ATV question. Experts needed (1 Viewer)

[Trihonda]

My wife texted me suggesting we get an ATV for our up north adventures. Lots of great trails, and the entire county where our cabin is lives around ATV use (every bar and store has ATV parking). When asking my buddies up north about ATVs the only advice I got was that ATVs are scarce and there’s extremely low inventory, which means used ATVs are selling for a premium and selling almost as fast as they’re listed. There’s no new inventory That I’ve found. One local shop up north had a consignment come in, a 2015 Wildcat Sport XL with 4K miles.. they’re asking $8k, but they sold for $13k new. They’re holding it until Monday, because we know the shop owner...

anyone have any advice? Specific experience with these ATVs? the ice actually is leaning towards wanting a two person ATV, not a side by side, but those are even more rare..

 

[LotsOfChips]

I don't consider myself an expert on ATV's in the least, but I used to drive one (Honda) daily while working at a mountain resort (5300 feet vertical, and made the trip bottom to top and back again several times a day). Also drove a LOT of snowmobiles, and used to be a mechanic by trade.

I would REALLY want to know the vehicle history (maintenance records, repairs performed, typical use, etc.). 4k on an ATV is a fair bit of mileage, and in some cases is a LOT of miles, depending on the type of terrain it has been used for. Flat prairie miles or gravel road miles are WAY different than mud bog miles or hill climbing/rock crawling miles. Some owners baby their machines and others abuse them. If you could find out that info, it might help you make a better decision.

Arctic Cat has been around for decades (both snowmobiles and ATVs), when a lot of other companies have bit the dust, so they must be doing something right. Supply and demand being what it is, if you want it now, this may be a good buy. But I would research what similar models are selling for used. Also this is the asking price. Don't be afraid to negotiate.

The side by side is great for two people, but a bit less agile than a quad in some gnarly situations. A 2 seater may be better in some types of terrain, but being a passenger isn't the best experience (IMO). Your wife (or you, if she is driving) may appreciate the increased comfort of the side by side.

Happy trails!

 

[Trihonda]

I don't consider myself an expert on ATV's in the least, but I used to drive one (Honda) daily while working at a mountain resort (5300 feet vertical, and made the trip bottom to top and back again several times a day). Also drove a LOT of snowmobiles, and used to be a mechanic by trade.

I would REALLY want to know the vehicle history (maintenance records, repairs performed, typical use, etc.). 4k on an ATV is a fair bit of mileage, and in some cases is a LOT of miles, depending on the type of terrain it has been used for. Flat prairie miles or gravel road miles are WAY different than mud bog miles or hill climbing/rock crawling miles. Some owners baby their machines and others abuse them. If you could find out that info, it might help you make a better decision.

Arctic Cat has been around for decades (both snowmobiles and ATVs), when a lot of other companies have bit the dust, so they must be doing something right. Supply and demand being what it is, if you want it now, this may be a good buy. But I would research what similar models are selling for used. Also this is the asking price. Don't be afraid to negotiate.

The side by side is great for two people, but a bit less agile than a quad in some gnarly situations. A 2 seater may be better in some types of terrain, but being a passenger isn't the best experience (IMO). Your wife (or you, if she is driving) may appreciate the increased comfort of the side by side.

Happy trails!

Great info, thx. Ya, the shop selling the consignment is the person who also services the ATV. I spoke with tHe owner and he had glowing things to say about it, and said he’s seen similar units with 20k miles. I’m familiar with the area terrain, and it’s all gravel/dirt trails. No “rock crawler” or jumps and stuff. I’ve seen the on board computer, and with the total miles and tot hours, it avg’d 25mph for its life span. Asking price is $8k, but Im not afraid to negotiate. I have heard the trend is def going to side by sides. Comfort, and safety. Lots of accidents involving ATVs, and the roll cage and seat belts are huge!

 

[hdgeno]

Can’t go wrong with a side by side, way better for riding as a pair. Very stable and the seats are great when doing any hill climbs, would highly recommend a side by side.

Don’t have any advice as far as the machine in question, know very little about the Arctic Cat brand. We had a Polaris for 4 years, and it was perfect.

 

[TheDuke]

I don't know anything about that specific machine but have some general insight about Arctic Cat. The company (and its dealerships) was really struggling from about 2013 onwards. Dealerships were sitting on mountains of product that wasn't selling. Namely because Polaris and Can-am had much better product. Better tech and better performance. Those companies poured money into R&D while Arctic Cat just sold the same stuff year after year.

Arctic Cat was purchased in 2017 by Textron. ATVs and SxSs were rebranded as Textron off-road because the Arctic Cat brand was so poorly regarded as an off road product. The Arctic Cat brand resonated more with their winter product.

Inventory is slim across North America for all recreational vehicles so it's going to be slim pickings for a long time.

 

[Trihonda]

Well, I snagged the Wildcat today. We are headed to the Northwoods to hit the trails for the weekend.

We looked for another option, and there literally were zero new stock options. Dealers were telling us we could put money down on a 2022 model and get it next spring (maybe). Used ones were flying fast, selling within minutes/hours of listing. And they were priced accordingly.

Similar Polaris models/years were selling for 50-100% more than this Wildcat. Our thoughts are it might not be THE best option, but it's the available option... AND we figure we could ride this for a season, get our feet wet, see what we like and don't like, and then maybe next year look at an upgrade.

 

[Trihonda]

Me and Mrs Honda enjoying the new Wildcat XT...

Unfortunately, there were a number of crazy trail sections that I didn't have my camera running for... Several really deep mud holes and submerged sections. At one point, we had muddy water coursing across my hood, up the windshield, and onto the roof (and in the cab).