Justifying a New Sled Purchase

[mathrulz]

After giving some consideration to a new sled purchase, I'm struggling to see how many are justifying their purchases at the current prices over the past few years... Just thought I'd share my viewpoint here and see what some thoughts are. Obviously everyone has different reasons and uses for their snowmobile, so it's different for everyone, but for those that almost exclusively purchase a mountain sled and use it as such, the cost and wide availability of rental snowmobiles seems more than compelling from a pure numbers standpoint I think:

Average cost of a new, stock, mountain snowmobile (roughly) - $16,000

Average cost to rent the same snowmobile per day (roughly) - $500

Days of renting to equal the cost of ownership - 32

Average miles per day (roughly) - 60 miles

Mileage after 32 days of riding - 1920 miles (about 3000kms)


Are most riders getting significantly more than ~30 solid days on their sleds to justify the large up front payment (or financing)? I'm sure some who ride every day definitely are, but I'd bet there are a lot who are under this. Even if you don't buy a new sled every year, much over 3000kms, even after a few years, and there's usually some repairs and more serious maintenance that one starts to look at (again, not for every sled maybe, but in general).

It is nice to have your own ride to use when and where you want (freedom), for sure, but with renting there's little worry of theft, vandalism, storage, transportation, etc... Riding gear and insurance would mostly apply either way, so really it's just justifying the up front expense versus the ongoing, as needed rental costs in my opinion. I've never rented a sled before myself, but I think I'll be giving a few places a try for next season personally. Perhaps there will be some increased demand in this area and there'll be some custom mod sleds to try out as rentals some places even!

 

[Eldereldo]

If you only ride a few weekends a year, I can see renting, then you will always be riding the latest sleds, but if you go out every weekend you could easily equal the rental cost in a year or two and have nothing to show for it vs a purchased sled that it is still worth half the new price.

 

[chris79]

IMO Renting makes no sense if your riding every week. Then you break something and your fixing a sled you don't own. Cant customize it to your own preference either.


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[niner]

Seen some pretty good rip off jobs from rental guys. You put a little scratch in it and your buying body panels on your MasterCard. Then they rent it out again and the next guy puts a scratch and he pays for the same panel. Seen it happen personally and buddy ended up paying close to $2000 for the weekend.

 

[mathrulz]

Those who can find the time to ride every week, for sure, owning makes more sense hands down. Market value for used sleds is quite strong so there is the resale value, true. The added cost of transporting the sleds back and forth, depending on where you live, can add up quickly too though.

Good point Niner - definitely need to be careful about who you rent from. As with most businesses, those who value their customers and don't try to gouge them for everything all the time will usually rise to the top over time.

 

[rightsideup]

Those who can find the time to ride every week, for sure, owning makes more sense hands down. Market value for used sleds is quite strong so there is the resale value, true. The added cost of transporting the sleds back and forth, depending on where you live, can add up quickly too though.

Good point Niner - definitely need to be careful about who you rent from. As with most businesses, those who value their customers and don't try to gouge them for everything all the time will usually rise to the top over time.

Yes it is always good to look over the sled you are renting and point out any damage or even scuffs on the body panels to the owner or and take your own time stamped pictures if there is damage to protect yourself from paying for someone else's abuse. I have only rented 4 times and have not got burned twice I rented so I could make a choice on my next sled purchase.
..

 

[tmo1620]

Just because you buy a mountain sled doesnt mean you always ride it in the mtns, i ride 15-20 times a year at home as well, try renting a mountain sled in whitecourt and getting the latest greatest, renting a sled is useless unless you only do one trip to the hills a year or every two years and thats all the riding you do then ya rent but other than that renting is a scam, buddy that rides with us once a year always rents and the last three years his rental has broke down over half our rides and we ended up towing him out and ruining our day


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[Absledder]

personally I've tried to rent before, and I've never been able to find a place (in the areas I ride in northern BC) that rents decent sleds. Not too many places rent 800cc mountain sleds and I cant really blame them considering how stupid some people can be.

 

[neilsleder]

And renting can be a hassle you are on the clock at the end of the day. If you don't have the sleds back at a certain time the extras add up fast. Imagine it being an epic powder day riding with good friends and you having to shut down early to return your sled. You won't be the popular one that day lol.


