buying a NEW ATV/QUAD in the DR - experiences

2020

Active member
Apr 10, 2012
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166
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Las Terrenas
Does anyone out there have a recent experience buying a NEW ATV/QUAD in the Dominican Republic?
(not a motorcycle)

Though we live in Las Terrenas, I had the following questions:

* Normally, what type of discount typically is offered on a $8000 - $10,000 new quad if it's in stock?
* Are test drives out of the question? I asked for one in the local ATV dealer in LT and they looked at me as if I was on drugs.
* Is it worthwhile to take a journey to Santo Domingo considering the toll road plus shipping the quad back up to LT?
* If I buy a quad in a different city, will the local dealer fix it under warranty assuming they carry the same brand?
* Has anyone bought a new quad in the DR recently and liked it? What brand & model was it?
* I noticed that many of the new quads in LT offered for sale are indeed brand new but 1-3 years old in the manufacturing date. Why?
 

melphis

Living my Dream
Apr 18, 2013
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Stay away from the Chinese and Korean stuff. Its junk. Warranty on an off road ATV is something that will probably never happen here. I could barely get it in Canada on a new RZR.

As far as the VINs being 1 or 2 years old the manufacturers will often ship slow moving inventory here at a reduced price to the distributor but those savings are not passed on to the consumer.
 

Stefan1983

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Nov 6, 2013
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Don't buy a new one. Now that low season is here you will find lots of used quads for great prices. Look in the local ads / on the street. Buy preferably from a gringo, take a mecanic if you don't know what to look for. Test drive obvious! Go for a Yamaha Grizzly or Suzuki Kingquad.
 

chic

Silver
Nov 20, 2013
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u will always do better w/ reco brands jap stuff...the china brands are not really up to quality standards ....
as you other questions....most dont service nothing
this is d.r.
 

Seamonkey

Bronze
Oct 6, 2009
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Stay away from the Chinese and Korean stuff. Its junk. Warranty on an off road ATV is something that will probably never happen here. I could barely get it in Canada on a new RZR.

As far as the VINs being 1 or 2 years old the manufacturers will often ship slow moving inventory here at a reduced price to the distributor but those savings are not passed on to the consumer.

Chinese has come a long way in the last 10 years. Most of the pasolas you see here are from China. The Cesture ride Chinese ATVs. I have 4 Chinese ATVs and am very happy with them. I never would have bought them 5 years ago, but now they are in the game. I don't think you can compare the power to a Yamaha or Polaris though.....but the price is also more than half. If in LT, he will riding the streets anyway.
 

rogerramjet1

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Sep 10, 2015
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Chinese has come a long way in the last 10 years. Most of the pasolas you see here are from China. The Cesture ride Chinese ATVs. I have 4 Chinese ATVs and am very happy with them. I never would have bought them 5 years ago, but now they are in the game. I don't think you can compare the power to a Yamaha or Polaris though.....but the price is also more than half. If in LT, he will riding the streets anyway.

what sort of money are we talking about to buy chinese atv versus a better quality atv
 

DRDreamer72

Member
Nov 17, 2014
204
7
18
We bought a new one last year in LT. The cost of getting one from SD outweighed the savings we could make plus it was just less hassle.
At the time we knew people with the Chinese ones and they were not reliable and didn't seem to like the rain, so in the end went for Suzuki.

We bought from the place on the main street, between super pola and lindo. Chose the one we wanted, Paid by bank transfer and had them sort insurance, all done in a few hours.

One thing you must do is get the engine management unit moved. Mine originally sat under the seat and people just lift the seat and take them. That's $500+ gone. I got the shop to move it under the bodywork so you can't reach it without taking the bike apart ;-)
That place also sells spare parts (filters etc) and accessories (lights, mirrors etc).

IMHO, if you buy second hand from the many places that rent, it's going to have been hammered. Won't have been run in and will have been driven hard.

Good luck,
Roy
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
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I bought a new Loncin ATV. Around the $3K USD mark. My reasoning, I can buy 3 of these for the price of a Japanese name brand, drive them hard, not worry too much about banging them up, parts are available and if the whole atv is carted away in the middle of the night it's only $3K instead of $10K.
 

2020

Active member
Apr 10, 2012
529
166
43
Las Terrenas
"engine management unit" ?

We bought a new one last year in LT. The cost of getting one from SD outweighed the savings we could make plus it was just less hassle.
At the time we knew people with the Chinese ones and they were not reliable and didn't seem to like the rain, so in the end went for Suzuki.

We bought from the place on the main street, between super pola and lindo. Chose the one we wanted, Paid by bank transfer and had them sort insurance, all done in a few hours.

