2003 Artic cat 500 auto advice

[Wellsdw]

Long story short, one of my closest friends is selling this Atv. Asked me if I wanted it for around 3500. It is basically brand new…. 324 miles. Never abused, garaged kept. I told him if he ever decided to sell it let me know. I never believed he would. (Basically held on to it to drive his wife crazy, because he lives in the city) Only issue is Im a little nervous about finding parts of it goes down and I don’t really trust YouTube reviews for quality. I have zero interest in off roading or hauling it out west for hunting. It would strictly be utility around the farm. Maybe drag a whitetail or two out a year. Does anyone have any experience with this era Artic cat ATV?

 

[djewell87]

I do, what are you wondering about it? Is it a 500?

 

[Wellsdw]

yes it’s a 500. Mainly just reliabilit. Is that a good price? I realize that it’s extremely odd to have one with that low of mileage and hrs. He just threw the number out but neither of us really know the value. Looked on Facebook by 20 year old atvs are trashed usually.

 

[djewell87]

I had one the same generation I think. It was a year or two older than that. The engine is made by Suzuki and really good. I had an automatic, but returned it for a manual. The belt would get wet driving through puddles fast and we use them in a lot of water and mud. I'm sure that you could seal the housing and run some vent lines. I think that they are good, but it wouldn't sell for that much around me. I would say $1500 to $2k here. I had to rebuild the carb after it sat for a while when I got a sxs. The carb is made by keihin and you can buy a replacement carb for like $50-75 dollars and throw it on there if it's giving you problems and you don't feel like messing with it. Other than that I didn't have any problems and I was really really hard on it.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Bought my son a 300 when he was younger.
Could not keep it running - constant issues.
It sits under the pole barn as we speak, hasnt
been cranked in prolly 5 years.
Just got tired of fooling with it.

 

[Mountainrancher]

I have one with the dump box and it’s a pretty dang tough atv. No clue on what the mileage is on it but it’s a lot. Gets the piss beat out of it constantly and hasn’t given up yet. Those early 2000s arctic cats are tough machines. There are a bunch of them in my area still going strong. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it at that price.

 

[Wellsdw]

Thanks for the info so far from everyone

 

[Ishisube]

No experience with Arctic Cat 4-wheelers, but I've always had great luck with close to 100,000 miles on their snowmachines.

As dejewell87 suggested, check a bit more into appropriate pricing before you guys settle on a deal.

 

[Wrench]

My buddy bought that machine. It runs well but is a bit of a fuel pig. 3500 in spokane/cda would be a good buy.

 

[Northof51]

I’ve got an 04 400 manual, so not really the same but same era. I love it that it’s simple to maintain and light. It’s got 2500 miles and just regular service