Looking at buying used?

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loki993

RC Newbie
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I just started looking at getting a basher truck or two for my son and I. Hes 5 so I was sort of thinking about getting something like a Granite brushed for me to start and maybe pick him up a voltage on prime day. Something not too crazy to start out with but something that could be modded a bit too. As I as looking at truck I thought what's on Facebook...well...

I found someone selling an Arrma Granite blx 3s and a 6s Kraton v4, with everything, with chargers and batteries, a pit box and some tools for 400 bucks. Claims they were only used a handful of times, the batteries were charged balanced and pout into storage mode. Seems like a great deal to me considering the Granite alone sells for 319 and still needs a battery and a charger.

Is this a good idea to do the deal? What should I be watching for? Is the a good deal or are they too cheap and I could be concerned somethings fishy? He claims the truck are in like new/slightly used condition and the pictures do support that. What should I check for, I doubt the batteries will be fully charged so I dont think I will get a chance to run them to test them out. I know less than ideal.

Basically I dont mind having to do some work to get these into running condition, though if the pics are accurate I don't think they really need much if any, if they are a bit beat but also I'm not looking for a couple money pits that would require mass parts replacement up to or exceeding the cost of a new truck either.

He claims the batteries were charged, balanced and put into storage mode but at the very least I should be considering those a loss and replace them right?
 
@loki993 personally in the rare event I do buy used and batteries are included I almost always assume they are bad and need replaced. It's just impossible to prove or disprove that someone took very good care of the batteries.

You mention you don't mind spending some money to get the trucks running - what exactly is wrong with them that they are not running at the moment?

$400 for both an Arrma Granite and Arrma Kraton seems a bit to good to be true unless the condition is just terrible. Is the guy local where you can see them in person before hand?
 
@loki993 personally in the rare event I do buy used and batteries are included I almost always assume they are bad and need replaced. It's just impossible to prove or disprove that someone took very good care of the batteries.

You mention you don't mind spending some money to get the trucks running - what exactly is wrong with them that they are not running at the moment?

$400 for both an Arrma Granite and Arrma Kraton seems a bit to good to be true unless the condition is just terrible. Is the guy local where you can see them in person before hand?

Yes I can see them, but like I said I don't think ill be able to drive them, plus I don't know that I really want to spend too much time at a strange persons house. Id rather get in, get out and then figure out the rest later, I know not be best way to do it, but not all situations are perfect. Its a tiny bit of a drive for me but nothing terrible.

The price kind of threw me a bit too which is sort of why I'm asking. The pics are decent, the cars appear to be in good shape. The seller is responsive and in talking to him nothing it giving me a bad vibe. Yeah dont know.

I get a bit of a feeling that these weren't his trucks, or he got them in a trade or something. He says he charged up the batteries tested the truck, then put the batteries into storage mode.

Do you want me to or can I post the ad?
 
So hears what I tell everyone about buying used. If you arent experienced with RCs do not buy used ones. Generally, at least for me, people dont take care of their kits the way I do so when I buy a new one before I even start trying to fix/run it I tear the whole thing down and go over all the parts especially bearings to make sure everything is right. I'll change out the diff and shock fluids too. So theres all that, but what I've also generally found is when people sell their used stuff, especially if it seems like a really good deal, that generally means that the seller has run in to some sort of problem with the kit that they arent experienced enough to solve and fix so if/when thats the case youve just inherited that guys mystery problem. If you do buy used and someone is saying they are low use kits you can get a good indication of how much the kit has been run.

If the underside of the chassis will look something like this:
2.0 buggy 008.jpg


If the chassis looks like this then you can bet its been heavily used:
image.jpg


As for the LiPos, as long as they have no puffiness they should be fine to use. If you have a charger that reads the IRs of the cells then you can tell for certain what condition they are in. If you have no way of reading the IR of the cells then just watch for puffiness and discharge them completely before disposing of them.
 
Yes I can see them, but like I said I don't think ill be able to drive them, plus I don't know that I really want to spend too much time at a strange persons house. Id rather get in, get out and then figure out the rest later, I know not be best way to do it, but not all situations are perfect. Its a tiny bit of a drive for me but nothing terrible.

The price kind of threw me a bit too which is sort of why I'm asking. The pics are decent, the cars appear to be in good shape. The seller is responsive and in talking to him nothing it giving me a bad vibe. Yeah dont know.

I get a bit of a feeling that these weren't his trucks, or he got them in a trade or something. He says he charged up the batteries tested the truck, then put the batteries into storage mode.

Do you want me to or can I post the ad?
All of that stuff in good condition for that price? Id say its probably stolen. At the bare minimum though if you decide to go look at them I would make him start each kit and run it around even if its just for a couple of minutes so you can see that it at least runs.
 
Pictures being pictures on the internet, so grain of salt definitely but the bottoms look near perfect.

If somethings broke I can figure out how to fix it. I just dont want to spend the cost of the car doing it is all.

Is posting the ad appropriate?

Stolen...huh...never considered that....yeah I mean I guess someone could just grab a pit box from a track or something and walk off with it huh....
 
