what to look for when buying?

[bloodvette]

I've been looking at argo's lately, and I not sure if a 6x6 or 8x8 would be more suitable. what are the advantages of each? It would be used for icefishing/duck hunting/tagging along with quads so the added cargo room of an 8x8 would be great. how do 6x6 and 8x8 compare in a swamp/marsh environment? there's a few argos in the area I'm going to look at and I'd like to know what things to look at? I did some reading on the mechanical drive train so I know to inspect the sprockets, chains, wheel bearings and axles, but what other things should be looked at? typically what is alot of usage? just browsing ads in my area I saw one with 200 hours, one with 850 hours, one with 1500 hours... I'm pretty dead set on the brand of Argo just becuase they're the most common. does anyone have a link to an information page on these machines? just ballparking it, I'm planning to spend about 6G however a machine that needs some repairs is welcome. do you guys have any advice for a beginner like me? thanks

[Amphiman1]

choices..

You might want to check out the transmissions and cost to fix one too....

[NERO]

If your going to spent a greater amount of time in the water ,defenitly look toward the 8 wheeler for more room and floation.just my though .

[brushcutter]

My opinion: The old crank and run test is usually the best indicator of condition. There is no way to really know a machine's condition if you can't drive it - and no offense but talk is cheap, parts are not. For MY money a machine that I can't drive BEFORE I buy it is worth NO MORE than $400 - period. Look at it this way, I bought my Hustler for $150. By the time I got it to riding condition I had $3500 and countless hours of work in it. Buyer Beware!

[lewis]

Patience

Patience is a good place to start. If you are not going to buy a new machine that's ok. Don't jump to fast into a machine that you will have to dump a lot of money into right of the bat. Buyer beware is correct. Once you buy it it is yours, along with the problems. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of great used machines out there. For the money you are planing to spend you can find a great machine.