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

[Jez]

you don't need a factoryteam/team version of any car paul.any car can be reasonably competitive given a decent set up.take me for example,for years I always had the newest, fastest most expensive kit going and I still couldn't drive for toffee.after a five year break I come back with a 1st version 210 in 540 class,it hasn' t been the fastest car but it handles everything really well.my 4wd car is a b44.1 in blinky class and that's going ok.my yokomo is a v1,and that's ok.none of these cost over £160 and as yet I havn't blinged any up.i even use mtronics speedos in all my 540 cars.

[K-Brewer]

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

a bit off topic but is Durango in administration?

[Suzukitudor]

Loads of these on Oople trade room in good nick good prices top buggy. Get one of these but make sure it has shorty conversion included unless you are running indoor on astro all the time.

[Jamesy]

a bit off topic but is Durango in administration?

No. Durango is not in administration.

I really wish people would check their facts before posting.

Don't believe all you read on the internet!

[mattr]

"Keenbutreallybadlyinformedandjustmakingstuffup"?

Think that sums it up.

And it may well be that it's actually quite hard to make a competitive buggy, cheaply, make some profit and stay in business. Especially with the huge number of new buggies going into a similar sized marketplace. Got to make a profit somehow. Or are you expecting them to give buggies away?

And FWIW the cost of a competitive buggy, compared to 20 odd years ago hasn't really increased that much, certainly well behind inflation. 2WD or 4WD.

[Rick-J]

I agree cars have not gone up with inflation and are not far of the price of a buggy 20 years ago. But why is the new yokomo yz2 just over £100 more than a B5 but yet very similar in design. Not the way it might go on track but production wise.

[neallewis]

"Keenbutreallybadlyinformedandjustmakingstuffup"?

Think that sums it up.

And it may well be that it's actually quite hard to make a competitive buggy, cheaply, make some profit and stay in business. Especially with the huge number of new buggies going into a similar sized marketplace. Got to make a profit somehow. Or are you expecting them to give buggies away?

And FWIW the cost of a competitive buggy, compared to 20 odd years ago hasn't really increased that much, certainly well behind inflation. 2WD or 4WD.

Totally agree. :thumbsup:

[Ashlandchris]

I agree cars have not gone up with inflation and are not far of the price of a buggy 20 years ago. But why is the new yokomo yz2 just over £100 more than a B5 but yet very similar in design. Not the way it might go on track but production wise.

Don't quote me on it, but I seem to recall that when the B5M came out, the first call was from people saying "when will a factory team version be out so we don't have to buy all the alloy bits separate", while the YZ-2 seems to come with all the alloy bling included?

I don't have either car so can't say for certain, but that is the impression I have

[szymanski2oo1]

I would say there cheaper than 20 yrs ago! 20 yrs ago I spent £280 ( hard earned pocket money. ! ) on my cat2000 when it came out and that was with 0 carbon fibre on it... Now you can pick up a full carbon fibre b44.3 for £300 so given inflation etc it's cheaper for what you get!

"Keenbutreallybadlyinformedandjustmakingstuffup"?

Think that sums it up.

And it may well be that it's actually quite hard to make a competitive buggy, cheaply, make some profit and stay in business. Especially with the huge number of new buggies going into a similar sized marketplace. Got to make a profit somehow. Or are you expecting them to give buggies away?

And FWIW the cost of a competitive buggy, compared to 20 odd years ago hasn't really increased that much, certainly well behind inflation. 2WD or 4WD.

[Legacy555]

Problem solved - £189.99

http://insidelineracing.co.uk/images/stories/virtuemart/product/tc02c-evo-kev-lee5.jpg

Team C TC02C Evo - link below

http://insidelineracing.co.uk/inside-line-shop/kits-offroad-buggy/team-c-rc-kits/team-c-tc02c-evo-mid-motor-buggy-p

[bretts]

Problem solved - £189.99

Team C TC02C Evo - link below

http://insidelineracing.co.uk/inside-line-shop/kits-offroad-buggy/team-c-rc-kits/team-c-tc02c-evo-mid-motor-buggy-p

Yep I think you're right what a bargain!

