Which Pro to buy, 2012 or 2015 TD? Both low milers...

[sledhed]

Which Pro to buy, 2012 or 2015? UPDATE: Buying 2015, what to look for?

UPDATE - Buying the 2015, what to look for inspecting for damage? See last post for my list.
UPDATE 2 - Thanks everyone, sled is in the trailer... just don't tell my riding buddies...

Been thinking of buying a Pro for a while, and with sled prices what they are right now, very tempted to jump on one. Prefer 155 and all the sleds here are 155.

Here is my dilemma, and I probably have to jump fast on either one, and either one is a 200+ mile drive to meet sellers:

Sled one:
- 2012 Pro-ride RMK (with the extra cooler which I prefer). 250 mile "wife sled" in very clean condition, with Pro walker-Evans shocks all around (or at least in front, hard to tell on skid shocks). $5000

Sled two:
- 2015 Pro, appears to be Terrain Dominator package with orange color scheme and skid, walker evans clicker shocks, handlebar bag, tunnel bag, 600 miles. $7500

Which is the better deal in your opinion, and more importantly why?

Complicate it with sled three, which is 2012 Pro: SLP Pipe, Power Commander 5, RTEK head and pistons (freshly installed) 30 miles, 1050 miles on chassis, Better Boards, Exit shocks up front, Polaris Lightweight seat, Carls cycle clutch kit. Believe I could get it for $5000 as well.

Lots of Pro-ride chassis sleds out there for $4500 with 1500 to 3000+ miles on them, even with "rebuilt" motors, don't really see a reason to go there unless they were completely new crate motors...

 

[cerhai]

I would look for a 13+ Pro, 11 12 motors were problematic

 

[sledhed]

I would look for a 13+ Pro, 11 12 motors were problematic

Yeah, I kind of gathered that over the years on snowest, I also heard 2012 was a transition year where Polaris changed crank suppliers mid production or something? Maybe it was the cylinder skirt thickness. Unless it totally grenades I don't mind throwing a top end at something or putting a fix kit in it to get the durability up, if that would do it... definitely steering away from a 2011 unless it was so cheap I could part it out if it blew.

 

[Indy_500]

If the 15 was snow checked it should have a year of warranty remaining. I'd be jumping on that one, resale will be much better too out of the 3.

 

[sledhed]

If the 15 was snow checked it should have a year of warranty remaining. I'd be jumping on that one, resale will be much better too out of the 3.

Good point on warranty, trying to get a phone number so I can call the seller, a friend has it advertised for him... resale value on the 2012 in a couple years might be down around $3500-$4K if present patterns hold (looking at low mileage Dragons of 2010 vintage although that might not be the best comparison unless you count ones with the "fix kit" on them)... whereas the 2015 in a couple years would probably be around $6K based on what low mileage 2013s are selling for now. (Of course these are both based on me not stacking up a lot of miles, probably 600 to 800 a season at this point).

So estimating about $1500 depreciation over a 2 year period for either sled... maybe a little less depreciation on the 2012 because of its age it has already depreciated quite a bit (but it is starting out with really low miles for that year of sled). Less money invested in the 2012 initially for a sled with approx the same miles, but the drawback of the 2012 motor possible issues.

Any way to really compare the failure rate of the 2012 motors, vs. the 2013 and newer? I am seeing a number of 2013s advertised with rebuilt engines or top ends too, but not 2014 or newer in general.

 

[89sandman]

The motor, boards and shocks on the 15 are worth the extra cash.

 

[BILTIT]

15, as mentioned the boards, motor (better fuel mapping and more reliable), and shocks are worth it if you don't want to tinker. I upgraded to the newer boards on my 11 and they rock.

If you like to tinker, go with an older 11-12 with blown motor and build it how you like. Used parts of the 13-15's are upgrades and can be found pretty cheap.

 

[skibreeze]

15 without a doubt. Cylinder skirts, Wiring harness, boards, and seat. The old one looks really lame.

