The only cats that don't have a rear cooler are 2012+ HCRs, not the M models.
That 09 most certainly has two (as do most arctic cats).
http://store.arcticcat.com/Parts#/Ar.../S2009M8HEKUSB
If you can get that 09 for 5k, that's maybe worth looking at. You will have to change that bearing I mentioned earlier but that's about it as far as 'essentials'. The mileage is nice and low. 09s are selling for about that and a little cheaper here but I know things are a little more up there.
I'm with you on buying a sled from someone with 'treadway' in their name.Although honestly, it probably has a better chance of being kept up/running......up until it was time to sell it of course.
It seems like it's probably already been said but spend some time reading snowest forums. Every sledder who only buys one brand over and over again loves to think they have the best thing out there but the truth is that every single sled has/had issues. When you're looking at older used ones, the real problems that were manufacturing fuck ups that caused consistent issues across many owners are sussed out by now and that will become obvious to you when you do the reading. With cats before 2012, it was mostly suspension gripes but they've got probably the most bomber motor running. Don't take my word for that, do the reading. Skidoos are the same before 07 in terms of motor but they had just as many sleds as anyone breaking up pistons and destroying motors. The key though is that most of them still running have fixed the problem. When I bought my 04 Rev, I changed out the pistons before I ever took it out. I got a good 1200 miles out of it over two seasons with no issues other than some weird carb jetting problems (but that was also fixable). I'll agree though that if things are setup right, those old 800 HO motors in the revs will last a long time. Just look around you in canadia and you can see that.
That list I gave you is a mix of things I've personally owned, ridden around a ton with friends who own them, AND reading up on models and noticing patterns. There is no one single brand out of the daunting number of 3, that has no issues ever. Anyone who pretends that is living in a bubble.
But ANYTHING from polaris, cat, or skidoo is easy to get parts for, and just as easy to work on, barring something crazy, like 90% of users are all trying to buy crankshafts at the same time. That should have zero to do with your decision. What should however is the likelihood of WHAT you're likely to be working on. With pre 2004-2005 skidoo Rev 800s, it's pistons if they haven't been changed (and even IF so, it's only once in a long while). With 2009-2011 cats it's a bearing, and sometimes primary clutch issues. With 2007-2011 polaris 800s it's likely to be the whole damn motor (but the 700s is likely to be nothing).
If you swear off an entire brand just because you see one not working or getting towed out, you'd never ride ANY sled.
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