Greetings from (still) sunny Arizona!

[roaddawg]

Well my princess bride decided she wanted us to purchase a side by side with 4 seats.  We previously had a Polaris RZR 900 2 seater that we sold a few years ago.  So, after a lot of research, going to different dealers and trying out different brands (including cheap chinese (Hisun / CFMoto/Mobissimo) and even looking at a Roxor, I decided I preferred the Defender over any of the others.  It met the requirements we wanted and felt the most comfortable.  We ended up comparing a Polaris Texas edition to the Can Am Lonestar and decided on the Lonestar.

So, after that decision was made we ended up signing on a 2022 Lonestar that we will pickup on Saturday.  It wasn't the easiest deal as I discovered so much has changed since our last UTV purchase in 2012.

1.  I was surprised at the lack of availability of new and used machines.  In several instances, owners were asking for the same or more money for a used machine with little to no additional accessories.  I would have gladly picked up a machine a few years old had the price been reasonable. 

2.  Price - wow, that has certainly increased since my last purchase.  A recreational "toy" costs as much and in some cases more, than a new vehicle

3.  Price again -  except on accessories.  Wow, talk about inflated prices.  The dealership is asking thousands for windshields or doors or a host of other things.  I'm thinking of how I thought outfitting my Jeep Wrangler was, well now that doesn't seem so bad.

4.  Dealership.  Haggling over prices and trying to get the best deal is always a struggle.  Especially when supplies are limited.  But the dealer was trying to convince me that $700 for a "street legal" kit (horn, rearview mirror and license plate illumination) was normal.  Of course they originally attempted to imply it was a freebie add-on.  When I asked about a kit the salesman stated "Oh, all our atv's and UTV's already have them installed.  We just put them on all the vehicles, whether they are registered for road use or not".  Cool I though, until I was going line item by line item for what I was being charged for.  When I saw $700 (parts and labor I was told) I explained that was completely unacceptable.  The response was that these were items added by the parts department and there was nothing sales could do.  Informing them I was sorry for wasting their time if they were insistent on keeping them on, the whole, "let me talk to my manager and the parts manager" came out and ultimately the kit was reduced to $100 which I felt was more acceptable.

But, finally got through everything and looking forward to having some fun with it!

[supersix]

Welcome to the Defender family!  Be sure to post some pics up when you take delivery!