 

[The Bob]

Rarely see a skirt issue on the 13+, unless its a big bore (I just broke a skirt off a 870 13+).

If you decide to do the 12, watch for a 13+ cylinder and have the cases machined to a much tighter tolerance than Polaris does for added skirt support when upgrading to the 13+. My extra engine for my 15 has 12 cases that have been fixed due to skirt breakage, with 13+ cylinder on it. I almost have to push the skirts into the cases.

 

[sledhed]

Thanks everyone. Meeting the guy to buy the 2015 tomorrow. He came down a little more on the price and I could not pass it up. It actually has 395 miles (less than originally thought). Warranty until Sept. 2017. After looking up specs and looking at the pictures I am sure it is not the terrain dominator package (no extreme front bumper plus the 155 TD was not an orange color combo but red from what I find), but it does have the clicker shocks up front, has all the bags... don't really care for the orange but I am sure it will grow on me.

Definitely a buyers market out there, which explains why my 860 is not selling, yet.

 

[sledheader]

I saw that for sale on facebook. That looked like a pretty good deal to me. Yeah that is a snowcheck model but not the TD. I think you did good!

 

[sledhed]

I saw that for sale on facebook. That looked like a pretty good deal to me. Yeah that is a snowcheck model but not the TD. I think you did good!

It turned into a no-brainer when my best-in-the-world wife said yes too... the other sled was on facebook too, and 5K for a 2012 with that few miles normally would have been a great deal too (especially compared to anything in MT on craigslist right now, or even in SE Idaho on KSL classifieds, 5K won't get you that low miles on anything) but this one trumps that one. I have seen a few 2015 Pros for close to that price, like in Billings there is a low mile Pro (non snowcheck) for 7600, one in Jackson WY area for about the same, but no clickers, and this guy was willing to move a little on his price too.

Even though the Axys sounds like a great sled, the electronic oil pump and exhaust valves screams of future problems to me anyway. Maybe my opinion will change in a couple years.

 

[sledhed]

NOW - What to look for to make sure it is GOOD...

So now what to look for on the sled to make sure there is no hidden or less-than-obvious damage...

Here is my list:
- Check tunnel up near bulkhead to make sure there are no kinks or wrinkles
- Visual check the tunnel to make sure it is not tweaked or bent in any way
- Check for missing lugs
- Check rails to make sure they are straight
- Check the A-Arms for glue separation, damage etc.

Anything else major or catastrophic to look for? It is still under warranty as far as engine / drive train issues goes but of course I will start it and run it a bit.

 

[GreenState]

If it hasn't been done, replace the lower QD bolt with an ARP one.

It's $5 and will save you from an expensive day ending tow out.

 

[Beavis]

X2 on the QD bolt. ^^^ There is a recall on that. I found out the hard way while on a 6hr road trip from home. Luckily it wasn't a bad tow out and the local dealer worked me in so I didn't have to spend time wrenching. I was picking up my sled while another guy was dropping off for the same bolt break.

With that said, I think you did good on the 2015. I like mine much better than my '11 and '12. I'll probably pick up an Axys next year. I love the Poo chassis but won't buy 1st year sleds any more and won't ride them without warranty.

 

[Reg2view]

FWIW, if everything checked out, you likely got a great deal on a snowcheck Pro. Price was north of 11k at snowcheck with the warranty. Congrats.

 

[sledhed]

Thanks everyone. Got the 2015 for $7000, it does have a couple bites out of a couple lugs on the track, and a pretty decent ding in the bottom of the bulkhead, but nothing fatal / crinkled (checked tunnel thoroughly especially up by footwells). Some other cosmetic things but they are minor, heck if it as perfect I would feel worse when I put a few scratches in it here and there. One of the reasons I generally don't want to buy a brand new sled, I get too picky about it, just a character flaw I guess. That and the depreciation.