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  • #1

    Choosing an AATV

    Hi folks:
    I am a Canadian in Ontario and a fishing fanatic. Always camping on government land and looking out for bears.
    I want to get into the amphibious world and need some help.
    I have three questions that I need answered before I buy a good used unit ( on a retirement budget ).
    (1) I love the look of the Terra Jet. I want to haul back a 12 foot aluminum boat and in winter tow in an ice shack. Problem is, most Terra Jets here in Canada are more than 30 years old and my insurance won't cover that far back. Does anyone know a company in Canada that will do AATV insurance standalone? I don't want to leave my current auto/house group plan.
    (2) I am lookingg seriously at an Argo COnquest, 1999, with tracks for our winters here. However, it seems all Argo sellers boast that they have spent $2000 to $5000 for repairs even on machines with less than 300 hours. Are they driving like madmen or do Argos bust every second trip? Do tracks bust and come off all of the time even if installed right?
    (3) I am looking at a MAX IV6, year 2000. Aside from the fact there is little support in Canada ( only 2 dealers and none in Ontario) the machine is smoother than the Argo. However, the seller says he repaired axles and put in $3000. I have heard that if something breaks in the bush , especially the tranny, there is almost no hope of fixing it on the spot whereas the older Argos are more fixable. Whats the scoop on this reliability comparrission especially Argo to MAX, but maybe also any thoughts on Terra Jet reliability? Any experiences or opinions to share?

    Looking forward to benefitting from your help and advice as I decide what old machine to buy!
    Regards
    BearFish
    Last edited by Mike; 08-15-2011, 05:14 PM. Reason: moved post out to a thread of its own
    Tags: None
  • #2
    BearFish

    I owned a Max IV 6x6 before I bought my Argo Frontier. Both are great machines if the maintenance is done on them. My Max IV has been reliable as a swiss watch and has never left me stranded on any group ride that I've been on.

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    • #3
      mudbug is right on, it ultimately comes down to the individual machine and how well it was maintained. You can sink lots of money into anything that was abused. I would rule out the Terra Jet simply for its size and lack of towing abilities. For what you are looking to do, if the Max and Argo were both cared for equally, I would choose the Argo since it is more of a work horse.

      As for the comment regarding the Max transmission (T20) it is no more difficult to repair on the trail than the Argo transmission.

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      • #4
        Insurance bug-a-boo over lack of VINs

        Originally posted by Mike View Post
        mudbug is right on, it ultimately comes down to the individual machine and how well it was maintained. You can sink lots of money into anything that was abused. I would rule out the Terra Jet simply for its size and lack of towing abilities. For what you are looking to do, if the Max and Argo were both cared for equally, I would choose the Argo since it is more of a work horse.

        As for the comment regarding the Max transmission (T20) it is no more difficult to repair on the trail than the Argo transmission.
        Thanks to you both for the helpful advice.
        I ran into a big snag here in Canada with my insurance company, TD Meloche Monnex. They do insure ATVs that are less than 30 years old but only if, of course, they are registered with motor vehicles ( no problem ) and they have a VIN of the standard 17 digit length.

        Problem is MAX does not issue such VINs and Argo only started issueing VINs in year 2002 and later.

        It seems impossible to buy stand-alone ATV insurance in Canada. You have to add it as a rider on your auto insurance. I am not willing to switch my car insurance now as they have been a good car insurance company and rates are good. They seem to be pretty inflexible so we'll see in the long run ...

        regards

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        • #5
          Put the serial number as the vin and put zeros to fill the 17 spaces up.
          l like to buy stuff and no I don't do payments!

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          • #6
            Yes Drew, I know some folks have done that. Trouble is if, heaven forbid, there is an accident and someone is seriously injured you want the $1million Public Liability to cover their personal injury costs. You can bet that the insurer's private eye will figure out that you invented the VIN and not the manufacturer. That's a situation I want to avoid. I also think VINs are registered by the manufacturers in an international database, as they are unique in all of the world I was told. When the insurance company does a search thay will probably see it is an invalid VIN or there might be a duplicate. Seems like post 2002 Argo VINs still use the last 7 or 8 digits from the serial number??? Maybe they all have a common set of first digitys. Here is a VIN that is on a 2002 I know of: V698580000bf12903 . Note the "bf12903" for BigFoot, at the end.

            Worst case scenario, I can use this to leverage the wife so I get to buy a 2002 or newer!!

            Thanks for the suggestion though

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            • #7
              try palmer insurance in fenelon falls ontario.

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