Your Top 10 Pet Peeves in second-hand R/C cars

[RichieRich]

What the heck kind of basket cases are you guys buying?!?!? LOL! I stay away from the cars painted with latex paint but, I have been surprised many times by things you just simply can't see or tell by the pics. Even when holding the car in my hands for a once-over, I've still found surprises.

1) Wood screws. Stop being a cheap bastard and use the correct damn screw!
2) Glue. Hot glue, super glue, epoxy, you name it. If it's broke, glue it!!
3) Improper assembly. I picked up an Optima Mid that had left suspension parts on the right and vise versa. It also had the front shocks mounted on different holes on each side.
4) Over-lubing. I've found shock oil in diffs, motor oil in shocks, vaseline in transmissions and I swear to god...LOTION in a shock. It had a very distinct flowery scent.
5) Cigarette smoke. I always ask before bidding, but the times I don't, I get burned. I wind up having to quarantine said car/parts.

I guess these are my top five. Just when I think I can't be amazed, someone pops up and does.

[besty22]

I've got two.
Wood screws as mentioned a few times. WTF How hard is it to get the correct
screws?
I also hate when the seller takes the money and all communication lines are cut. Not on 10talk but feebay is a classic for this.

[victor_cathedral]

What the heck kind of basket cases are you guys buying?!?!? LOL! I stay away from the cars painted with latex paint but, I have been surprised many times by things you just simply can't see or tell by the pics. Even when holding the car in my hands for a once-over, I've still found surprises.

1) Wood screws. Stop being a cheap bastard and use the correct damn screw!
2) Glue. Hot glue, super glue, epoxy, you name it. If it's broke, glue it!!
3) Improper assembly. I picked up an Optima Mid that had left suspension parts on the right and vise versa. It also had the front shocks mounted on different holes on each side.
4) Over-lubing. I've found shock oil in diffs, motor oil in shocks, vaseline in transmissions and I swear to god...LOTION in a shock. It had a very distinct flowery scent.
5) Cigarette smoke. I always ask before bidding, but the times I don't, I get burned. I wind up having to quarantine said car/parts.

I guess these are my top five. Just when I think I can't be amazed, someone pops up and does.

ROFL at lotion

[jacsac]

Craigslist r/c car listings annoy me. Any good deal on there is already gone by the time I see the ad and the rest of them are either unreadable or ridiculous. How can someone believe that a used Traxxas (model name here) is worth the same as a new one because they are including all the old blown out tires and wheels. Yes they have all aluminum arms and piggyback shocks but they are bent and scratched and it is made by Integy anyway.

Saleing ads in general. If you have something "For Sell" why not have someone who can convey what comes out of your mouth but doesn't translate to your fingers, type an ad for you. I do appreciate knowing that you are clueless though. I get to avoid sending you money and waiting 3 weeks for your package of unclean, beaten, and generally worthless pile of parts. Yes, I understand that you couldn't ship next day or bother with tracking because you were sick or you were busy stacking my dough. Please avoid PMing me about my "For Sell" ads as well.

Hi, BTW.

[victor_cathedral]

haha, i agree. Any RC adds on craigslist are for the most part rediculous. i love the ones like "used rc10GT,.. will trade for fishing poles, shoes, or a tent'' if there is a good price / deal there is never a pic of the car. and hellloo to you, welcome (im new too)

[EvolutionRevolution]

Oil, grease, mud ... these also don't bother me. Cleaning the vehicle is not difficult to do (I'm going to tear it apart anyway), and besides, the dirt likely netted me a significant discount on eBay relative to the same car cleaned. Part of the excitement of getting a second hand car is seeing what it looks like under all that garbage, at least it is for me.

Mud, grease, oil doesn't bother me too much, as long as the car isn't completely COATED in it. The one I'm working on now has been greased with some weird grease all over every single transmission and suspension part (and more) and then was run with foam tires, apparently without ever cleaning it - so there's a 1-2 mm layer of crud on certain parts. Nothing short of industrial grade solvent and much rubbing will remove the stuff - and of course the parts that have the thickest layer are those made out of nylon that due to their age could react badly to the solvent and shatter in my hands...