[racingdwarf]

I agree with some of the above, what we now expect from a modern high end competition buggy takes quite a bit ofR&D etc etc and as has been said they have not gone up to much compared to many other day to day things over the past 20 years, but the thing is how much are we the club racer prepared to pay for our cars, I have drawn the line in 4wd I would love a Kyosho ZX6 but I just can't warrant that sort of cost on a buggy! I think in the end thats going to be the question/problem for manufacturers is, what we want, what it costs to create and what we can all as a worldwide hobby afford per car?

[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.

[fletcher]

dont know why you guys are wasting your breath, this guys a stubborn and deluded one,

end of the day, horizon dont built this 22, tlr do, so give them the funds, not horizon, or your lhs that actually buys and sells the car? The durangos are great and mb models do all the spares. Hobao h2 pro is like under £150 isn't it and apparently works like a 22 and you can fit 22 parts to it.

but hey, all you guys have said this and hes got an answer to everything....

[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.

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]

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!

[Neil Skull]

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

Kyosho don't make a competitive 2wd?? The RB6 is the current World champion 2wd car!!!!

maybe you are missing some important news?

[Jez]

Kyosho don't make a competitive 2wd?? The RB6 is the current World champion 2wd car!!!!

maybe you are missing some important news?

neil,i think what he means is that kyosho are more than 300 [yokomo] and that Tamiya don't make a competitive buggy.at the end of the day there is a good choice of buggies out there with budgets for everyone.the most expensive aren't always the best,and the cheaper ones aren't always the worst.

[Col]

And on that note, HOTSHOTIII rests his case. :thumbsup:

[PaulRotheram]

I can sell you a cheap car :) one meeting old - like new :thumbsup:

[mattr]

Kyosho don't make a competitive 2wd?? The RB6 is the current World champion 2wd car!!!!

maybe you are missing some important news?nah, just paragraphs, punctuation and grammar.

[fletcher]

I rest my case. Complete waste of anyone's breath

[adey]

i think the point that was made about there being different cars out there of varying costs to suit different budgets its a good one. I feel some of the upgrades or parts for certain cars are a little crazy sometimes but it doesn't seem to put people off so what do I know lol.

[bretts]

Humm, maybe this thread is not going to plan.... best buy ones these rather than a new car

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTsh8OvlngTx5FOCG7c9-ZJa_mjBludkz6Ko7QMcJ4OvgWyuB7pDg

so you can dig yourself out.....

[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.

[HOTSHOT III]

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.

Very very true, despite the build quality issues I was more than happy with the actual performance of the DEX210.

It's surprising how many people don't follow basic rules like making sure all the suspension components fall under their own weight and regularly replacing shock seals. Also you can make the shock action better than on a brand new car by polishing the shock rods with Autosol, this makes the shock action silky smooth even on my 15 year old Schuey Fireblade.

I clean and re-lube my CVDs every week and people often comment that my cars are noticeably quieter than other people's (and they last longer, and CVD backlash makes even the most expensive car horrible to drive).

Also it's worth finding a good local fastener supplier (not Screwfix, hunt around the industrial estates for one that supplies local industry) and spending some money on fasteners, this makes the car more approachable to work on and you'll be more inclined to try different setups between rounds. I can't abide seeing a car less than 6 months old with a load of chewed up screw heads.

[honrico Diablo]

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.

[Yachty]

There not more expensive there much cheaper than they use to be 20 years ago (take the Schumacher CAT £249 for a 2000 in 1995 it now £300 for the CAT K1 Aero inflation accounts for more than that). I don't think £50-70 on a kit between middle end stuff and the latest and greatest makes any difference. Middle of the range still exist either as end of life high end models from the main manufactuers or the raft of Chinese partial copies

It all cheaper than 20 years ago
+ four high end NiMH to be competitive as a minimum when I last raced as apposed to 2 medium lipos
+ 27/40 Mhz transmitter and dont forget the 5 sets of crystals as apposed to a 2.4Ghz set
etc.

[Si Coe]

As many others have said, I don't think they've got more expensive at all. What has happened though is that prices have got extremely variable.

