Argo Reliability: Your Honest Opinion.

[guardian89rx]

Hello all. This is my first post and I've registered with the forum due to my interested in purchasing an Argo atv for my family.
We have been pondering buying an atv for some time and a local dealer is now selling his "demo" 08 Frontier 580. We took it for a spin and were quite thrilled. We like the unit's capabilities and passenger capacity as well as the fact it doesn't go too fast.
Unfortunately, when I asked around about the Argo reputation the response was overwhelmingly negative. One owner said "they're great if you like walking". Another estimated he spends 10 hours repairing his Argo for every hour of use he gets out of it.
Also, when I called my insurance agent for a quote, they refused to insure Argo atv's. I found another agency who quoted $1,000 yearly for liability and fire/theft only.
So, what's the truth about Argo's? I'm Canadian and I'd like to believe Canadians don't make junk but folks have been convincing me otherwise.
Are the new units more reliable than the older ones? If you own an Argo and properly maintain it can you count on it to not break down and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, or do you have to always carry an assortment of parts and tools and be prepared to repair them in the field because mechanical breakdowns are inherent to the Argo's nature?

[fire 6x6]

Argo reliability

First off I dont own a argo,I own a max.I wish that I could own one .If you do the routeine maint the machine will give you and youre family alot of fun.There alot fo people that do not give these machines there proper care that they need,then when something breaks they call them junk.These machines do need routine maintance like chain care and bearing greasing.There are alot of people on this board that are very knowledgable and can help with any questions.These machines are not hard to work on.With proper care they will get you there and back.

[dgh110]

hello and welcome to the site, argos are easy to look after, they will probably outlast and quad, they can carry, tow or drag lots. i have one and my dad is on his second. with his first one he did more with it than both of us together on quads. and cheaper to mantian as well. ex did a motor on a quad and that ran 2500.00, did motor, chains, belt, wiring, seats, and all hoses on dads for about 1500.00, and the motor is brand new.

Darin
ps where abouts are you located?

[trebmaster]

Ilove mine. enough said

[yellowargo]

I have almost 300hrs of ride time in my 2008 Frontier and I would estimate about 6-8 hours of maintenance mostly due to putting on tracks, canopy, windsheild, and plow for the winter. "Touch Wood" I have never had to walk and it has had no major breakage, the worst was popping a bead on the tire a couple of times.

Regular maintenance including washing, Armoural, greasing and oil changes takes less than an hour and its all good for another 50hours.

Now to be honest I do spend alot of time messing around with trying different ideas for water speed, adding extra lights, and trying many of the suggestions and ideas I read ont his site but thats counted under the "FUN TIME" catagory.

As for tools for the trails that is more of a "just in case" scenario and most of the time it is for my four wheel friends.

[Rock Doctor]

First off I dont own a argo,I own a max.I wish that I could own one .If you do the routeine maint the machine will give you and youre family alot of fun.There alot fo people that do not give these machines there proper care that they need,then when something breaks they call them junk.These machines do need routine maintance like chain care and bearing greasing.There are alot of people on this board that are very knowledgable and can help with any questions.These machines are not hard to work on.With proper care they will get you there and back.

OK, This comment pretty much "hits the nail on the head". IMHO

Yes, I have dealt with alot of "Breakdowns", some on the trail, and some not. I have NEVER had to deal with a breakdown that was the Machines fault. Virtually every breakdown has a route cause that can be traced back to something the operator knew about before he headed out on his trip. Or it something uncontrolable like a tiedown hook dropping into a chain, or hitting a tree and bending an axle.
I pack tools and some spare parts, not becouse I break down often, but becouse if I do breakdown (or someone else does), it's a good bet that I can deal with it right then and carry on with the trip.

*Steps down off pedistal*

So, ya, I guess that's my opinion. For what it's worth


RD

[jnjmoonsfishing]

I have just bought a 2000 argo 6x6 big foot last fall. i have put on over 20 hrs. it has 145hrs now. since ive had the machine i have never been stranded. i have had some problems and after reading post from others and input from rock dock my worst issue was one that i created. i used my track with to much air in the tires, not the same pressure in all the tires, and riding over rocky terrain with not much snow covering. i ripped out 2 studs, and lost 3 lug nuts. i had to ride out of the 17 mile trail with 5 tires. (knock on wood i have never had to walk or be towed for a break down).

