starter rtr for young person. advise please

[Apricot Slice]

Hi folks,
A woman turned up at our club today with her young son, about 8 I'd say, and she was asking for some advise to get him started. And as you can imagine, she was a little surprised at the initial cost.

What I know is, is that if you spend a wodge of money on a nice competition model, they are tough and go where you point them.

Generally if you get something cheap they fall to bits and don't go where you point them. And lead to frustration and disappointment.

The first thing that popped into mind was a b4 rtr.

Are there cheaper rtr (brushless) alternatives that are robust and handle properly?

Thanks
Apricot

[Naushad]

Ansmann mad rat/monkey

[Nas]

I would highly recommend spending that little more and going for a b4 (secound hand from ebay) RTR. The Ansmann mad rats just break!,there not durable at ALL.

[Naushad]

Well....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-Ansmann...#ht_2168wt_909

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Associated...#ht_2221wt_812

The B4 may have a better pedigree, but the Ansmann is cheaper and parts are plenty.

I think the mad rat is the best to go for if you are looking for quality with a good price to boot. Ansmann have good spares service.

TO my mind, any car will break if driven poorly.

This is of course if you buy new! Maybe a second hand car though is good to test the waters!

[CrashBangWallop]

Big up for the B4 RTR ! Mad rat is a cheap car made of poorly fitting / manufactured parts. It took me 2 different motor plates to find one that the threads were fully formed so the gearbox did not fall apart.
Used it once and somebody kindly drove over the front end and broke it off for me, I repaired the damage and then sold it pronto.
The mad monkey is better - just.

The RTR B4 is a good starting point but will wear out in time (things will get floppy). If you are going to buy an Associated buggy, make sure to buy a factory team edition, they are more money but tough and durable.

Dont get me wrong the Ansmann is cheap but cheap for a reason. Yes the parts are cheap, because you will need lots of them and frequently.

To finish a race first, first you need to finish.

[Lee24h]

couldnt agree more i have x2c and its badly made it now consists of schumacher, assoiated and carbon parts

[budgio]

Originally Posted by Naushad

any car will break if driven poorly.

Agreed
Ansmann would get my vote

[Naushad]

At the end of the day each man to their own.

Maybe Apricot Slice can advise based on the experience of his fellow club members and what is popular to race.