Lets take Durango - When they first brought the DEX410 out it was the most expensive car on the market at £400 or thereabouts. Today you can pick up a V4 for £270, and the 410R v3 cost £180 when they stopped selling it. One basic design but wildly different costs.
Of course the first cars had a lot more machined alloy and a lot less polymer parts but overall reliability, strength and performance has improved. Durango realised you could make essentially the same car for a lot less.

It cost them as many customers as it made.

You can make a competitive buggy for very little, but even an 'expensive' buggy isn't. Compared to so many other hobbies £300-400 is not a big deal. You can get a 210V2 for £160, or an RB6 for twice that. Most club racers won't really notice the difference (if they claim to its normally that they just a a better setup for the preferred one) but lets be honest who really wants the 'budget' Durango when the 'luxury' Kyosho is still affordable?

And thats the point. Companies sell £300+ cars because people buy £300+ cars. Willingly. A more expensive car has to be better, it just has to be, so we have to have the best we can afford.

[Essex2Visuvesi]

My first 27mhz acoms tx cost me 39.99 back in 198*cough*
Look online for an acoms tx and its roughly the same price.
So it's not all doom and gloom :D

[mattr]

Compared to so many other hobbies £300-400 is not a big deal.tell me about it, that would have been about enough to keep me in consumables (at RRP) for a month's racing on my MTB.
If I'd broken anything significant, you could probably double it. New frame (£1000 minimum), forks (£5-600), wheels (£500)....... Not to mention having to have at least three sets of tyres, two mounted up. In case the course conditions changed.

And prices have gone mental since I packed in. 10 years ago.

[brian s]

24 years ago, for a top line 4wd buggy you would have paid:- £230 for a kyosho lazer ZX-R or £275 for a yokomo works 91.
considering today you would pay for a similar spec 4wd :- b44.3 - £299 , k1 aero - £294 , or a losi 22.4 - £224 prices are not that expensive.

[HOTSHOT III]

Another way to keep costs down is to be focused when putting in an order with the hobby shops.

A lot of them offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount so it's worth shopping around to find one with live stock levels, so you can ascertain whether they've got everything you need in one order.

Too many people think small, you need to think big. If you're up to say £35 with an order you might as well get another 2 pairs of tyres at £8 each to get the "free shipping when you spend £50" deal rather than wasting a fiver on delivery, after all you'll use them eventually.

I have an A4 pad "the ledger" in which I write down all money that comes into my account and all that goes out with dates, and I check my balance every few days. This way even before transactions have cleared I know how much I can spend without going overdrawn.

Leading on from this I make liberal use of my credit card to buy stuff I won't have the cash for for a couple of weeks, but I make sure using it never costs me a penny by paying the balance in full within 28 days. This way you can take advantage of special offers that might no longer be there when you get paid.

Hope this helps, all of the above is the only way I can afford to race competitively.

[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.

[mattr]

Hope this helps, all of the above is the only way I can afford to race competitively.TBH, if I had to go to that level of penny pinching and detailed financial planning, I'd not have started up again. As when it comes right down to it, it's still just playing with toy cars. Unless you are right at the pointy end, nationally (or internationally), it's not worth it.

It's the only reason i "spent" that much on bikes, the level i was at and the deals I could get (free stuff, or very nearly) meant that prize money plus a small input from wages could keep me racing at a high level........ Until my sponsor pulled the plug on the team. Oops.

[jimmy]

Racing is fun, some take it more seriously than others. I'm only ever racing for fun, not because i can't do well, i choose not to be bothered.

[HOTSHOT III]

TBH, if I had to go to that level of penny pinching and detailed financial planning, I'd not have started up again. As when it comes right down to it, it's still just playing with toy cars. Unless you are right at the pointy end, nationally (or internationally), it's not worth it.

It's the only reason i "spent" that much on bikes, the level i was at and the deals I could get (free stuff, or very nearly) meant that prize money plus a small input from wages could keep me racing at a high level........ Until my sponsor pulled the plug on the team. Oops.

If that's your opinion that's fine, I was just trying to show the OP that you can make your money go a long way if you think before throwing your wad on the counter.

