I am bring my cat in to the dealer maybe tomorrow.

I think I "FIXED" it again, but this time I think something electical is fried.

Well I am thinking of getting it fixed and getting rid of it. In the 2 years that I have had it I have loved it dearly. I use my Cat VERY VERY hard, on the borderline of abuse. It has taken every bit of it and has never left me strainded(althought It has limped home more than one time).

Now that the 2001 models are coming out I see that there are better quads out there. For example the 2001 Sportsman 500 HO and The HOnda Rubicon.

After reading the review on the 2001 Arctic Cat 500 10 speed I think that is what I REALY WANT.

It has the larger gas tank, the red plastic, the 2wd/4wd front end, true 4wd(big surprise), the remote fuel petcock, better brakes, A STEEL BRAKE RESOVOIR(if you ever roll your cat over you will realize how much this think is worth), the updated dash, and 0 MILES!!!!!!

THE ONLY thing stoping me is the fact that I know I will probaly lose out my **** if I trade it in. Depending on how much I lose will be the deciding factor on if I trade it in or not.

What do you guys think? Trade-in or keep my cat?

 

I'm kinda the same way with the cars & trucks I buy, I always want the latest, bestest, badest, prettyest ones available which happen to be the new models every year. Unfortunately, if ATVs are anything like cars, they take their biggest hit on depreciation in the first 2 years, after that they usually hold their value pretty good. I have friends that can afford new cars but only buy 2 year old cars & keep them for 2-3 years and they claim they save a ton of money. On the other hand, there's nothing like owning something nobody else has yet with 0 miles on it & you're the only one that gets to ride it. You might make out better if you sell yours yourself then buy a 2001. Hey, while you're at the dealer, take a 2001 for a spin & let us know your honest opinion. Lance

 

Well the reason I want to trade it in is cause around here Arctic Cats are not worth much at all.

IF I sold it myself I MIGHT beable to get 3500-4000 for it. At the dealer I think I can actually get what it's worth.

I plan on riding the 2001. I know that if they think I'm considering buying a 2001 they will surely let me ride one, if they have one instock.

 

Anytime you trade in a vehicle, the dealer is not going to give you what is it worth. He has to turn around and sell it. Just a thought--NOW it is getting to be the time of year when quads are in greatest demand--hunting season--which is good for you. Why don't you sell it yourslf and with the greater anount you end up with for your AC, get the new one. When hunting season comes and the supply of ATVs is weak, people will pay more because "they need it now". If you have the sale paper The Thrifty Nickel, put an ad in it. It is cheap for the time displayed and you get an automatic ad on their internet site.

 

If you are wanting rid of it because of performance differences, then the HO sp500 is a hot ticket, but if its because you are tearing it up by using it hard, I wouldn't switch to a Polaris. I have seen nothing ever that would make me believe that switching from AC to Polaris because of mechanical problems would be a wise decision. If you want something to abuse, get a honda. Hands down. If you can tear up a honda, then you can tear up anything.

Now if you are just hopped up over the HO review, then I can understand. I was thinking all week of the principle of trading in on a new Sp500 myself. I got back in town today, and looked at my AC and it would be real hard for me to part ways with it. If I had loads of cash laying around, I would own both, but we aren't all named Rockafeller now are we. The improved belt housing isn't enough for me to be secure with an auto tranny, and plastic racks are a stupid idea in my opinion on anything.

As far as any improvements to the AC front differential, I'm not buying into that. From Davis's post in this forum, I don't think they did anything to it. He said it still spun on hills and in dirt, and that it would kick in when he rocked it back and forth in the mud. Sounds like the same old story to me. Just seems to me like he rocked it enough for another tire to make contact and get them both spinning again. If it had some way of locking in the other tire, then it should have done it in the hillclimb situation as well. I doubt that they have changed it myself, but I could be wrong.

For the 2001 model, the only improvements I see are the gas tank opening, the fuel on/off/res switch, and the 2wd option (which gets rid of the nice splash protection inner fenders- dumb idea). On top of that, I prefer the 99 graphics and the old style front rack.

From my standpoint on trading in mine, I come up with this. I would love the extra speed of the sportsman, as well as the ride, clearance, true 4wd, turning, and irs, but I could never do it on account of the problems that have come of the electrical front drive engagement, the belt transmission, and the thought of having no 4wd when going down steep rocky hills.

It basically comes down to that. I do a lot of steep downhilling in places that you can't afford for the rear end to get squirrely on you. A 700lb quad with downhill 2wd is not going to cut it, especially if a 450 lb. honda 300 gets out of hand in the same spots. I want a sportsman 500 pretty bad myself, but they are going to probably have to make a manual shift model before I get serious about it. As far as the Rubicon goes, its a nice quad, but I'll take my semi-independant over its standard swingarm any day of the week.

 

Andy,

I don't want to trade my cat in for an Sp 500. I want to trade it in on a 2001 Arctic Cat 500.

As far as tearing things up, I KNOW I can tear a Honda up, but I realy don't want to. I'm just very hard on all my equipment(just look at my shoes, 2nd pair in a row that the bottom is riping off of them).

I don't want to trade my cat in cause I'm tearing it apart, in fact I'm very impressed at how good it has heald up for me. Only problems that I don't think were my fault are the Water pump seal, thermostat, and MAYBE THE REAR bearings(maybe the pull offs and jumping had alittle to do with it).

 

Boner:
Hey, I'd give it a shot! You might want to consider how they will give you the most money for it-such as with all your mods, or without. Did you ever get the Rule installed? I doubt they'd give you much for the stuff you've done to it, but it may help in the overall price negotiations. Then again, it may be better off to just put it back to stock entirely, and trade it off that way. The way I see it, it would be great to have a machine with a NEW warranty, ZERO miles, everything fresh. Sure you'd have to go through the itchy break-in period, but then, look out, it'd be on from there!

I say Go for it! One thing though, definately get rid of those cheesy stick guards that only cover the front side, and get some real ones to cover everything!

Mike

 

If I do trade My cat in I am surely keeping the boot guards, gun rack, The Warn winch plate, and the Rule.

The Reason I am wanting to trade it in now is because I know if I start welding on the bike(to mount the winch) that it will surely lower teh value of it.

 

BONER,
I own the 2001 5 speed and the big difference is the ability to shift in and out of four wheel drive. You must come to a complete stop before you shift though, that's pretty tough on hills. I only have 50 miles on mine and I really have not had it in too much mud, but it will climb some pretty steep hills without any problem.

 

Comming to a complete stop before shifting into 4wd is no problem for me.

IF there is something that is steep enough, or nasty(as in mud) enough to require 4wd I normally get off, take a look, and decide "Can I make it threw" or "If I get stuck how far do I have to walk to get someone to pull me out".