Guy I know has a 96 Polaris Sprortsman 400, 4x4. It had some sort of electrical problem when he parked it, and it's been sitting in the garage for 12 years or so. Probably has the same old gas in it. He is willing to entertain an offer, but I know next to nothing about 4 wheelers and have no idea what it might be worth in that condition. What do you guys think?

Those were good ATVs but the condition is not ideal.

A couple of hundred max.

Polaris especially back then were not so great as far as reliability goes .....that's why it's a boat anchor now .

Maybe if he gives you a 100 bucks or so you could haul it off for him


Buy a jap machine and have less turmoil in your life

Nowadays seems like the only way to get a 4 wheeler for less than $500 is to buy a junker if you know the guy selling it. I just looked at my local Facebook marketplace listings and only saw a couple Polaris Sportman from that vintage and they were $1,500 and $1,900, though both are "good runners."

If you can get it for a few hundred bucks it's probably worth it, but the guy could probably get $500+ on the used market pretty easy.

Another thing to consider is if you can pick it up for next to nothing , you could part it out and sell on eBay to guys trying to keep their junk going . Depending if there is any demand you could make a couple Grand pretty easily . Gotta have some time on your hands though

I wouldn’t even think about buying it. Let it be his problem. It’s his hunk of junk.

At an estate auction, here in Ohio, it would likely go for just over $100.00 in that non-running, long term parked condition. Less if the wheels are dry rotted or in poor condition.

My next door neighbor buys dozens of broken down quads a year, fixes them up if he can and sells them or junks them if they need to much put into them. He's making his full living working on similar machines and riding mowers.

Keith

Totally a explodis man…:)
them thing suck,,,,, imho

I'd make a deal on $3500 minus what it costs to get it running.

I have same year.
Overall, good machine but parts are getting hard to find.

Carb boots/clutch cover will have to be replaced most likely.
Without hearing it run/drive, I'd pass.

Thanks, everyone.

Keep in mind, I doubt if you're smart enough to fix it and repair shops are pretty expensive.

Stay away and buy a newer Honda

Thank you. I will keep that in mind.

If you have the ability to fix it, couple hundred max

As already stated, if it turns into too big of a project, part out what you can and scrap the rest

One that has sat that long is going to take a lot of time and some money

Probably just a loose battery cable lol
But seriously I've seen people sell things with just a loose wire or something simple. I'd offer him $100 bucks

I'll bet that's it!
Really, its the sitting for 12 years that bothers me. What are the chances the engine is stuck?

pull the rope starter and find out.

On my old Polaris ATVs (which have been great reliable machines) that have electronic displays you have to have some juice in the battery to pull start. Seems odd but that's what I've found.

I might have eventually thought of that.
Actually I haven't had a chance to get my hands on it yet. I'm betting it still has 12 year old gas in it too, which I'll check.