RE: HOW DURABLE IS THE SAVAGE...REALLY
I guess I need to add my bad experience to these other pretty good ones!
My Savage is less than 2 weeks old, and I can't even get the @#$%! thing broken in without some kind of problem!
I was running it the other day (forth tank of fuel after factory recommended break in), and running it easy on a flat lawn, and it just stopped. Engine would rev, front wheels would turn (left to right), shafts would spin, but it wont move. I've checked the spur gear, all tranny gears, took it to the guy at my LHS for a diagnosis, and called HPI and no one can tell me why it wont work.
I'm not too awfully impressed with mine so far! I could understand this happening if I'd been bashing the heck out of it. But I've only been running it half throttle on soft level ground and experienced problems that would seem to have evolved from destructive use!