Would a Trophy 3.5 make a good to first / only nitro?

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Dude13450

RC Newbie
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So, I am a long time admirer, new fledgling to the world of RCs. I currently have a Blackzon 1/16 that I recently acquired to use a general muck around / basher until I can afford a decent rig, but I'd really like a nitro. I found a used Trophy 3.5 locally for $230 that the pawn shop said they will cut me a deal on (normally when they say this, it ranges from 10 to 30 percent off sticker price depending on how long it sat there or how quick they want to free up some shelf space). Would this make for a beginner friendly / probably only nitro rig? Most of my focus for RCs is surrounding off-roading / rock crawling / bashing where electric normally trumps nitro due to low-end, on-demand torque, but being a long time shade-tree mechanic (working on cars for going on 15 years), I would REALLY like a nitro for tinkering / sensory purposes (also for the days when my inner speed demon wants out). can't really find much info on the Trophy 3.5 other than the "brochure information" and a few couple minute videos of thrashing around on gravel / dirt, since when I search for the 3.5, it appears the 4.6 has completely trampled it. Would the Trophy 3.5 for anywhere from $180 to $230 after tax be a good contender?

The biggest downside I can see for now is not being able to hear it run (since I don't have fuel and the previous owner didn't turn in an igniter with it. But it seems to be in decent condition: no rust / corrosion, no cracks or breaks, just a little dirty.
 
You are taking a bit of a chance since you can’t start it but if it doesn’t look like its beat up then it might be worth a shot in my opinion. Since you are very mechanical, you’ll be able to handle getting in shape if needed. You’ll love nitro!! I think the 3.5 is the buggy and the 4.6 is the truggy.
 
I might see if they'll let me fire it up if I get a starter kit and some fuel my local pawn shops are usually pretty laid back about stuff like that.
On top of that, it does feel like it has strong compression (I did pull the starter a few times), so short of some rod bearing issues, I feel like it should only need a tune or glow plug at worst.
 
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i small trick to truly know if compression is good is to lightly grab and lift the entire car by the pull start, dont swing it around or pull hard on it.
if the car can stay air born while you hold the pull start only, it has great compression. if it starts to dip down slowly you are still okay to buy it but don't buy it for the price it was advertised for. get that discount lol
if it starts to dip fast, i'd say let it sit on the shelf if you are not prepared to put a new piston/sleeve set in the motor over a short time period. or replace the entire motor with a new one.

what about a receiver and transmitter? does it come with both
 
I would never buy from spawn shop!
I semi get why you say this.
But its not much different then from buying a used rc from a random guy.
However usually you can talk to the random guy, ask question about the car and its condition so yea.
a pawn shop just wants to sell. and any information they give could be false.

EDIT to clarify, are you ( @Dude13450 ) prepared to put more money into the buggy in question or do you want a car that actually runs and requires almost no wrenching until you break something.. i think that is a question anyone should ask themself before buying used rc's.
 
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