Ah, my top ten list should have been top-11: People who overtighten screws, and then overtighten them some more, ruining the screw hole forever. And then chuck in a wood screw and do the same thing

[Lonestar]

1- Wrong screws and stripped threads in parts with mechanical load
2- INSANE slop in suspension for "good runners" (you know, when rear toe goes from minus 10 to plus 10 degrees... per wheel)
3- Wrong screws and stripped threads in parts with mechanical load
4- Diff outdrives worn out like if there was no tomorrow... you know the bloody suspension won't work if the bone pin is stuck in the outdrive due to wear, right?
5- Wrong screws and stripped threads in parts with mechanical load
6- Smoke smell. Yuk. Get a life.
7- Wrong screws and stripped threads in parts with mechanical load
8- Glued diffs. It sure doesn't slip any more does it? call it "BL-Ready" I guess
9- Wrong screws and stripped threads in parts with mechanical load
10- transmission internals (gears, pulleys, belts...) wore down to the bone... HAve you ever done ANY maintenance to your car?

This is pretty much it, really... oh, did I mention that wrong screws and stripped threads drive me NUTS???



Paul

[victor_cathedral]

you know those guys whos two car garage has a push mower, 10 kids bikes, camping gear that never gets used, and a ''toolbench'' with a hammer, and a flathead screwdriver ? that is the kind of people i envision these common pet peeves come from. '' ohh our son johny lost a screw out of his brand new sc10, lets just take one out of this ball jar of screws from the kitchen cabinets, faucets, and whatever else we ''improved'' when we moved in that we have left over " am i right ?

[DerbyDan]

I think i've been really lucky with the cars i've brought.... even my 'basket case' Worlds Car ended up being better than hoped! I guess generally the cars that we collect are, if used, are generally ex-race cars and as such owned by people who know the importance of good preparation... the problem comes after the car's racing life & it ends up in the hands of the casual 'basher' when things get 'bodged' etc.

Having said that - cars that have been used for racing normally end up with 'modifications' (holes for passing wires through in bulkheads - my Cougar, Trimmed off ribs/excess plastic - JRX2 gearbox case & RC10 wishbones etc etc) However if done well I feel these often add to the interest on the car.

My biggest pet hate though is ball joint cups & shock shafts that have been chewed-up by people using pliers on them

[CAT3K]

My pet hate is when sellers don't describe what's missing. Some of them i'm sure do it innocently, but others definately use the best photos to hide faults. I once received a car that was missing all the driveshafts and it was described as good working order

My other hate is blurry mobile phone photos taken from10 feet away

[victor_cathedral]

My pet hate is when sellers don't describe what's missing. Some of them i'm sure do it innocently, but others definately use the best photos to hide faults. I once received a car that was missing all the driveshafts and it was described as good working order

My other hate is blurry mobile phone photos taken from10 feet away

oops,... all my photos on this forum are taken with my mobile phone then reduced in size

[shirochanwrx]

4) Over-lubing. I've found shock oil in diffs, motor oil in shocks, vaseline in transmissions and I swear to god...LOTION in a shock. It had a very distinct flowery scent.
5) Cigarette smoke. I always ask before bidding, but the times I don't, I get burned. I wind up having to quarantine said car/parts.

Smelling like cigarette smoke and perfumed lotion? Yeah, I would have a problem with an R/C car that smells like a hooker's underwear drawer too.

But c'mon, haven't we all resorted to using hand lotion in our shocks and/or diffs at least once? It's a toss up between Neutragena and Keihl's for diff action (although Kyosho and Tamiya seem to run best with Shiseido), but you can't beat Suave or Jergens for bang-for-the-buck. Of course, you could go with Clinique or Estee Lauder, but that's overkill for backyard bashing.

Who wants cracked, scaly, or wrinkled diff rings or shock O-rings?

Lotion *is* the answer for any vintage R/C enthusiast who is looking to improve the appearace of "fine-lines and wrinkles" that might otherwise suggest the actual age of the car.

Word.

[Mr. ED]

Didn't happen to me, but how can we forget that infamous thread: original box smelling of cat pee!

[WillyThickfoot]

Number 1 problem with a used car,, I DID NOT BUILD IT !

[jwscab]

I only have 2 really, all the stuff I've collected (not much, thankfully).

wrong screws, ie, wood, drywall, whatever. I can see if a hole is stripped and you needed to go up a a size, but 4 or 5 sizes, or a wood screw jammed in there? ugh. I cringe when i see oversize hardware, but really get disheartened when its mangled with a totally wrong screw.

the other is gearcases filled with weird grease/whatever. really? the instructions tell you where to apply lube!