Bargain Buy to Badass Ride: The Story of Cailey Taylor’s Polaris XP *kinda Build

The Cailey Taylor Polaris build was very unique, to say the least. The build started with a phone call from her father, Frank Taylor, asking me to run down to the local auction house and take a trailer because Cailey bought a UTV at an auction, sight unseen. Before we go any further, I should tell everyone that Frank owns a car dealership and is my best buddy. He is no stranger to buying vehicles sight unseen, and to be honest, I kind of do the same thing. To most, buying a used off-road UTV from an auction sounds insane, but in reality, it is pretty common out here in Arizona. I hooked up to our 30-foot Aluma trailer and hit the road, and when I arrived and saw the Polaris Cailey bought, I was pumped. I should also tell you that Cailey buys at auction for her father’s dealership, and she is pretty darn good at it. I called her immediately and told her she scored a badass little UTV. The entire Taylor family is heavy into prerunner trucks and UTVs, and about an hour later, I got a call from her older brother, Evan, who dug up some old photos from the internet and thought he knew who built the UTV and raced it. Once he rattled off the name, I jumped up on the tire, looked at the roof, and found an old burned-in logo. Evan was right—the Polaris was built and raced by Jagged X. We never figured out how it ended up at an auction, but we can probably assume it was traded in at a car dealership from someone who purchased it years prior from Jagged X. Honestly, we were all stoked, and it made the buy that much cooler.

I know, I know. Most of us would be kind of bummed buying an old desert race UTV, driven hard and beaten on, then sold down the road to the next guy or gal to be abused some more. News flash: these were built, designed, and engineered to be beaten on, and this one already had some very tasteful modifications and parts. I cannot speak for everyone when I say this, but most race car teams take better care of their UTVs than most of the general public. Racing is very expensive, and when you add up entry fees, travel, food, hotels, missing work, and then trying to race an unprepped UTV, it kind of defeats the whole point of racing. So, to be totally blunt: "Never be afraid to purchase a used race UTV." The same would apply to a used, unraced UTV. Just like racers, we enthusiasts have learned how to maintain our UTVs, and all those same things mentioned above apply to our lives when we head out to the desert, dunes, or mud event. I was pumped on what Cailey bought. We had a solid chassis, some great parts, and I'm pretty sure the Polaris had a new engine or top end, and it most definitely had a new, larger turbo with all the good stuff. This Polaris ripped. Cailey scored, but the Polaris had a few cosmetic flaws, and to be honest, it was not the color she wanted. To be fair, it had some dated parts on it and was in need of a makeover. The UTV was really ugly and had some worn parts on it. Luckily for Cailey, she knows me, and our families are kind of like family. I think she played me and knew exactly what would happen next.

You guessed it: I was tasked with building her dream UTV on a tight budget, and that's why Cailey Taylor bought a used UTV from the auction. She knew whatever she bought would be customized and built with her vision. She saved a lot of cash by not buying the newest, fastest, current UTV on the market. I mean, she saved some serious bread. A total of $11,000 bought her a little beast and left her with a good chunk to spend updating and making it her own.

That's exactly what we did. I tore that UTV apart and started replacing simple items like uniballs, FK rod ends, and worn-out misalignment spacers. I never pulled the drivetrain or diffs or even touched them. New or used, all those items are meant to be serviced, so that's what we did first. The next big items were the seats and the colors for Cailey, but for me, it was the cage and the rear bumper. It didn't look so good, and I had a few ideas to save her some cash that were simple and had a huge impact. Let's cut the rear downtube off, cap it at the cab, and give it that current race UTV look. We ordered up Cailey’s custom pink PRP seats, and now we know the color to play with. We went with black on the body, and the wheels got new powder coat to match. I should mention the forged beadlocks with a welded ring on the inside, so tires cannot unbead ever. Those came on the Polaris at the auction, and now they looked like a million bucks. Cailey saved so much money that she wanted to keep updating her Polaris. So, we added KC Hilites to the cage, a clamp-in windshield, a new rear bumper, a steering wheel, and a few more things she really wanted, like 5150 whips, new GBC tires, and a few belts.

Cailey had a vision, and I got to be her hands, and the end result turned out awesome. I can tell you Cailey drove the wheels off the Polaris in Silver Lake Dunes all season long with zero issues. I know her father, Frank, beat on it here in Arizona out on some trails with me. I know I drove it pretty hard before I handed it over to them. I can also tell you that it now belongs to another woman who I had the pleasure of meeting when she picked it up. The owner purchased it to honor her father, who loved the outdoors and off-road. I know she is still enjoying it, and as far as I know, she has had no issues.

Here is the takeaway from this story: Do not be afraid to purchase a used UTV; in fact, embrace the fact that you're saving money. Money you will eventually spend repairing or building a new one. We all change many things on our UTVs. It's just a matter of time, and most used UTVs have some already badass parts on them and only need a little help making them your own. Not everyone wants to spend $45,000 on a stock off-road UTV and feels comfortable doing so. Not all of us can just go finance a brand new unit, but spending one-third of that doesn't seem foolish to get your feet wet. It's a great option to look into if you're thinking of getting a UTV or if you are thinking of selling your UTV and wanting a different model.

Cailey Taylor bought an older model—2016, to be exact—Polaris Turbo. I'm pretty sure that UTV started out as a 64-inch model and was built into a 72-inch model. The dash was updated to Ride Command prior to it selling at auction. It had a good chassis and a lot of good parts on it. It was just dated and again needed some modifications. All in all, I think she was in it for $18,000, and it sold for $18,000 when she sold it. That doesn't happen often—or does it ever happen? Hmm, maybe she is on to something and used her money well, buying the right parts. Oh, it was faster than our Polaris Pro R, and we only changed the oil in Cailey’s Polaris Turbo. It's amazing how well these newer models are, but let's not forget where they came from because, in every motorsport, sometimes the old ones can kick a new one’s ass and do it on the cheap.

Check out the build gallery for more photos and parts used.

Bargain Buy To Badass Ride: The Story Of Cailey Taylor’s Polaris XP *Kinda Build