Buying ATVs for the whole family - yes, it can be achieved!

So, you are feeling rather generous and you would like to get your every member in your family an ATV each - perhaps it is a case of one for yourself, one for your wife and well, 2 for the kids. Before you head out to the nearest local ATV dealer, it is best that you do some calculation first - or you'll end up with a huge hole in your pockets and regretting your decision and kicking yourself for that "spur of the moment" decision.

Ask yourself this question, "Is it really necessary to get new ATVs for everyone in the family or can you live with used ATVs?" If you've answered "Yes" to the latter, well, good on you! Not only will you be able to save hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, you can put the money aside for better use - for example, repainting the ATVs so that it becomes a "custom made" color for you. Who knows - you may even want to have a "family theme" color to the ATVs, just to be unique and different from the rest.

Here are some tips which we believe will be of great help to you as you begin your search for the best deal on used ATVs in town.

Bring a friend with you
Always have a friend (one with experience on buying used ATVs would be great) to go along with you to inspect the used ATV that you would like to buy. Besides, your friend can help you to raise the ATV for you to inspect the undercarriage of the ATV to check if there are any serious damages. Another way for you to raise the ATV is to use a jack stand. With the machine being supported by the jack stand, check the front and rear wheels (alternate the jack stand in front and at the rear of the ATV to check the wheels accordingly) and check for worn out wheel bearings or ball joints. After that, you may lower down the ATV to check the other parts of it.

Once the ATV is lowered to the ground, move the handlebars to see if it's worn out too. There is also another place that is usually overlooked when one is buying a used ATV - the air box. Remove the seat of the ATV and check the air box because an air box can collect water and this leads to the damage of the engine. If you spot a clean air box and filter - you are safe.

You should also check the engine oil to see if it looks contaminated and another place that you should check for rust is the gas tank because a rusty gas tank causes carb problems. You could shine a flashlight into the gas tank and see if it is rusty.

Never forget to check the brakes of the ATV - the hand, foot and parking brakes. And don't forget about the tires too! Be sure to check the exhaust to see if the spark arrestor is intact.

Inspect the machine carefully
In the midst of the excitement of buying an ATV, one could get carried away and not inspect the machine as carefully as possible. Hence, try not to be over excited about the machine that you are looking at. Inspect the frame and look out for signs of rusting as this is usually a sign of stress crack and you would most likely need to have some welding and repainting works done. Don't forget to check all headlights, tail lights, as well as the engine's shut off switch and key switch.

It is without doubt that buying a used ATV can be a tedious process, but once you have the machine in your home, you'll soon forget all the hard work you went through.

For some great looking ATV models, you may want to visit Jackel Motorsports' website at www.jackel.com and if you want more tips on buying used ATVs or just to ask questions about buying used ATVs, check out the forum at their forum too.