China AATV

[artist1018]

I think, once a network of dealerships is established, and them having a good inventory of parts, Argo will have possible competition.
I own a Chevy Aveo,(actually, my 3rd). We bought 2 in '04, when the $2.00/gallon "scare" began. They are built by Daiwoo (sp?) I traded in one of the 04 models for an 08 for my wife. The reason for this statement is: GM dealers are sales & service approved due to the "bow tie" on the car. If you open the drivers door, you'll see a manufacture plate. Now, that being said, perhaps ODG, the maker of Argo, will do one of two things: 1. offer these machines thru dealers along side Argos or: 2. Lower their prices & compete for our business!?!

That's my 2 cents

[pepper]

well i just got the price for the 8x8 with the 52 hp engine 25 inch tires and the CVT - with 3spd+rev trans and it was $7800 CIF to vancouver (That Cost ,Insurance & Freight) and tracks for the 8x8 are 200 dollars a set . judgeing by all the reports on China products gettiing better and better to meet world standards . this particular company is ISO 9001.2000 and interestingly thier products have passed the EU product safety certification,EEC, CE and EPA/DOT certs. (some of thier items are rebadged).

I think this is a gamble that i might be willing to take. the tracks alone are tempting.

[mightymaxIV]

well i just got the price for the 8x8 with the 52 hp engine 25 inch tires and the CVT - with 3spd+rev trans and it was $7800 CIF to vancouver (That Cost ,Insurance & Freight) and tracks for the 8x8 are 200 dollars a set . judgeing by all the reports on China products gettiing better and better to meet world standards . this particular company is ISO 9001.2000 and interestingly thier products have passed the EU product safety certification,EEC, CE and EPA/DOT certs. (some of thier items are rebadged).

I think this is a gamble that i might be willing to take. the tracks alone are tempting.

Pepper what do you have to do to get these guys to give you a quote. Man for 200 dollars you could buy some tracks and adapt them to anything. I sent them an e-mail and got a bunch of nonsence back.

[pepper]

I contacted the sales manager directly.

[salamander]

I think this is a gamble that i might be willing to take. the tracks alone are tempting.

In my experience, I find that a lot of this stuff is built to be sold and that means cheap, not so much actually built to last. Looks good on the website showroom, but in reality needs to be babied and then thrown away and replaced every couple years.

The links you gave us show that this same factory builds toy R/C cars and robotic vacuum cleaners. As suggested by others- go ahead and try to order parts or tracks for the 8x8, or order 10 RC cars or robot vaccuum cleaners and see how many fail to work fresh out of the box. Also see if you get slapped with a 100% import duty by Canada Customs before getting in too deep.

Let us know how amazing a deal you get/how badly you get screwed so we can benefit from your experience.

[pepper]

In my experience, I find that a lot of this stuff is built to be sold and that means cheap, not so much actually built to last. Looks good on the website showroom, but in reality needs to be babied and then thrown away and replaced every couple years.

The links you gave us show that this same factory builds toy R/C cars and robotic vacuum cleaners. As suggested by others- go ahead and try to order parts or tracks for the 8x8, or order 10 RC cars or robot vaccuum cleaners and see how many fail to work fresh out of the box. Also see if you get slapped with a 100% import duty by Canada Customs before getting in too deep.

Let us know how amazing a deal you get/how badly you get screwed so we can benefit from your experience.

I gotta say i am amused by your defensive response .
what makes you think that a design that has been floated about for over 30 years cant be duplicated LOL! they always used to say the same thing about japanese quality which had no choice but to improve just like chinese are now.

Look at how basic a design an argo is and try to tell me it cant be duplicated with the same quality of materials

You do realize we are living in 2008 right? even if china was 20 years behind the times it would still be on par with such a simple device. Argo is not exactly care free and they have quality control and longevity issues but do you think that those are one off problems or just plain old inferior Canadian workmanship?



Where do you get your import duty info from because that is a total fabrication on your part , you have proven yourself a person with no understanding of this matter and more then willing to make up stories to suit yourself.



when it comes to importing the vehicle the import duty on the item is 6% with applicable taxes of course. if you are to order parts the duty is 4.5% plus taxes.

