Don, Everything that Mark said is 100% spot on…couldn’t have said it better myself. As he said, if you haven’t ever ridden one, see if you can take a little trip with a tour company…to see if it’s for you? You’ll know it if you like/love it-the bug bites hard if it’s something you like. But if you’ve never ridden one, I’d go try it before investing any money.
It’s a great sport/hobby, but the machines are very powerful (even the lower more moderately powered ones aren’t slugs) and can get away from anybody, but especially so for inexperienced riders in an instant. And the high/ultra performance sleds are absolute rockets on the snow, so you want to learn and gain experience safely and enjoyably. As Mark said, the 600 ACE non turbo models by Ski Doo are fabulous to learn on, but the other brands(Polaris and Arctic Cat) have similarly powered/similar class sleds like that too. Any other questions, just ask.