What Is Considered High Mileage for an ATV?


I’ve been interested in getting a used ATV and was wondering what’s considered high mileage for an ATV. I asked around a bunch of guys who’ve owned and own ATVs and here’s what I found.

As a general rule, 300,000 miles (480,000 km) is considered high mileage for an ATV. It is at around this time that an ATV is near the end of its life. However, an ATV can easily last for double that if it is looked after. For example, it is regularly serviced.

Many ATVs will have a digital display that also counts the hours an ATV has been used. The hours are used to determine the average speed that an ATV went. I’ll explain more about that below as well as, how many hours is a lot for an ATV, what low mileage is, and whether ATVs hold their value.

Dad and Son on ATV

Is 200 hours a lot for an ATV?

Having heard a few stories about how dangerous ATVs are, and rode on the back of one on my uncle’s dairy farm, I was interested in how many hours is a lot for a used ATV. Having heard back from lots of guys that own ATVs here’s what I found:

On an ATV 200 hours is not much at all. 200 hours on an ATV is equivalent to 3% of the life of an ATV. On average, this is about 4 months of riding every day. With the assumption that the ATV ran for 2 hours a day, which would account for typical use on a large property or to do a recreational activity.

An ATV will last for at least 10 to 20 years, depending on how well it is maintained. If you are buying a used ATV, 200 hours is very low and you can expect the price to be quite similar to buying one brand new.

For practical purposes, it’s safe to assume that the mileage on an ATV is very similar to that of a car. And what you expect from your car in regards to repairs is very similar to a car.

The total hours an ATV will do on average is 7,000 to 14,000 hours. And as you can see 200 hours is only a tiny percentage. Therefore, the ATV is very new or hasn’t been used much at all.

What is considered low mileage on an ATV?

Looking at the market for used ATVs, and trying to get a value for a current ATV, one good metric to use is the mileage. So, how many miles is considered low or high on an ATV?

On average, 75,000 miles (120,000 km) is considered low mileage on an ATV. This number is about 25% of the total miles that an ATV will do in its lifespan. Some ATVs will also display their hours, which is used to calculate the average speed the ATV traveled.

An ATV will typically last 300,000 miles (480,000 km) but they can keep running for 600,000 miles (1,000,000 km). This is similar to the highest mileage I’ve ever heard of for a car. But, that would only happen if the person really looked after their ATV, serviced it regularly, and didn’t beat it up.

Atv riders speed race to journey

What is high mileage for a quad bike?

Quad bikes are excellent for hauling, recreation, and hunting. But, what’s considered high mileage for a quad bike?

High mileage for a quad bike is 300,000 miles (480,000 km). This is around 10 years of life for a quad bike and is on average how long a typical quad bike will last. However, if a quad bike is well maintained a quad bike can easily last twice as long.

Interestingly, a quad bike is another word for an ATV. Therefore, an ATV and a quad bike are the exact same thing. Therefore, low mileage for a quad bike is also around 75,000 miles (120,000 km).

Used quad bikes that are in the low mileage range will be more expensive than used quad bikes with more miles for the most part. However, some models tend to keep their value because they are perceived as being very reliable and lasting a long time.

For example, some ATV makes or models are considered to be very reliable, replacement parts are easy to get, and the cost to repair them is very low.

What is the average lifespan of an ATV?

If I just keep an ATV and use it to do errands around the property how long would a brand new one last….

On average an ATV will last for 10 to 20 years depending on how well it’s looked after. If it’s regularly serviced and the gears are used correctly, and gently it will last around 20 years. But, if you go over jumps, do skids, and sharp turns it will cause more wear and tear and it will only last 10 years.

How average speed effects lifespan

An interesting thing about an ATV is that some models will display hours. With the hours you can calculate the average speed that the ATV went by taking how many miles it did and dividing it by the number of hours.

An ATV on average can go a maximum speed of 80 miles/h (120 km/h). Therefore, when you calculate the average speed you can see how fast the person rode it. If the average speed is lower, say around 10 miles to 20 miles an hour (15 to 30 km/h), then the person drove it very slowly. And there’s less likely to be as much wear and tear on the ATV.

However, on the other hand, if the average speed is quite high the person may have ridden it harder and there’s a chance it will have more wear and tear and not last as long.

Boy riding an ATV

Best engine size

How fast it goes depends on the cc size of the engine. Modern top of the line ATVs from brands like Honda sells for roughly $10,000 on the high end. They sell two separate types of ATVs. Work and Utility ATVs and sport ATVs.

The highest-end model in the Work and Utility ATV category has a 675 cc engine. However, most beginners should start on a smaller-sized cc engine. If you’re a really big guy, say over 6’3 and 200 pounds then some people have recommended getting a 400 cc ATV as a beginner.

But, others have said 400 cc is far too powerful for a newbie. Therefore, I would recommend going for an engine that is the smallest possible until you’re really comfortable. And there’s no rush so I would get a 150 cc if I hadn’t ridden an ATV before. Then upgrade to a bigger size once you get comfortable.

Well, that about sums up everything you need to know about what’s considered high mileage for an ATV.

Rob

I’m Rob, the owner of RX Riders Place. My family and I have a long history of riding dirt bikes and ATVs and want to share what we have learned.

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