yea so did I main reason I bought it originally. I was at least expecting something on par quality wise with a traxxas stampede or bandit seeing there about the same price. But its quality is closer to being on par with the low cost exceeds and Tyco's. Honestly this turned me off of buying new HPIs when they come out like the Bullet brushless it looks nice but I won't pay for something that they might decided to say screw it and offer no parts for in a year (like the brama and cyber 10).

Sadly though this damn gear is the ONLY DAMN THING I cannot figure out how to replace with something metal from another model/brand. For the hell of it I just sent HPI's customer service a e-mail asking if theres anything they know of that will work in its stead thats not made out of cheap plastic.