I would NEVER let an LHS, or anybody for that matter, build my kit for me!!! I think buying RTR's is bad enough, but to spend the money on a kit to then only have someone else build it for you just seems ridiculous. I can understand if you're VERY, VERY, VERY busy, or perhaps if it's your first RC and you are young(under 12) that maybe you would want someone to build a portion or all of it for you, but not me. I built my first kit, my vintage LB which I still own, when I was about 6 years old. I've been building all of my own kits since.
However, I do agree with a previous post that it benefits all of us when the LHS can make $30-50 per hour building some suckers kit for them. It keeps the LHS in business and making a pretty good profit. Lord knows I do all I can to support my LHS's, because having to order parts and wait a week for them sucks. I'll gladly pay $1-3 more for a part to have it immediately instead of waiting 5-7 days for it in the mail.
Also, I think it's hillarious they said to give them two weeks to have it built!
That would kill me! When I get a kit it's assembled within 3 days or less depending on how much time I have to dedicate to it when I get it. Building is a lot of the fun in this hobby, and if you get real skilled at it you can begin making your own custom parts, saving time during repairs, saving money, etc... I also know the EXACT quality of the build when I do it. I know what screws have been loctited. I know the attention to detail taken. I know the kit has been assembled pefectly, etc... I often notice that 99 times out of 100 when I compare one of my vehicles to an RTR of the same model or someone else's kit, that mine is assembled and operates MUCH better than the other. I take pride in assembly and maintenance of my RC's and it shows. That's probably why I can run them HARD for 21 years and still have them in perfect operating order!