[alaskacody]

I have a 2000 argo conquest I am handycapt I have over 500 hours on my argo i follow the book on oil and lube and chain i run tracks in the winter i had it in alaska for all most 10 years until I had to move every thing or sold every thing kept my argo I have plowed snow with it every winter and with all maint by the book my chains all look good I have had it out moose hunting and gone places i would not even walk I have pulled a 1200 lbs moose out with it and it has never left me stranded it has far serpased my expectaions the only prob i have is i have to R&R the alatnater as it quit charging this last winter so if i had it to do over agin i would not change a thing axecpt maby buy an extra alatnater Thanks Skip as a mater of fact if any one has any tips on doing the job i could use some

[thomas nipper]

argo big foot 2000

hi i have a argo 2000 18hp and it run like a top you couldnt give me a another brand ps if u did it would be 4 sale

[lewis]

IMHO

Hi guardian: Welcome aboard!!!!

IMHO, a lot of this comes from people buying a machine that has been run hard and put up wet. It was worn out when they bought it and they expect it to run like new, or a machine that was well taken care of. Ain't going to happen. This can be corrected with a few basic mechanical skill, but if you have no mechanical skill or not interested in fixing it stay away from this type machine. Anything can be rebuilt but it will cost you time and money and you want to ride and enjoy. Not pay and work

You have basic maintenance that you must do,.....and anyone can do it. Grease, lubricate, change oil. Keeping you machine clean and in a good running condition makes for a well running machine. This site is a great place to ask questions and get answers about your machine. I think that Argo has a very good product and i am quiet happy with the performance of my machine. Getting a good dependable machine (New or Used) is a must when you start out. You will be amazed at what you will learn about your machine from having a fun time with the family.

Once people buy a junker and have a bad taste in their mouth are not likely to change their minds.

I have a 2006 Avenger and have had a blast with it. The argo's that i am associated with are very dependable even the older ones.

I am not downing any ones machine by no means. If you want a project machine buy it with that thought in mind. Don't blame the machine for someone's bad service habits.

Just my 2 cents.

[DerekF]

Here is my 2 cents:

I think many people compare them to quads, which in reality they shouldn’t. Quads seem to be more forgiving to people who want to “ride and put away wet” for much longer. A quad is like the modern car, nice to drive, fast and low maintenance for sure. However, it is somewhat limited in hauling capacity, in field “repair-ability”, and arguably, off road abilities. An Argo is like a piece of heavy equipment, it is not as nice to drive (comfort I mean, not the fun factor), nor as fast. It does require more scheduled maintenance, but you gain ease of repair, hauling and work ability, and I would say off road ability.

I have both Argos and quads. I will even go so far as to say that Argo's can be problematic. They can leave you stranded. But in all cases this involves either something I did stupid like hitting a big rock at 15kph while looking at a moose or lack of maintenance.

In the area of maintenance, I find the biggest problem with Argos is related to chains and bearings. Keep those up, and you will have no problems. I have had my 05 Avenger for a year now. At first I would just hop in it and go. Almost every ride I found something wrong with it. But every single problem I have had is a result of something to do with chains or bearings. I have never been stranded because of those issues in that I was always able to get back home, but those are the only issues I have had while riding. I changed most of my bearings out and put new chains on, and have had no problems since.

FYI, new chains and bearings was something I could easily do quite easily and I think I spend about 500-600 bucks to refit my drivetrain, whereas when my tranny in the Quad was acting up, the repair bill (under warrentee thankfully) was almost 4k.

Finally, I have had half an Alaskan/Yukon moose on my Arctic Cat 500 quad, and hated life coming out of the bush, at 11pm, in the rain, and winching every 10 minutes. Same conditions, the next year, I had a whole moose and 5 guys camping gear in my Argo, top on, heater on, puttin along sipping “coffee” at 6pm because we weren’t getting stuck every 10 minutes and loving life.

Derek

[m350]

I even traded a 05' Kawasaki Brute 750 for a 2000' Argo BigFoot, winch, 18" tracks, extra wheels/tires, 6' plow, and windshield,,,had 315 hrs on it,,ran rough, carb issues, after getting it running,,found the tranny to be growling,,,pulled the whole machine apart,,,did the tranny up,,,cleaned and inspected lower tub and chains/bearings all back together,,,and have not regretted the Trade once !,,,The Argo can go where no ATV can,,,,out and across the pond,,,go fishing,,,click on the bilge pump every now and then,,,love it !

Go through the Mud/water,,,and you stay clean and dry, 2 people plus stuff,,yeah more maintenance,,But thats part of owning a AATV.

