Average Lifespan Of An R/C Vehicle

[srusinek]

I hear alot about which vehicle i should get, which one is best for me and so on but i rarely hear this queston brought up: Whats the average lifespan of an R/C vehicle after it's initial release date? I'm sure I'm one of the few that have an HPi nitro RS42 sedan but i'm probaly one of the hundered who has a TMAXX 1.5 first gen. I think this post needs to be brought up especially this time of the year when people get the itch to join our world rather it be electric or nitro or sedan vs truck. When I first got into this hobby I was told something that a company must produce parts for a product 10 years past it release date due to some laws. I'm not sure if that's true but i can still find parts for my GS Storm buggy which was discontinued around 2003 if i'm not mistaken but parts for my RS42 i kinda can't. I think this should be taken into consideration when someone is making that next purchase to piss off our signifigant others or jump into our hobby. I know Tower hobbies has a date on the model description page of when the release was but i'm not sure if anyone else does. Does anyone agree that this should be considered?

 

[Racer 1966]

By lifespan I assume you mean production life,not service life. How long a new vehicle will last after it's release can't be known,only speculation. They hope all new releases will be a hit but we all know it doesn't work that way. Only the ones that become popular and sell a lot will be supported for a long time. I don't think the 10 year laws apply to hobby vehicles. However.when buying used,a person should definitely check into parts availability before purchasing.

 

[dub c]

As far as i know the 10 year rule only applies to full size automobiles. Even so, its an unenforceable law. (would really suck to own a saturn right now!)

 

[srusinek]

That's why I drive a Toyota. You can't predict how well a release will sell but it seems that hpi is trigger happy when it comes to discontinuing vehicles(firestone and baja 5t) and associated is the one that hangs on to them. I understand that the 5t had to go due to the 5 sc.

 

[bgbdwlf2500]

I dont think parts availability will be a problem for a long time. Typically with RC's or so it seems, that they upgrade the vehicle but most of the components stay the same or are interchangeable. I dont care that HPI released a new version of the Savage X 4 months after i bought mine because the parts are still the same and if I'm not mistaken the parts are mostly the same from the Savage that came out 10 years ago. They have upgraded of course like being able to get to the diff easier but most of the parts are still interchangeable. I wouldnt worry about buying an RC because of part availability