Pictures being pictures on the internet, so grain of salt definitely but the bottoms look near perfect.

If somethings broke I can figure out how to fix it. I just dont want to spend the cost of the car doing it is all.

Is posting the ad appropriate?

Stolen...huh...never considered that....yeah I mean I guess someone could just grab a pit box from a track or something and walk off with it huh....
$400 bucks is waaaay cheap for 2 kits in really good condition with lipos and chargers etc. Its either the deal of a lifetime cuz the guys desperate for money or the stuff is stolen.

I wouldnt think it would hurt anything to post the ad for discussion sake.
 
So, The post in and of itself is a tad strange. Its weird cuz he knows that the Granite has upgraded aluminum shocks but he makes 2 other comments in the post that are a bit out of place.
1) "Selling a Arrma Granite box 3s " - What the heck is an Arrma Granite BOX 3s?
2) "all 3 batteries were charged, balanced, trucks tested, then lions put in storage mode." - Not to many hobbiest would call a LiPo a LIon

That being said Those kits, batteries and chargers appear to be worth $400 even if they have no motors and ESCs in them (which is half the cost of a kit) sooooooo its either stolen or the dudes just desperate for money. If it were me Id go look at em, make sure they run and then buy them. Just my .02
 
It pays to be cautious, on the other hand some folks lose interest, or try a hobby, and find out it wasn't for them. I tend to let my stuff go cheap, just because I need the space. It never hurts to look, if it feels fishy when you get there, just politely decline. I know these days it feels like you can't trust anybody, but you could also miss out on a rare find. It only costs you a little of your time to find out. Bring someone along if you are uncomfortable meeting at a strangers house.
 
1) "Selling a Arrma Granite box 3s " - What the heck is an Arrma Granite BOX 3s?
2) "all 3 batteries were charged, balanced, trucks tested, then lions put in storage mode." - Not to many hobbiest would call a LiPo a LIon

I saw that but also here is what I think.....it seems that in this day an age everyone does this stuff on their phones, it auto corrects stuff and no one proofreads. Have you noticed how nearly everyone now seems to spell "through"..."threw"....if you didn't you will now and I apologize because it will haunt you lol. Box would be something you average phone would probably autocorrect BLX to. The lion thing would have been lith ions and yeah that one is a bit more curious because if he put lipo it probably wouldn't autocorrect to that. Which is if he didnt know the difference between a liion and a lipo he may have gotten them in a trade, or something else..., or but if he didn't know the different he also wouldn't know to balance change them and put them into storage more either I would assume....


It pays to be cautious, on the other hand some folks lose interest, or try a hobby, and find out it wasn't for them. I tend to let my stuff go cheap, just because I need the space. It never hurts to look, if it feels fishy when you get there, just politely decline. I know these days it feels like you can't trust anybody, but you could also miss out on a rare find. It only costs you a little of your time to find out. Bring someone along if you are uncomfortable meeting at a strangers house.

Yeah I can be overly cautious about things like that and honestly I really tend to avoid anything on Craigslist or factbook mostly for those reasons.

I also complete understand the I just want to get rid of it mentality because thats how I am. Eventually Ill get tired of looking at something and just want it gone.
 
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My personal 2 cents would follow what has been said. All of my RCs have been bought secondhand. To poor for new. Just think the worse and be surprised for the good. Example. I bought my first SCT for 50 last week. I figured its a chassis for me to start with. Turns out. The drivetrain and suspension have all been upgraded. Bearings throughout and the ESC works. To me not a bad deal. Its off the trendy brands but it has parts still. Long story short.
Do it.
Make sure they work as advertised.
 
My personal 2 cents would follow what has been said. All of my RCs have been bought secondhand. To poor for new. Just think the worse and be surprised for the good.

That's sort of where I am at, worse case they're beat and I have to replace a bunch of stuff on them. Well then if thats the case Ill just upgrade those parts and hopefully end up with a couple super tough, super fast trucks that I wouldn't have been willing to spend the money on to get new. Plus doing that with my kids and we get a good learning experience out of it at the very least.
 
Pro tip LOL.
so Id say buy used only if you can find every part on the desired used rc..purchased nib and used .nib I've HAD KITS MISSNG 60% of the screws then wait 3 months to get them all(AE sct mid v2 )
 
I saw that but also here is what I think.....it seems that in this day an age everyone does this stuff on their phones, it auto corrects stuff and no one proofreads. Have you noticed how nearly everyone now seems to spell "through"..."threw"....if you didn't you will now and I apologize because it will haunt you lol. Box would be something you average phone would probably autocorrect BLX to. The lion thing would have been lith ions and yeah that one is a bit more curious because if he put lipo it probably wouldn't autocorrect to that. Which is if he didnt know the difference between a liion and a lipo he may have gotten them in a trade, or something else..., or but if he didn't know the different he also wouldn't know to balance change them and put them into storage more either I would assume....
You have a point about the autocorrect thing. Either way though, Id definitely go check em out. They look like theyve hardly been used. All that stuff is worth $400 even with no electronics so Id guess youd be hard pressed to get a bad deal on those.
 
No deal he sold them already, so back to my original plan
 
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