My next one will be an 8x8 for sure!,,,,,,Mark

[lewis]

I even traded a 05' Kawasaki Brute 750 for a 2000' Argo BigFoot, winch, 18" tracks, extra wheels/tires, 6' plow, and windshield,,,had 315 hrs on it,,ran rough, carb issues, after getting it running,,found the tranny to be growling,,,pulled the whole machine apart,,,did the tranny up,,,cleaned and inspected lower tub and chains/bearings all back together,,,and have not regretted the Trade once !,,,The Argo can go where no ATV can,,,,out and across the pond,,,go fishing,,,click on the bilge pump every now and then,,,love it !

Go through the Mud/water,,,and you stay clean and dry, 2 people plus stuff,,yeah more maintenance,,But thats part of owning a AATV.

My next one will be an 8x8 for sure!,,,,,,Mark

That seems to be one of the big sellers on our machines when ever we do our group rides and there are quads there. They are muddy from head to foot. We on the other hand are not muddy and they notice that.

[ARGOJIM]

I can give you 2 very positve cases and 1 worst case scenario. I have a 2000 Vanguard2 which the hour meter shows over 900 hrs and I put 22 inch rawhide 3's on it aswell as a towhook (no winch), my case is a best case scenario due to the constant over maintaining of grease and lubing chains, none the less machine had roughly 600 hours before chains, bearings and sprockets were done, has original 16hp Vanguard with no smoke, belts were changed yearly, it goes almost everywhere all the larger machines go and I regularly pull out stuck machines.

Second case again good is a fellow club member who has a 1989 Argo six wheeler with 16hp B&S twin I/C, he still has machine, has about 400 hours on it and was rebuilt recently, engine is still original, tires were replaced,fuel pump went bad and fuel line went bad, that's it.

Now the worst case but very rare 2007 Avenger with 15 hours hit something very hard and broke the quick realease drain plug and cost himself a 25 hp kohler engine.

Now usual worst case all of these were Conquests used commercially by different drivers with next to no maintaining in salt marshes sometimes sunk and always had supertracks on.

Chains and sprockets would last from 50 to 200 hours, bearings were the same, most of the time if you did bearings the axles had to be cut out and replaced because the salt water basically welded them together, tracks would last about 400 hours and track spacers would deteriorate also, engines tended to smoke about 250 to 300 hours due to constantly being under full load fighting the silt and frame life was about 4 years. Again basically no maintaining not even washing out well for the weekend when they sat (rusting). Just as another example the supervisors machine was kept by him for 3 years,always maintained and washed and needed rebuild (chains etc.) about 300 hours and would be handed down to next in line with new tracks.


Hope this helps you, I can only stress 4 things keep any amphibious machine reliable.
GREASE before or after each ride and everytime your in the water.
LUBE CHAINS before or after every ride and everytime your in the water OR wash machine and if the are adjustable, ADJUST THEM.
CHANGE FLUIDS and FILTERS as scheduled or more if under extreme conditions.
STORE MACHINE OUT OF THE ELEMENTS .

These 4 simple things with generally give you years of trouble free riding and fun for the family, of course if you beat on it reliability will suffer and maintenance will be more.

[Marc]

I have a lot different AATVs and once i owned a shop for ATVs like Arctic Cat, Suzuki, Roxon and so on.
My first AATV was my Argo Vanguard 1 from 1985. Like lewis said before, you should have a little mechanical skills everytime when you get an AATV or an ATV. They are no cars and used off-road so they are stressed more or in a different way. Dont expect to drive them every day hundreds of miles.
But my Argo never let me walk, i also made money with driving around children on offroad fairs. Sometimes completely overloaded with their parents, in dust and mudd and many houres at once and i never had a big problem.
But with Quads and ATVs i had a lot problems, sorry if i have to say that but they are not grown up! I had so many problems with their to small CVTs.
An Argo has a CVT in size of a pizza dish and has to handle only 16 to 20 hp at 2500 rpm.
A Quad has CVT in size of a hand and has to handle up to 50 hp at 5500 rpm. If you now think about the smaller surface of the belt who has to transmit the complete power, then guess which one last longer ?
Then these damn electric sytem on Quads which is sometimes not realy waterproofed but of cause outside the body. And you cant reach any parts, the exhaust rust faster than you could repair it (if it is usual steel) and the watercooling which only makes more trouble instead of more power. Sorry i´m realy disappointed about ATVs and Quads even i sold a lot of them. These are problems you will never have with an AATV like Argo.
I dont know the prices in America but here in Germany you pay $130 for a drivebelt of an Argo, for an Arctic Cat Belt $320. I had to change a lot Arctic cat belts but still have my first Argo belt installed.
I would say the problems with an Argo are mainly battery, sparkplugs and fuelpump. If it runns then it runns and will do it the whole day.