uonlylivetwice

My Feedback: (2)

awhile back a few of you recommended the Traxxas stampede for a nine year old just getting started. I can only find it in the $240 range. is there anything closer to the $150 range that is good quality, or do you have to get into the $200s to get anything of quality? back when the posts were first made he stampede was around $180 per the posts.... i guess it has gone up a lot.

thanks all-

YOLT

Foxy

There is nothing for the beginner under $250 in my personal opinion. My reasoning for that, is that a $200 truck has so many inherent weaknesses and problems due to cost cutting, not to mention woefully inadequate electronics due to the fact that quality electronics are expensive, that I would only recommend such a vehicle to an EXPERIENCED hobbyist who would have no problem addressing the issues and knows what to expect from such a vehicle, as the problems will be many and varied. Although it sounds like backward situation (cheap cars are usually aimed at beginners), I strongly recommend saving a bit more and getting something with a known good reputation for your first car. Otherwise you may end up with a lemon and become disenchanted with the hobby. If you really must go for the cheap seats, look at something by Redcat, at least they are a US distributor that stands by their products, has a limited warranty and good availability of spares and upgrades.

redfisher1974

What are you looking for? off-road, on-road, etc.

phmaximus

The HBX max buggy is in ur price range, it's a 1/10 buggy that is a very good clone of the Tamiya BAJA King, IMO it's better than the Tamiya version. HBX has made some revisions to improve handling and durability.

uonlylivetwice

My Feedback: (2)

So is the stampede still the best of the bunch in terms of cost quality reliability etc?
Thx again......

redfisher1974

I would say no, but I'm not a traxxas fan.

uonlylivetwice

My Feedback: (2)

What do you prefer redfish?

Thanks!

redfisher1974

HPI makes nice RC's Check out the hPI website. I bet your son would love a HPI wheely King.

phmaximus

Would u consider 2nd hand? U can make someone's loss ur gain?

uonlylivetwice

My Feedback: (2)

Sure... where? EBay? This site? Thanks

phmaximus

I've had great success with eBay and some local classified sites... I'm in Australia so the sites I use would be no good for u...

But eBay and Craigslist would be a great start... Look for big brand cars ie, losi, team accioated, traxxas, hpi, Tamiya Kyosho, axial....

phmaximus

Here is some examples for ya

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Team-Associa...item232a07b681

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Traxxas-Rust...item2ec7651099

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Traxxas-Slas...item2ec7843c4a

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TLR-team-los...item460e664849

SyCo_VeNoM

great RC



I'd personally shy away from used specially on a budget as a fair amount of times when buying used you don't make someones elses loss your gain instead they make their gain on your loss by selling a RC in terrible shape, just with very nicely taken pics.
Not saying all used vehicles are a ripoff, but from what I've seen over the years the deals have become far, and few in between, and if you don't know what to look for that $120 RC to make run could easily hit over the cost of it brand new to make it work(it happened to me when I started and bought a used RC in "Great condition")

discgolfer72

i agree used on a budget can end up throwing that budget out the door
if it needs tires add 20-40$
all the parts will be weakend from use so it will probaly break on the first run
add another 50-100$
lol it add s up with these new crap plastic cars

really the ecx stuff for a 9yr old would not be bad
my lhs sells them for 189 and ebay the go even cheaper


http://www.ecxrc.com/#


i have the cricut
i bought it because i needed a set of electronics and it was cheaper to buy the whole car ,rather than to buy the esc and radio i needed

later on i ended up slaping a castle brushless in it and it did verry well

out of the box its nice and slow and easy to controll
and it seems pretty robust
(as good as a entry lvl traxxas or duratrax car)

reall perfect for a 9yr old to learn on
and once he gets the hang of it jam in a brushless setup and let him rip lol


now if you go used dont buy any of the new junk parts are to brittle and transmissions are total crap
these are tanks (i have gone 40mph inot a brick wall and nothing breaks just bend it back into shape and keep on chugging)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-RC-1...item43ba628868
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cust...item27d14e6479

phmaximus

I disagree, I've brought and sold plenty 2nd hand Rc's over the years.... I've saved hundreds!

If u are buying a $400 pluss car for just over $100 u can't go wrong... That's a saving of $300.... No way serviceable parts are going to cost that much.... No way.

I would take a 2nd hand losi over a brand new EXC any day. And even if the losi was worn out, the maintance costs still would be cheaper over a year.

