I live in NJ and there are very few dealers around here for any buggies. I am looking for one for my son and I to enjoy together. I have been looking and looking online trying to decide which one to buy. There is a Carter dealer about an hr and 15 minutes from my house so I went today to check them out. I looked at the 150 they had for 3499 and the 300. I drove in both of them and liked the 300 better but it is rather expensive.

These are the only buggies I saw in person. I have been leaning towards the Joyner 250, but I am completely new to this and dont know which way to go.

Any advice would help

Thanks
Jared[/quote]

Well I have to say that I am really happy with my Joyner. I lurked here for a long time reading everything I could and finally decided on my Joyner 250. I have found it easy to get aftermarket parts from Dealers here on BN as well. I have never ridden the other brand so I have no opinion either way.

One big vote for Joyner 250

The Carter has more occupant room and a more powerful engine. The Joyner has better suspension and a dual range transmission. Either one will make you happy - You need to decide which qualities will make you happier.

The only problem I have is that I will have to buy the Joyner or anything but the Carter without seeing it.

This is why I am asking advice here

contact Tom at kid n me motorsports at

http://www.kidnmekarts.com/KNM%20Home%20Page.html

not only is he a great guy he is also the MBRA president and he also sells joyners

be sure to tell him how you heard about them
that's all for now Tigger

i love my joyner yes ts on 06 but same engine and that kinda of stuff seams to be real strong although i have had a couple of thing go wrong its nothing campard to what some of the guys on here go through it is a very fun buggy and i would suggest it to any one

now there is a guy on here (firebird81) he has a carter bros 300 he loves it he has said that it has tons of torque now joyner's have that kind of torque too all you have to do is stop put it in low gear and let her rip again

so another vote for joyner here

if you end up deciding joyner contact glade(doonrunr) he can ship you one and he is an awesome guy

I love my Joyner too In low range I can literally drawl over things.

What do you want out of your buggy? The Carter is lighter and considerably more powerful than the Joyner. Joyner has definitely gotten much more popular than anything else on these boards over the past few months. In fact, it's kinda funny to see, considering when I first came around here Blade and Dazon were the preferred brands. Of course, the fact a Joyner looks like a sandrail doesn't hurt it's popularity.

I've been in both and, at 6 foot tall, I feel cramped in the joyner, while the Carter gives plenty of room. The Carter DOES have those struts that have a tendency to break if you jump it, while the Joyner has a better-designed long-travel style suspension. It sounds like you would be ordering the Joyner, but buying the Carter locally. If that's the case, I highly recommend going with the Carter. The most important thing that sets these two brands apart from the others is support and service and you're going to lose much of that edge if you don't have a local service center for your buggy.

Having a local dealer is always a huge plus. My local dealer is awsome and has worked very well with me to get warranty parts, replacement parts and upgrades. I have seen and drove both karts. I liked both but the Joyner dealer is over 2 hrs away and I was not ready to make that drive to get part or BS about my machine. You can get almost anything you need online but I like to deal with people face to face if I have a choice. I think the biggest advantage to the Joyner is the suspenion but I love the power from the Carter. I only wish the 300 didn't have an open rear diff. I think that is all I can say bad about them.

How close are you to Monroe, NJ? There is a Hammerhead dealer there - Menintools.com. You may want to consider the HH250SS. It's a good buggy. It does not have the nice suspension like the Joyner, but it weighs quite a bit less and is about 6" more narrow, which can be a bonus for trail riding. It has the same motor/trans as the Joyner 250 and IRS. I've had mine for about a year and it has been very reliable.