2012 Polaris RZR 800 Known Issues?

[motocrossdad]

i am new to utv and am looking to buy this polaris 2012 rzr 800 and wonder if there are any issues they had with this unit. the seller is asking 6k for it. I don't want to get burn on buy it if there are knowen issues.

[Travis]

Might read through here:

https://www.rzrforums.net/threads/2012-rzr-800-4-problems.93397/

 

 

[cliffyk]

Bombadier, Artic-Cat and Polaris are names cemented in my mind due to growing up in Maine--in the 50s and 60s those names were synonymous with "snowmobile".

IMHO, however like most  older well established "leaders" in the vehicle  industry they fell back and sat on their fat laurels while the Japanese and Asians took over market share with both price and quality. The Asians now dominate the market for recreational vehicles--this is best evidenced by all three of the above named brands now having Asian produced vehicles in their "line-ups".

The Asian makers are doing to the Japanese recreational vehicle  industry just what the Japenese automotive industry did to the American auto industry (another example of sitting on their fat laurels while the world passed them by (most 70s and 80s US cars were absolute crap).

The early Jap  cars were the "Yugos" of the day--I remember a neighbour buying a 1958 Toyota Crown. it was the joke of the neighbourhood. But, the Japs, like all Asians, are a proud people and their response to the laughter was to build better cars.   The US auto industry is a small fraction of what it was in 1960.

But I digress (as I am wont to do); getting back to the OP's concern, buying used is always a "pig-in-a-poke". something I almost never recommend to those like my step-son-in-law who has an almost negative mechanical aptitude and intuition. If however you are the sort that can diagnose and  repair the typical problems that all used machines carry with them then go  for it--you wil likely save a bunch of money but remember to keep some of those savings reserved for when the machine does break--and it will, they all do, even new ones.

Until rather recently I had no involvement with ATVS, UTVs and the like; though I've ridden motorcycles since I was 13  (some 61 years ago). After-sale warranty  support on bikes is terrible, generally blank stares and long waits for "the factory" to respond. My impression of the ATV/UTV industry (largely through forums such as this, and online reviews, is that it (the ATV/RTV industry)  carries this to new lows.

So my bottomline advice to the OP is: 

• Drive, and quite thoroughly listen to and inspect, that 2012 RZR. If you do not feel comfortable in assessing it's condition then find someone who does and bring them with you. Listening to it is vital--all machines will tell you when something isn't right but you need to be listening. My grandfather (The Scot Steam Engineer) always defined mechanical aptitude  as the "...ability to listen to a machine that you have never seen or heard before and determine if it is operating properly."
• Be extremely critical of any shortcomings or perceived issues--no matter how trivial. Use them as negotiating terms to get the best price.
• Remember at all times that  "The last time any machine starts and runs properly may well have been THE last time it will start and run properly." (again my grandfather's words)--this holds true for ANY machine, new or used.

-cliff-