I am looking to buy an atv for my wife. She currently has a Honda Rancher but she wants something with IRS, which I don't blame her. I am considering AC 400 4x4 Automatic VP for a couple of reasons: Price, IRS, Weight, 4X4. We have yet to test ride one. Can anyone provide some feedback on this atv. Pros, Cons, Reliability. Thanks in advance.

 

the 400 vp doesnt have irs its solid rear axle so the dealer told me if you want irs you need to buy the 400 4x4 auto or semi auto i know this because i just bought the 400 4x4 auto and was considering the vp until i saw that it didnt have the irs the 400 vp is full time 4x4 were the 400 auto is shift2-4 and the 400 auto has a front diff lock the vp doesnt also the 400 auto is fis not just irs the 400 auto is heavy and big and maybe overkill for your wife depending on how you guys ride the vp would more practical to me for my wife but yours is looking for irs everyones different as far as reilabilty asuming its the same as the 400auto its very reliable and there are people here that know alot more than me and thell help you out more good luck either way

 

i stand corrected the vp does have irs i just looked at my brochure sorry for the false info

 

Actually, according to arctic cat, the vp has ACT which is a semi-independant rear suspension. Basicaly a live axle in the back.

 

while shopping around 2 mo back i had an opportunity to look at this model[a non current 2005/new] at our local bass pro shop[gurnee,il], it was being sold for 4100 bucks, which was about 7-800 less than the full irs [i are a price shopper], . as it turned out i ended up buying an almost identical model in my 2005/noncurrent eiger[which, i think actually rides very comfortaby, so i wouldnt rule it out[the AC] from a ride quality standpoint], they were/are both manuals and they share the same engine. but all things considered i like the overall build quality of the ac,a little better[rear suspension while same conceptually,is a little beefier in the cat with a better[imo] trailing arm setup and probably would have purchased it having not found the deal on the suzuki[considerably less money/out of state purchase[no sales tax or prep]. if you shop ,you will find a deal,guaranteed, but you have to be patient[ just picked up a new 2005 ac 400 tbx off ebay for 4400,full warrantee.] and look around, the deals are there, ...

 

Oops, I stand corrected this atv does not have IRS. I am still interested in it though.

oper2nyst,

Where did you get the deal on your eiger? I also purchased my last atv's from out of state to save money!

 

the eiger was also an ebay deal. on thanksgiving when i got home i was looking around their atv forums and a dealer in sullivan missouri[unique powersports] had a 2005 manual on at a" buy it now" of $4450 in conjunction with a "best offer" option. i gave what i considered to be a lowball , i was just fishing, that was a $3750 offer. WELL LIKE USUAL WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT... in my email next morning was the acceptance of the offer. a day trip to pick up , and its sitting in the shop, as said before no sales taxes and on this one there was no setup fees of any sort. on the AC there was a $ 99 document fee[ this bike was actually the better deal of the two money wise, even with that] the thing that blew my mind about that bike was that 2 weeks prior it had been up for 4999, then dropped 2 weeks later to the 4400,and no one else bid on it,kind of weird if your looking for a good all around machine at a good price . other than that the only sales glitch was that the dealer in minn where i got the AC wanted to charge me sales tax at first, but we got around that after some conversation . its funny , 6 months ago i had no interest in owning a quad, now in a 2 mo space i have 2, go figure. one of my deer hunting group has had knee problems[2nd surgery coming up in about 3 wks for him] and he picked up an AC 400 auto in 04, and i had used his a little, and found out they are pretty handy in conserving time when moving around when hunting. so i started looking around in earnest in mid october[just when you would think it wouldnt be a good time to shop for these things], but the fact is if you look around and spend a little time you can save some serious money[like daddy used to say "doesnt take any particular talent to spend money"] . before i got involved with the eiger, there was a bombardier traxter XL,a 2004 new /noncurrent[liquid cooled,500,manual with the pickup bed, nice machine,warrantee],the whole 9 yards, went for 4200,a great deal, unfortunately to someone else as i had a bidding brain fade. my long winded point i guess is the you can drop a lot of dough,or spend a little web time and put the savings in your jeans.....PS the owners name at unique is bill,and he was great to deal with. he also had some 05 vinsons at around 5k

 

I am pretty sure if the AC has IRS it will say 400i or 500i or something like that.

Also when looking at AC machines and comparing them to other brands my dealer lists AC as a utility vehicle and most other brands call theirs a sport utility vehicle.

Just make sure you ride what you want to purchase (or your wife does if its hers). If the place you are purchasing will not let you ride it go someplace else. If you find a better deal on a new machine 3 hours away from your nearest dealer. take that deeal to the closest one and see if they will match it. If they do you have found a good dealer if not you know you should not go back there.

SJ

 

The ACT suspension is a great one, I am a big fan. Although I prefer the IRS still... If I was made out of money I would get he wife a 400VP.

Nice to see you again swampyjunior! I actually moved away from Dillingham to the great state of MN. Milk is only $2.00 a gallon again! YES!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]