It does not fall under RIV because it is considered a work vehicle and it seems transport Canada is hands off on this type of vehicle also ( no problem with its importation) so importing them does not seem to be an issue . It seems that this type of specialized vehicle is not a problem to import.
I will be doing more legwork to confirm everything but everything thus far looks positive. heck i have had several folks contact me from other boards i am on and express interest allready in regards to this.



Call the govt agencies your self for import info if you dont want to believe









wouldnt it be better to have more competition for these vehicles so they can get out of the dark ages and come out with a truly revoloutionary amphib for a better price? Unless of course you are an Argo dealer

[mudbug3]

" wouldnt it be better to have more competition for these vehicles so they can get out of the dark ages and come out with a truly revoloutionary amphib for a better price? Unless of course you are an Argo dealer "


pepper ,


I think competition would be good for both Argo and Recreatives . I for one , would like an amphib with more features and options . Matt Oxenders Mud Ox comes to mind .

[Bw6]

I think this industry really needs competition, but it is such a relatively small market that the BIG BOYS are not interested in it. If a China copy-cat Argo can stimulate improvements and features, I'm all for it.

What about getting rid of those chains, and going to shaft drive? What about a better water propulsion system, to get some decent water speed? What about a PTO shaft to increase the utility for these vehicles? What about a decent suspension? What about a decent axle seal to eliminate water seepage?

These vehicles are like Quads were 20 years ago, or like the ultralights I flew around the same time. Meaning drive or fly 4 hours and adjust or fix for 8 hours.
I really love the sport, but improvements are really needed, this isn't high tech stuff we're talking about.

[6X6]

Pepper, I would recomend you buy it. You seem set on it, and have a very defensive response to any suggestions anyone else has (you don't work for the company or have an interest in their sales, do you?), so go for it. If it works great, great. If not, hopefully parts aren't hard to come by. Either way let everyone here know, because if it is a great buy, I'm sure a bunch of guys will be waiting to pick one up!

[pepper]

actually it is just that i have an open mind .
Vancouver has a huge dealing with china and we see many items that are chinese imports.

We have a great deal of our population from asia many are affluent bussiness people that are familier with and take advantadge of asian manufacturing and import it into NA . this has been going on here for a very long time.

An example I know of first hand is a local company had a product that was made here and they started to explore haveing them made in China. They had strict guidlines and material grades that had to be adhered to as well as quality control .

Some asian companies could not make the product as required ( some attempts were high school quality) but eventually a company with the proper tooling was able to meet the requirments and quality control criteria for a saveings after all was said and done of about 40%, yes some folks lost positions of employment here but it proves the fact that quality products can come out of Asia even China. This sort of thing is happening all the time here.



As for this Machine . if it is anything like other chinese products , they are made to set minimum and very often imposed by the purchaser or market requirments.

I am trying to get better specs on the machine such as chain, gear ratios who actually makes the engine etc how thick the body is etc . Not yet ready to jump in with both feet but i would never be so silly as to rule it out simply because it is made in China .

For the price it is a controlled gamble to purchase one for testing , it could either be a a winner or a loser but that can only be decided on actually being able to see and use it . also if one is purchased and it is found lacking if someone were incline they would specify what they would want on the machine and very often the company would manufacture to customer specifications.

the key is to have an open mind .

As with all things nothing ventured nothing Gained


If i told you about a machine that was made in mexico would you be more or less suspect? how about an eastern block machine? get past the fact that it is a chinese machine and see it for just a mechanical device


I have no interest in the company other then a good deal . Unlike Americans who have better options and priceing on almost every mechanized item , Canadians dont have that choice and in order to make our money go further we have to be open to other ideas and options . (even Argos are more here then in the US and its made here) .

How can this not be a win win situation?
if the machines are a hit but reliability sucks then Argo or Max could step in and offer the same options but better quality. If the machine proves to be of good quality then Argo and max will either have to get more competitive by offering more machine for the money in one way or another. (seriously how much could they screw up such a simple machine?)

The concept of capitalizm is in effect here is it not?

in the end we as a consumer are the ones that benifit from healthy competition



ps
This company is allready selling in the US and has been for some time just not this particular product .