Personley I have little to no experience with Argo's but I do know that people that run them sure like them, there is no doubt they have their place.

Things are so expensive now days so before buying any OHV one has to take a good look at the purpose they are tying to fill with one. Where do you hunt, is an Argo needed because one thing to keep in mind these machines are purpose built they are not intended for joy riding in all day like a quad or side by side, you will not get the miles or hours out of them using them for this purpose. If you intend to use it for getting back into the holes no one else can get into, and ride around in it sparingly then these are the machines. From what I have heard they have made leaps and bounds in the durabilty of these units. Looking at them I think they are well built machines if you think they are what you want,, I don't think you can go wrong buying one.

I trust my life on my Argo and you should too.

After more than a decade of talking about it we finally bit the bullet, bought a 98 argo that's been very well maintained, wall tent, the works.  We went with an argo as where we like to hunt it's simply the only choice.  It'll be used about 2 weeks per year, and that's it.  For us, it's not a toy, it's a tool.

OP I'm new to the argo but here's my take:  They're an incredibly simple machine.  Just a simple gas engine, driver and driven clutches, a couple, "god chains" that drive the whole system, then chains and sprockets to the individual axles, which are basically mounted with a pillow block on the inside and a flanged bearing in a cup with a seal against the hull on the outside.  Steering is tilly bars operating individual brakes on each, "god chain".

Like I said, I'm new to this, but imo if you're mechanically inclined and willing to properly maintain them, I can't see a problem, as quite frankly most farm kids with simple tools could.  It's not the difficulty, rather the willingness to take the time is how I see it.

IMO if you're the type who wants to jump in, hit the key, run the crap out of it, park it and forget about it until next you hit the key, then you'll have problems, just like a farmer who doesn't maintain his combine.  If you're anal about maintenance and you're intent is to use it as it was designed, I really can't see having much for problems, and if you do it'll be a simple fix.  I"ve no doubt the local auto parts store in a rural area stocks every part on it, save the axles and hubs.

If buying used, I'd suggest good research as many changes were made to them over the years and a couple yrs difference can mean massive improvements.  The production history is available on the companies website.  I'd also suggest looking at a few different one's so you get a better feel of what to look for or avoid.  We also looked at a new one to compare, although not in our budget.  If you want new, you might want to check out Max 2's I believe they're called.  A US made argo copy at half the price.  Dont' know anything about them, just came across them while researching argo's.

But then again, what do I know at this point?  Ask me again in two years and we'll see. 

My dad had a 6x6 Argo in the 90s he bought it new. We used it a fair bit for moose hunting like some others said it's more a tool than a toy. We were able to get across some muskegs that quads couldn't cross. It was maintainence intensive but I looked after it every trip. Overall it held up pretty good.