Also I forgot to mention, I gave up my TV Licence recently which is saving me another 150 quid a year, plus I no longer have to sit through hours of "celebrity cretins" twaddle and left-wing propaganda interrupted by 10-minute ad breaks.

Even if my financial situation were better i'd still be like this just because i'd rather that money was in my pocket than someone else's. Most successful business people are pretty tightfisted and get their staff to re-use jiffy bags etc.

[spudnuts]

It's not just Budgies, African greys cost a fortune. :o

[J77MYF]

I'm sure the Yokomo Super Dog Fighter 870C was about £200 in the late 80's, so I think they've probably come down in price.

You can get some real bargains 2nd hand that have barely been used.

[xfactor]

In 1989 I paid, Schumacher Top Cat 2wd cost 74.99. A Pro-Cat 4wd cost 174.99 I think they have gone up a little......

[Si Coe]

In 1989 I paid, Schumacher Top Cat 2wd cost 74.99. A Pro-Cat 4wd cost 174.99 I think they have gone up a little......

Ahhh BUT......

back then 2wd meetings were like 95% Top Cats/ Cougars. Racing in Essex back then there were 2 RC10s and a single JRX. Why? Because the Cougar was £90, the American cars £180+.
That compares well to the Durango vs Kyosho prces today.

[xfactor]

So like I said, they have gone up a little. Top-Cat 74.99 in 1989. 2014 kf 235 and maybe the KF will hit 300 in 2015. So I think thats gone up a little.:D

[szymanski2oo1]

well to put in my 2p ns worth ... like others have said on this thread its definitely cheaper now.... at least based on a like for like basis......

... based on the 90's prices..
Schumacher's top of line buggy 4wd:

:thumbsup:Schumacher cat2000 ( i think i bought it mid 90's ish, was when ever it first came out, Seymore models in Harrow ) £279.00

:thumbsup:Cat aero ( best kit price i could find now on a quick look ) £294.00

so very little difference from what i can see..... and thats not taking into consideration 20yrs of inflation ....cant do the sums on that but id bet comparatively it makes things cheaper even more so...........also the aero has Carbon fibre everywhere... so your getting more for your money! :woot:

[szymanski2oo1]

having said that ....perhaps i over payed on the cat2000! :woot:

[keenbutkrap]

you could in the 90's choose your spec of car schumacher did the carbon fibre or the s1 associated did three levels rtr ,team and factory team yokomo had the full works dog fighter or the plastic chassis buggy team c even managed it with the super cheap buggy or the better spec racing buggy the number of manufacturers may have gone up but they are either aimed at novices or pro drivers i am at best average i am faced with buying a top spec buggy probably going to have to buy some shorty batteries as saddle packs are out of favour my stick packs are so last week and with the price limit seemingly removed on the motors its a hobby for deep pockets

[cutting42]

you could in the 90's choose your spec of car schumacher did the carbon fibre or the s1 associated did three levels rtr ,team and factory team yokomo had the full works dog fighter or the plastic chassis buggy team c even managed it with the super cheap buggy or the better spec racing buggy the number of manufacturers may have gone up but they are either aimed at novices or pro drivers i am at best average i am faced with buying a top spec buggy probably going to have to buy some shorty batteries as saddle packs are out of favour my stick packs are so last week and with the price limit seemingly removed on the motors its a hobby for deep pockets

It seems to me you just want a moan. Fair enough it's your prerogative but you are not listening to the replies. The hobby is not more expensive, it is cheaper. Most makers have cheap and pro versions of their buggies, Yeah, shorties are flavour de jour but you can still use saddles and sticks in many cars a Durango 210 can use all 3 and is probably the cheapest route to a competitive mid range race car.

[szymanski2oo1]

well ...what i found last year when i started again after 20rs of absence was i bought a second hand buggy ( looked out for a club members car while visiting and checked it in person ) ...bought cheap shorties ( £20 each ) from hobbyking ( fine for club racing but not for brca meetings ( didnt know at the time ) ), second hand motor and speedo from oople members....
bought tyres ...shock oils ...paint, spares ,bodyshells from my local shop DMS ... converted my old sanwa gemini 90s radio to 2.4ghz for about £40 inc receiver ....
its never going to be super cheap to start afresh if you want to avoid an RTR set up and tailor make your own kit.... but once your going its manageable

[Danny Harrison]

I think the OP wants a yokomo yz2. It did hurt a little spending nigh on £500 on release day (needed shorties) but its honestly worth it.