One thing you must do is get the engine management unit moved. Mine originally sat under the seat and people just lift the seat and take them. That's $500+ gone. I got the shop to move it under the bodywork so you can't reach it without taking the bike apart ;-)
That place also sells spare parts (filters etc) and accessories (lights, mirrors etc).

IMHO, if you buy second hand from the many places that rent, it's going to have been hammered. Won't have been run in and will have been driven hard.

Good luck,
Roy

The "engine management unit" do you mean the controller or ECM - electronic control module?
That is a great tip...but where exactly is it moved to?
How much did the place you bought it from charge you to do it?
 

2020

Active member
Apr 10, 2012
529
166
43
Las Terrenas
I bought a new Loncin ATV. Around the $3K USD mark. My reasoning, I can buy 3 of these for the price of a Japanese name brand, drive them hard, not worry too much about banging them up, parts are available and if the whole atv is carted away in the middle of the night it's only $3K instead of $10K.

Which model Loncin ATV was it?
For $3000.00 is that 2wd or 4wd?
 

2020

Active member
Apr 10, 2012
529
166
43
Las Terrenas
Were you able to get any type of discount when you bought it brand new?
Have you had any problems with it?
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
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The pre-sale maintenance checks that I have experienced here are pathetic. The tires were inflated to 30+ lbs and should have been no more than 5 lbs. The brake adjusts were as tight as they could be tightened so the brake cables needed to be released before the atv would even roll.

Take a screw driver and wrench and tighten everything up. no major issues. I keep it clean. At least hose it down after riding in the salty sand or thorough the mud and change the oil often. Lots of metal filings in my oil filter at the first oil change. Now I only need to clean the oil filter every 2nd oil change.

I plan on taking it to my mechanic for a once over underneath one of these days but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. Might be time to change the transmission oil.

It starts, is good on gas and has served me well bouncing around the campo. Now that I have said that, it will probably fall apart tomorrow. :)
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
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I bought a new Loncin ATV. Around the $3K USD mark. My reasoning, I can buy 3 of these for the price of a Japanese name brand, drive them hard, not worry too much about banging them up, parts are available and if the whole atv is carted away in the middle of the night it's only $3K instead of $10K.

Where did you buy it? I'm in the market for one and that matches my price point.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
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I bought mine at the moto dealer in Sosua Abejo on the left side of the street just before the iron bridge as you are heading towards the airport.

A new dealer just opened two doors further east than the El Choco restaurant as you head out of Sosua towards Cabarete.

The new place sells a mechanically identical ATV to mine called a Gato for the same price. Slight aesthetic differences.
 

DRDreamer72

Member
Nov 17, 2014
204
7
18
The "engine management unit" do you mean the controller or ECM - electronic control module?
That is a great tip...but where exactly is it moved to?
How much did the place you bought it from charge you to do it?

Yes, that's the ECM.
They wanted RD$500 for it and it seemed a bargain for the 30 mins it took to do it. The took off the main bodywork and placed it underneath the spot it was originally.
 

2020

Active member
Apr 10, 2012
529
166
43
Las Terrenas
We bought a new one last year in LT. The cost of getting one from SD outweighed the savings we could make plus it was just less hassle.
At the time we knew people with the Chinese ones and they were not reliable and didn't seem to like the rain, so in the end went for Suzuki.

We bought from the place on the main street, between super pola and lindo. Chose the one we wanted, Paid by bank transfer and had them sort insurance, all done in a few hours.

One thing you must do is get the engine management unit moved. Mine originally sat under the seat and people just lift the seat and take them. That's $500+ gone. I got the shop to move it under the bodywork so you can't reach it without taking the bike apart ;-)
That place also sells spare parts (filters etc) and accessories (lights, mirrors etc).

IMHO, if you buy second hand from the many places that rent, it's going to have been hammered. Won't have been run in and will have been driven hard.

Good luck,
Roy

Which year Suzuki model quad did you buy new in that Las Terrenas dealer? (manufacture date)
Which model was it?
What was the list price?
Were you able to haggle and get any price reduction?

Most of the new ones I saw were "new" but apparently a few years old yet untitled...(which I thought was odd)
 

DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
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Which year Suzuki model quad did you buy new in that Las Terrenas dealer? (manufacture date)
Which model was it?
What was the list price?
Were you able to haggle and get any price reduction?

Most of the new ones I saw were "new" but apparently a few years old yet untitled...(which I thought was odd)

Not really, the same thing happens here at moto and sport shops. It's not at all unusual to see a bike or ATV that's a few years old but still "new" at those stores.

That's because folk lust for the Bugatti, but have (used) Beetle budgets, lol.

They're in pristine shape, and fully covered by their warranties, so no worries.