Foreman, as far as I know the 2000 CAT Auto is nearly the same as the 2001 with the exception of.
Graphics
Reverse Over-ride switch
wheel colors
The 2000 has all the other goodies that you mentioned. I looked very hard at getting a CAT Auto before I bought my 3rd Sportsman 500.

Regarding the deer hunt, I just returned today from the rifle hunt. I also seen alot of little bucks but nothing worth shooting. I did see a couple of 30+ inch 4x4's that people had taken, I think there will be alot of good big deer for next season..since I think most people got little ones. I guess Ill get to see in another couple of weeks when they start in the rut what we missed out on. Do you ride a Foreman now ?
I just sold my 450ES to buy my newest Sportsman 500. Of all places I bought it at Duff Shelly in American Fork.
When I was looking for Cats the dealer in Nephi seemed very willing to deal. Let me know what kind of deal you get. Have you checked with Zeemans in Spanish Fork ? They didnt seem to want to deal much.

 

I paid 5700 for my 2001 AC manual in August. I bought it at Zeemans. I checked all the dealers in the state with the exception of Tack Shack in Richfield. They were all within several dollars of each other. I had great luck with Zeemans and wouldn't hesitate dealing with them again. Alpine Sports in Lindon seemed to be good to deal with also. I don't know about the LE still having the ability to get the warranty or winch. One thing I was told by several dealers and owners is the covering will cause dirt to get between it and the plastic and cause your plastic to scratch. If you plan to take your cover off you may want to think about purchasing the LE.

 

Did some calling around today and $6100.00 seems to be the best deal for the Arctic Cat 500, manual shift, Hunter LE package. I still have to do a little more convincing to my Wife that I "need" a new machine. A couple of years ago I had an older Polaris ( That was a lemon ) and I talked and talked about how much I "needed" a Honda. My Foreman has been a great machine with zero problems, the biggest drawback to me about the Honda is the Suspension ( Rides worse than a buckboard ) and the lack of swithchable 2wd/4wd and true 4wd. If Honda made a machine with these features it would be the one I'd probably get, but until they do, it looks to me that the 2001 AC's are the next best choice. All of these things are easy for me to understand but kind of difficult for the Wife to understand. Hopefully with a little more convincing, I can sale my Foreman and bring home a brand spanking new Cat. Thanks for your input.