I picked up a losi 8ight 2.0 roller for $150... Sure it needs new tyres and output yokes... But that's peanuts compared to a TLR roller


It's just like buying a new car, hundreds can be saved

redfisher1974

Funny here in Canada most people want almost new price for crap... like $300 for a used rustler....

nitrosportsandrunner

prices for used stuff is really high right now!

Ill second the ECX models. boost/torment are both really good for the money. Just make sure its the newer version with 2.4ghz radio. The older boost models has a FM radio that sucked.
Newer models have 2.4ghz radio, 15t motor/15t esc.

Just under $200 NIB. Add in a $30 7.2v 5000mah battery from hobbypartz.com and you have a good setup!

phmaximus

Ouch $300 for a used rustler... That one I linked so far is only $150 in a auction.

SyCo_VeNoM

ehh only $300? I've seen a used XL-5 rustler for $400 that looked like it was fished out of a sewer.

redfisher1974

Blows my mind, I can't see these selling at those prices but when I look at Kijiji they are all high priced...

discgolfer72

its all awell and god for a high end rc that normally runs in the 400$ range to buy used
get it for 150$ and your doing great

but this guy is looking for a cheap car for a 9yr old


so buying a entry levl rc is not so great used

most of the time entry levl stuff is sold at or just a tad below retail since the seller's are usually
newbs that got tired of their entry lvl car and want money to pay for a better one
so they want 80-150 mabey even 300$ for their stampede or rustler


in the end for a 9yr old
any rc car that has avail part's will be just fine
and the cheaper the better

phmaximus

I disagree 100%. Go to eBay.com and type in rustler and select the used box..... U will see there are a few under $200
Even a rustler for $150 is even better....

There is even a losi 22 at $200 with 10h and no bids

HPI blitz $180 and $155

Tamiya lunchbox $150

Seriously there are heapse of great cars on eBay ATM. I don't know where u are getting ur facts from?

I could easly list over 15 vehicles that IMO are better than cheaping out. We all know the cheaper brands have durability issues, in my mind it's not a smart idea to give a child a car that's so fragile to learn with. Another point those cheap cars have no aftermarket support and the OEM parts are more expensive that the bigger brand Manifactures.

It's funny the traxxas guys swap out there parts for rpm parts and the EXC guys replace there parts with traxxas parts.... What does that tell u? If u think traxxas is bad then what would u consider EXC?

phmaximus

Excelent post, there is so much out there supporting this, there has even been a few videos showing these durability issues.

I don't know how people can still recomend some of there cars and Manifactures.

discgolfer72

thats the biggest problem a low budget car is junk no matter what you go for

traxxas,redcat,ecx,exceede,aarma(or what ever the hell it is)

all have to be totaly rebuilt to become anything other than a basher



but to reccomend a used car to a entry level buyer is also no good

there are so many things to look for when buying used and ebay is horrible its a 50/50 shot at best if the seller is being honest (what hidden flaws will that 200$ used stampede hold for the new buyer)
its one thing to use craigslist or local adds to find one you at least get to see it run before you buy
but cl is stupid everyone want 250$ for a used traxxas what ever

for a 9yr old buy the cheapest thing you can find that has parts support and be done with it

be it ecx or redcat or any other knock off out there
the evader is a solid cheapo as well but i think they are in the 200-250 range(since it went to the ext )



perfect example i just bought a rc18 off ebay
sposd to be good running conditoin
pics looked good no real sign of abuse
well i get it and the front diff sounds like a grinder when it turns
for me thats a 15 min job and 10$ in parts

for entry level its either fight the seller and end up out shipping cost
or get stuck with it and spend 2 days trying to lear to fix your car for the first time

not a good time on a budget at all



all in all
either save up and buy a nice quality new rc
or buy a cheapo new rc and use it to learn the trade while having fun with your kid
then if the hobby catches on and the lil one like it splurge on a good car (hopeffuly a kit so it can be a fun project)

phmaximus

each to there own i guess. dont think Traxxas is considered low budget on the sheer fact it has great customer support, warrenty, upgrades and after market support. the rustler and slash are very durable, no doubt about it
Im not to fussed who gets what. im just sharing what i know from experance so people dont make the same mistakes i made.

I only let my kids drive the good stuff... example SCX10 Honcho 2