still has most parts and filters and stuff
are cheaper at John Deere than bombardier