I had one of the later-build Panthers (purchased in 2011) and later used it intensively at AAF between 2013 to 2015. I did not suffer any other quality-related issues on the stock components. Even though I arrived with Impact tracks and gearboxes installed, I opted to use the stock plastic tracks for better performance. I had to revert to the stock gearboxes as the Impact sprockets were incompatible with Tamiya tracks.
The first battle in Sep 2013 (the metal tracks were taken off later that weekend)
March 2014 (By now, you can see I have removed the gun-muzzle mounted IR emitter, giving up a bit of range in exchange for consistent accuracy, as well as ditched the antenna which wasn't doing anything). Plenty of new scratches on the front lower glacis plate from rock crawling.
By this time, the AAF regulars had mostly worked out the Panther's quirks, guys like Jersey Bob, DaveB, Troy were all pretty handy with the tank, and exploited its gun depression on ridges - honorable mention for Dana who had the JP as well. The Panther's key weakness is a relatively high center of gravity and a relatively narrow width, that made it more prone to rolling over than say a Tiger or a Pershing.
I have since retired that Danville Panther, but would buy another Tamiya Panther again, I have already stashed some Aber and other upgrade parts for it if that ever happens.