You can get other new buggies that are compettitive very cheap. Think MB have durango 210 up for under £160!

[terry.sc]

So like I said, they have gone up a little. Top-Cat 74.99 in 1989. 2014 kf 235 and maybe the KF will hit 300 in 2015. So I think thats gone up a little.:D
Not really, that Cougar in 1989 would cost around £220 today, and that was stamped aluminium and moulded plastic, not carbon fibre and machined alloy.

[szymanski2oo1]

in case anyones interested you can get a good idea of comparative cost according to the bank of England's calculator here:

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/flash/default.aspx

sorry .... had to look it up .... was bugging me wanting to know after reaing this thread what things actually cost relative to inflation after 20 yrs or so :p

[jimmy]

can of coke 15p, now around 60p.... my procat was £200 from morley models in 89. houses have gone up more than coke has! toy cars are cheap.

[neallewis]

OK I found this RCP catalogue from Winter 1991 and have photographed it to show prices then.

http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP01t.jpg (http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP01.jpg)
http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP02t.jpg (http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP02.jpg)
http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP03t.jpg (http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP03.jpg)
http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP04t.jpg (http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP04.jpg)
http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP05t.jpg (http://courgette.jml.net/~neal/RC/RCP05.jpg)

Click each picture to be taken to a larger version.

[Danny Harrison]

Must have been so expensive back then. No wonder my parents never let me take it up.

[szymanski2oo1]

oooooh a vanessas lunch box in 1991 £72..... according to bank of England in 2013 your looking at a comparative cost of £134.00

great find neal :thumbsup:

[neallewis]

great find neal :thumbsup:

Ta.

Back in the day for a days racing you needed 5/6 packs of Nicads per car, use once per meeting, at ~£40 per pack, Plus a couple of chargers.
Now = £74.93 per pack!

Motors, a decent modified, ~£45, you had a handful, even before the silly comm truing days. Now £84.30 each

Yokomo Dogfighter works 91: £275 - now £515.17
Scumacher Cougar 2: £179.50 - now £336.26
RC10 team car: £199 - now £372.79

Schumacher Rear tyres: £6.43 - Now £12.04

[Si Coe]

The other thing that people forget is that the Cougar was £90 without ballraces. It really cost £105 when you added them too.
Mardaves were cheaper still - but both cars were very basic. Part of the reason they cost so little was there really wasn't much to them.


Perhaps the most interesting price to look at is the RC10. £200 for a Team car in 1991, and £225 for the Worlds car today. Since they are both essentially the same car with minor changes, and the effort required in production is the same that means that the cost of an alloy tub RC10 has increased by the rate of around £1 per year for the last 25 years. Thats 0.5% inflation!
Oh and the Worlds car actually costs MORE than the B5m......

[racingdwarf]

RCP catalogue brings back memories, sitting in the back of science lessons reading though them:lol:

[Chesty]

Maybe the title of this thread should be: 'How has RC got so cheap?'

So inflation has gone up 87% since that catalogue was published - I can't of any 'equivalent spec' RC gear has gone up that much.

I remember my local model shop owner used to drive a new Sierra Cosworth back in the early 90s. I get the impression they'd be lucky to afford a Kia Picanto now!

[racingdwarf]

so maybe RC just feels costly as everything has gone up by so much around it in the last 20 years and its harder to warrant the extra spend.

[wookiee76]

Ive been out of the hobby for a decade or so and was amazed that prices seem to be comparable with what they were back then, heck my old xx was £220 when I got that and the xxx was nearer 300. The thing that has changed massively is the electrics, the days of gearing to finish a 5 minute race are long gone and you dont need to spend silly amounts for usable gear, my hobbywing esc and motor have way more poke than is strictly necessary and I thought I was going conservative with 13t!

