why have buggies got so expensive?

[keenbutkrap]

been running a second hand cougar sv2 for a while thought i would buy a new shiney buggy what happened to the mid range buggies the only sub £200 buggy is a losi and ive fallen out with horizon that is off my shopping list i can buy a £50 team c basher or a £250+ top line racer is it just me or have the prices gone through the roof since the demise of ansmann

[lardy37]

Well there is the Durango dex210 but probably better sticking with sv2 still a good car and still making them

[neallewis]

Maybe ansmann being so cheap was the reason for them not being in business now?

There are "cheap" buggies about, hobao, durangos, older losi's, etc. Generally with the cheap stuff, you need to spend way more in excess of the kit price in upgrades to make them durable and competitive however.

It's not just kit price that you need to look at, but factor in price and availability of parts.

£200-£250 seems about the normal price for a racers spec kit, with the quality Japanese end being more expensive.

With new buggies coming and people refreshing their rides for the new season, there are plenty of decently priced second hand buggies about at competitive prices, often well looked after and maintained, with loads of spares, etc.

[bretts]

Paul, Alex will sell you a firebolt for £199 or a B5M for £215 according to his website


(link below in sig, save you searching on google)

[Jez]

maybe yokomo bmax2 will come down in price soon?tamiya do some cheap 2wd buggies.i'll try anything cheap.not really fussed about brands.what you need is to find someone who has a load of boxed buggies in their loft doing nothing and make them an offer on one.there must me someone.......

[Origineelreclamebord]

I agree, it seems like buggies have become more expensive. I would say it's down to the explosion of brands that have joined the class. Ok, it seems the class may have become more popular too, but currently every brand has to work actively on new developments to stay in the game, not to mention that they are fighting for what is probably a smaller market share than a few years ago - at least for the big brands like Associated.

[keenbutkrap]

firebolts seem to be very fragile durango are under administration the sv2 is still current just its ready to be upgraded or dropped yokomo's are £300 +kyosho even more tamiya dont make a competative 2wd any more ae used to do team and factory team models not any more looks like i stick with what i have or start doing the lottery

[Dudders]

75% cheaper than they were in 1990!

[JohnM]

I seem to remember a Predator was around the £375 range back in '95/96, so it looks like they don't cost anymore at all now.

[keenbutkrap]

losi 22.2 £190 yokomo £300 cougar kr £190 k1 £280 is the engineering so cheap in america that they can beat the japanese by 30% is the k1 30%dearer to produce than a kr or are they priced at what they think they can get if i remember rightly the predator was carbon fibre tub and all sorts of fancy bits now carbon fibre and graphite have given way to flat plates with a few plasic bits bolted to them all the expensive materials seem to have gone replaced by plastic

[mattr]

Is not plastic.
Most of the "plastics" on current cars is filled with glass or carbon fibre. Around 30-40%

Its an industry standard.

And you are aware of things like tax, wages, materials, rent all being wildly different across the globe?

[alex97]

When I got my b5m it came with a load of other little bits for changing the setup that id most likely never use. These parts would have needed to be designed, have different moulds made and the material used, theses things cost money and add to the end cost. When you think that they are selling these at £175 in the USA without vat and import costs then then I think that you get a lot for your money. You do get more value for money with a 4wd but the running cost are higher.

[HOTSHOT III]

TBH I think you get what you pay for, I started 2WD with a DEX210 which I was perfectly happy with for the money but the quality of parts wasn't the best IMO.

Cheap bearings with the rubber shields pushed in unevenly which restricted their rotation and slipper plates whose anodizing wore off after about 6 meetings and trashed the pads were two of the things which made me change to a Kyosho RB6 and enjoy the Japanese build quality.

Originally Posted by keenbutkrap

losi 22.2 £190 yokomo £300 cougar kr £190 k1 £280 is the engineering so cheap in america that they can beat the japanese by 30% is the k1 30%dearer to produce than a kr or are they priced at what they think they can get if i remember rightly the predator was carbon fibre tub and all sorts of fancy bits now carbon fibre and graphite have given way to flat plates with a few plasic bits bolted to them all the expensive materials seem to have gone replaced by plastic

On a side note I don't know what's wrong with people in this country, in other English speaking countries people take pride in learning to communicate effectively but all three of the posts by the OP have made my eyes hurt due to the lack of grammar and punctuation.

Call me a Victorian posho all you like but if you're capable of talking about percentages you're capable of learning your own language. keenbutboneidle

[Danny Harrison]

Originally Posted by keenbutkrap

losi 22.2 £190 yokomo £300 cougar kr £190 k1 £280 is the engineering so cheap in america that they can beat the japanese by 30% is the k1 30%dearer to produce than a kr or are they priced at what they think they can get if i remember rightly the predator was carbon fibre tub and all sorts of fancy bits now carbon fibre and graphite have given way to flat plates with a few plasic bits bolted to them all the expensive materials seem to have gone replaced by plastic

The new Yokomo is fairly hopped up straight out the box. If its anything like their other recent releases it will work out the box and not require any money spending on it.

on the bmax 4 ive literally only put alloy shock tops on and have only broke a shock shaft and A arm in 6 month racing twice a week!

[keenbutkrap]

the sv2 is on its way a new buggy is being hunted the choices are losi but after a £1000 bill for aircraft repairs with a spektrum transmitter horizon products are out that leaves the rapid but fragile firebolt or the unpopular b5 in the sub £250 and in the middle the schumacher k1 the £300 plus bracket kyosho rb6 yokomo bmaxx and yz2 spares wise the associated and schumacher seem to be the best supported and my driving may make that an important factor
its getting close to the point that the car in the boot is more expensive than the boot it is in

[Jez]

what about rc10 worlds re-release?they can compete at top club level,are fun to drive[sometimes sideways]and you always get a crowd of admirers.i alove mine and will never sell it.around £200 ish and spares are plentiful.you can run any lipo in,no problems squeezing radio gear in.do it,you wont regret it.

[keenbutkrap]

tlr are owned by horizon hobbies like team associated is owned by thunder tiger if my punctuation makes this hard for you i apologise some models are distributed like ansmmann didn't manufacture they distributed team c, yokomo, and team associated are distributed by cml ripmax and perkins are distributers they market other peoples models with their own name habao are no longer listed on the cml website so spares could now be a problem i know this can be a issue as i drive a 4wd ansmann pro and spares have dissapeared completely as have team c alternatives which is why buying the right chassis is important i don't want to spend silly money on a here today gone tomorrow chassis ,

[Jez]

I have loads of spares for the x4 team edition should you ever need.why don't you spend a few quid having your car set up properly?all my cars are built and prepared by peter moss and they are fantastic.worth evey penny!you don't need a £300 car.spend £200 and the rest on build and you will never look back.

[honrico Diablo]

Originally Posted by keenbutkrap

its getting close to the point that the car in the boot is more expensive than the boot it is in

I drive to meetings in a £200 car, with over £1500 worth of rc in the boot. The difference is one of them isn't being raced in a competition. The buggy cost doesn't really matter to me. The gear inside cost a lot more.

[jimmy]

buggys have never been cheaper than they are now, and racing is so much cheaper in terms of motors and cells.

A £200 procat in 1989 is like the K1 aero costing £800 now. BARGAIN DAYS.