I found a 4 wheeler that I will probably purchase for 2000.00 It is a 98 model 500 4X4 artic cat with hi/lo range. The bike fires right up it has no major problems just normal wear a tear from what I can see. I probably only have about 1 day to make up my mind on this. Does this sound like a good deal??? Any comments and or thoughts will be appreciated. I have never owned an Artic Cat before and am a litte weary about buying a used bike.

 

I just sold my 98 500 with a 2000 lb winch for $3000. It had 4,100 hard miles on it and the motor was just as strong the day I sold it as it was the when it was new. It was a very reliable machine that never left me strandid and never once did I have to be towed back to the truck. I really did not want to sell it but my friend kept bugging me to sell it to him, I have the new 650 and the wife don't like the shifting part , so I sold it to him. It was a great hunting and rough trail machine. It is low geared so you won't win any races on long flat runs but you can pull away from Sportsman 500 Ho's on steep grades and I would put it against any other machine rock crawling. One of the only things I did not like about it was it was Full Time Four Wheel Drive, which made it a little hard to steer. Arctic Cat's are very reliable ATV's.

 

tuffdax, how many miles does it have on it?
Click on the little camera below my icon on the left and see what kind of mud and water you can take it through.

 

How fast will this bike go ? It does have the Hi/lo range. I have been working with a local dealership for about 3 months waiting on the right bike and price. They have been selling these used 4wheel drives in less than a week. This is the third one I've looked at. I think I am going to buy it after a short test drive tomorrow. Anything else you can offer would be great ...I think 2000 is a real fare price.

 

didn't get a chance to look at the mileage.Does this bike have a gauge for that? What would be considered high mileage for this bike?

 

The speedometer will have a odometer on the bottom. My cousins 98 500 has 700 miles on it. My 2001 atv has 1600 miles on it. Check the brake pads for wear, look for signs of welding repairs on the suspension arms and connecting points. If it doesn't blow blue smoke that would be one of the larger and potentialy more expensive concerns.

Personally I would never buy a used quad. The abuse they could have been subjected to is beyond imagination.

 

Thanks for the input all and keep it coming I will be up late tonight. I will be doing some trail riding with guys who are mostly riding the yamaha big bear 400 w/ in and out 4X4. Will I be able to keep up when they are at topend? Can you jump these bikes? Or are they just to heavy?

 

They will go about 50-55 mph. Give the pull starter a tug and see if it has good compression. If you have a good dealer, have him give it a compression test for you. $2000 for 500 is a great price if it has not been beat in the ground. 5000 miles would be considered high milage to me, but you never know if the odometer has been working for the life of the machine. That is the chance you take when you buy a used ATV.

 

Just wanted to throw in my two cents, just bought an 03 500 a week ago, so I can't really talk about reliability but I will say the picture Mud boggin in the Wasatch Range, Utah in CATSKINNER's photos is very similar to how well mine did the first time I took it, so far I am very pleased with the machine $2000 doesn't sound to bad to me personally.

 

I own a AC '98 454 with nearly 6,000 miles. I live in Northern NH which has some quite rough trails. Check ball joints, tie rods, brake pads.
If shocks don't look dry when rest of bike is, they are probably blown. Brake pads can be purchased from hyperparts.com for about half the cost of O.E.M. Still has good power, although I had carb adjusted last spring. Some people complain about C.V. boots not lasting long but I only had to change one that got a stiock in it. ATV parts are not cheap!

Good Luck!

Dave