[mattr]

If that's your opinion that's fine, I was just trying to show the OP that you can make your money go a long way if you think before throwing your wad on the counter.Should have emphasised some of my words!
I still do the same thing, shop around, combine postage, look out for deals. But I don't *have* to. If I did, I wouldn't have any RCs, there are better things to spend those few pennies on. That's what I was getting at.
Most successful business people are pretty tightfisted and get their staff to re-use jiffy bags etc.Not really, successful businesses employ people who know where the savings are to be made. Reusing jiffy bags (unless you are a small mail order business!) is generally a sign that the business isn't really successful......... Just looks like it!

[honrico Diablo]

£200 for a buggy in 1988 is the inflationary equivalent of £491 today...

by that logic, r/c racing is much cheaper that it ever was!

[Lee1972]

Back in 1988 I bought a second hand Associated RC10 gold tub for £100; four years ago I bought a second hand Factory Team B4 for £75.

[keenbutkrap]

i paid £200 for a betamax video player i can now buy a dvd player for £20 i used to aspire to bmw and mercedes now they are rep mobiles only a few things seem to have got more expensive houses energy and model cars maybe its because if they price them cheaper they would be seen as inferior audi is dearer than skoda they are the same company audi is perceived as being better because it costs more badge engineering

[Si Coe]

Well you do have a point there to some extent. Inflation is not uniform (which is why it calculated on the price of a bunch of things combined) and with technology prices do tend to come down as tech matures.
However you do have to consider contexts here. House prices have been the big driver of inflation, most retail items haven't gone up that much but they have increased. New cars are at least twice the price for an equivalent model to say compared to 25 years ago. New cars have more tech and last longer, so they don't seem more expensive, plus a strong used market keeps them attainable but the increase remains.
And so it is with RC. My current 210 cost me pretty much the same as the RC10 I got in 1989, both for the kit and the price of getting it running with a single pack. But the new car is faster, runs longer, drives better, is more adjustable etc.

The DVD argument is invalid. They are cheap cos its old tech that's dying. The latest players always cost a lot more.

[mattr]

He doesn't have a point, still ranting.
Average cost of a BMW/Merc since 1990 has almost doubled, halo models, nearer 400%. And pretty usual across the industry. Pretty much in line (give or take) with inflation.
The AUDI/VW/Skoda/SEAT agreement doesn't stand up to scrutiny for more than 10 seconds either, the tech used in the cars is at different stages in its life cycle as it reaches each brand. Usually with a two to three year delay, so much of the development costs have already been amortised across the AUDI volumes before VW start selling it, and so on. So VAG can keep making cash out of old tech. That's why the 1.9PD TDi engine has only just died in Skoda, it's not been in an AUDI for ~10 years.
Not saying AUDI aren't over priced, but you always pay more to be an early adopter of new technology. You always have.
Same with the early video machines, they were hard to make, lots of scrap, small market. DVD players are now made completely automatically, in their millions.
And it's a dying tech.

Houses haven't actually increased that much outside of a very few markets, mostly those with completely knackered legal systems and an unhealthy obsession with home ownership (UK basically.) The house I'm living in has tripled in value since it was built, 35 years ago (not in the UK!) this is common across the entire country. My first house, in the UK (in a fairly crap town) nearly doubled in the 4 years I owned it, and has nearly tripled again since then, 13 more years. So my 30 grand 2 bed terrace, sold for 170 grand last year, it still had the same (knackered) windows And front door that it had when I lived there! Your housing market is bolloxed, sort it out! ;)

Energy, not even worth talking about, it's a price fixing cartel, had been for decades, you either pay, or do without.
Toy cars, they've not even kept up with average salary increases, which are slightly behind inflation. Despite what politicians like to tell you.

[honrico Diablo]

The figure of £491 was calculated online by website that uses recorded inflation, not based on what I payed for for diet coke in 1988 or whatever!..

Why have the prices stayed so low? My thoughts are much easier manufacturing processes. 3d printing cnc milling parts, testing, re printing etc. Final product shipped to china and mass produced cheaper than ever. Fast and efficient.