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[fidorama]

I should hope I get 30 days use out of my sled!.. maybe not all in 1 year but? I understand your point, i'm guessing you live in the city, and if I had to rent a sled that would waist me a few hour of prime time out of my life, to get the thing and get on my way. there is benefit of ownership. you have it there, ready to go any moment without the need to plan ahead. I could see if I lived in the city, had no place to store or ride of my own, rental might be the way to go, but for now I don't

 

[Bnorth]

3000km for me is two seasons. So I can take a $16k hit every two seasons for renting or I can buy and ride the same 3000km then sell it for $12k. That's a quarter of the price for the same mileage.

 

[ferniesnow]

3000km for me is two seasons. So I can take a $16k hit every two seasons for renting or I can buy and ride the same 3000km then sell it for $12k. That's a quarter of the price for the same mileage.

Let me know where you sell your sleds........................$12,000 for a two year old sled??????

 

[fidorama]

Let me know where you sell your sleds........................$12,000 for a two year old sled??????

with 3000km!

 

[Bnorth]

Let me know where you sell your sleds........................$12,000 for a two year old sled??????

with 3000km!

Ok $10k lol even for $6k it still makes sense over renting.

 

[maxwell]

Not sure where you ride but some of these rental joints are busy busy. If your buddies decide On a whim they want to go riding this weekend on a Thursday evening well good luck to you finding a sled. Also the tile constraints like mentioned and most importantly the repairs. If you tweak the tunnel on a rental sled it's going to cost you 5000+$ and they aren't going to let you take it home and fix it yourself like you could with your own machine. Renting is for people that aren't sure if they want to get into the sport or people that break down and have no choice. Just my opinion I don't care how the numbers crunch out its not worth the pain in the a$$

 

[snopro]

To me there is nothing like the feeling of having your own vehicle or toy to customize the way you want. Granted not everyone can afford to do this but for me even 800 kms on my sled justify's me owning my own ride. Maybe not financially a smart move but as long as I can afford it I will keep on doing it.

 

[Rhodesie]

nothing finer than the smell of a new snowmobile, except maybe for pussy! (quote from Arnie "christine")

 

[femme.fatale.]

I think everyone has mostly covered what I was going to say. I think that owning your own has it's perks
1. You're paying towards something - not just being able to ride, you come out with something tangible at the end.
2. It's (in theory) always ready to go when you want to or need to use it.
3. You get to pick and choose what goes on, or off it, parts/decals/accessories wise.
4. Insurance is your friend in the event of a collision. If you had to pay cash to repair a rental, you're way in the ditch.
5. It's yours. You get to polish it and drool on it whenever you want!
6. You know what it's been through and where it's been. That is invaluable. IMO

 

[REV2XHEART]

I owned a sled for years and years road every weekend at least once maybe twice put tons of miles on. Then when I moved and got a job away from the mountains my riding decreased immensely. I ended up going about 4 or 5 years without a sled but I would rent. I bought a sled for this year and I got out once due to various reasons. Am I wishing I had waited a year? You bet but no one saw the winter we had coming.

Since I have not been able to ride much as far as the best choice when it comes to money is to obviously rent but I hated doing that. I thought it would be great and I would try out a bunch of different sleds so I could test them all and then buy accordingly.

I was so paranoid about damaging the sled I rented that I stopped having fun really. I stopped trying things I stopped being the first guy to break trail, ect.

I just didn't like the feeling of filling out that paperwork for the rental. I am not one to buy a new sled every year and I don't modify mine like crazy but while 16K is a lot of money for a sled I felt even if I only rented 5 times a season I was throwing money away.

Not spending that 16K or whatever you pay for a new or used sled for me took a lot of the fun out of sledding. I never got used to the sleds and actually I think I am a much poorer rider in skill than I was years ago.

 

[Bogger]

I think everyone has mostly covered what I was going to say. I think that owning your own has it's perks
1. You're paying towards something - not just being able to ride, you come out with something tangible at the end.
2. It's (in theory) always ready to go when you want to or need to use it.
3. You get to pick and choose what goes on, or off it, parts/decals/accessories wise.
4. Insurance is your friend in the event of a collision. If you had to pay cash to repair a rental, you're way in the ditch.
5. It's yours. You get to polish it and drool on it whenever you want!
6. You know what it's been through and where it's been. That is invaluable. IMO

So what your saying is a sled is the complete opposite of a woman..... and in the end the sled is cheaper.....