I priced a 2004 Arctic Cat 400 4 X 4 Automatic at $ 5595.00 includes dealer prep and freight. Does this sound reasonable? Is there money to play with at dealers when it comes to buying a quad or do dealers stand strong behind the price?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

There is always fudge room. Take your quoted price and call other Cat dealers and see what they can do about matching it or beating it. My uncle and I bought our two quads together we called around found a dealer @100 miles away that was gonna cut us a significant break on the pair. Someone might argue about dealer service or repair work, well any registered dealer is required to do warrenty work and recalls. Honestly my local dealer said he would not have been able to meet the price I paid for my biek and is just glad I buy parts from him and use him for service work. I also bought mine out of state and avoided state tax. Dealers make a bunch of money on parts and service so a local dealer will not shun you for buying else where. If I were you I would call other dealers tell them your quoted price and give the original dealer an oppurtunity to beat his original price, this should get you the best deal on your quad for your area.

 

Had another thought on this topic. Just like buying a car, most people have some kind of loyality towards a certain salesman or a certain dealership. These dealerships feed of this and make you think you are getting a deal. The fact is a large purchase like a quad or car is business and you go where you get the best price. Simply put having loyalty will make you pay more, some dealers may treat repeat customers good, but the fact is if you fail to shop around (at other dealerships) you may be gettign hozed by your so called "buddy" at the dealership. Just my experience.

 

Your not going to get a dealer to move as much right now on an 04 as you will an 03. Any 03 inventory a dealer is sitting on is taking up valuable space in most cases. If your really stuck on one of the 04 bikes, expect to pay a premium for it right now. Else, shop around for an 03 and youll likely get a deal.
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For example, Ive been into a dealer that has an 03 400 Auto that he is willing to sell for $4700. The same in an 04 would be $5200. This same dealer has a brand new 00 500 auto with 1 mile on it that he would let go for $4000. In fact, he has 3... That was a $6000 bike in 00. Old inventory he wants to unload... Who knows why he has been sitting on these things for so long...?
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Anyhow, if you want the REAL story get an invoice report from http://www.atvcost.com/ . Then I do it like this... - Invoice + freight (est. $200) + prep (est $50) + tax + $200. I happen to feel that $200 over invoice on CURRENT MODEL YEAR inventory is a fair deal on a new bike for the dealer. Anything older but still new left in dealer inventory should sell for ~ $50 over invoice or less. Just my take on it... Good luck.

Diesle

 

Hey everyone. Thanks for the advice. Hubby and I ended up getting the 04 arctic cat 400 4x4 auto. (Read the post about suzuki too late, hope we made the right decision.) We went with a dealer that has a good reputation in our area. We got them down to 6000 including everything. That price also includes a windshield, winch installed and an eagle snow plow. We called all the dealers in our area. Seems like we got a good deal. Was just curious if anyone has hand warmers installed? Thanks.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I have installed hand warmers, what did you need to know.

 

I'm thinking about getting another machine so my wife can get off the back of my Rincon and on her own machine. Don't know much about Cats, but a friend loves them (has two). Is the 400 air cooled? Does it have IRS?

 

Smoke, you wrote about buying your quads out of state. Well I did that also with the two bikes I have now. I avoided the tax because I had no reason at the time to register the bike because it was always driven on private property. Now just last week I sold my one quad and the buyer called me up saying he could not register it because the title was never in my name. I didn't pay the tax so it was never registered in my name, its still in the dealers name. The bike was a 94 and at the time I paid $ 3,340 new on a Yamaha Timberwolf. Now since I sold the bike the new owner called me saying he went to two auto tag places and they can't put it in his name because I never registered it. So sometimes it does not pay to save a couple hundred dollars and avoid the tax because 9 years later it has come back to bite me in the ***!!!.

 

hey 04rincon, yes the 400 has IRS, and it is oil and air cooled

 

wolfman, I too ride on prizate land. I say no point in registering my quad. I have it insured without it. What benefits does having a title grant you, here in ohio its illegal to drive on the roads, so how would a registration help you? When I sell my quad I will expalin the situation to the buyer, but dont see it as a major issue, I have copies of the bill of sale, in my view just as good as a title, proves it wasnt stolen and that. I gues I kinda see your point, but for me I didnt see the point. ANd besides my understanding is at any tiem I can pay the tax and get my title if I had to. SO in that sense (if I am right on that) it saved me soem cash at tiem of purchase. I payed cash, that is 100 dollar bills for my quad so money was tight, If I wanted to know that money isnt so tight I could get the title, but why? I am by no means mocking you or anything, but what good is a title? Do you think I will really need one down the road? Why did your buyer of your quad want one so bad? Thanks for the reply wolfman.