New KM Baja

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I sent Dan some pictures today it looks like he send out the parts that Mr Brown broke.
 
I hate to say it but I am not the least bit impressed with saving money on a Clone that is now an over $700 Shelf Queen that I have to spend about as much or more money to just get it out of the box and make it as new again, as I could have paid for an HPI. I would have been money ahead to have either bought a new HPI kit or take my chances on buying someones used HPI. I asked Dan to replace the parts that were broken that I don't feel are my fault as they were broken in shipment. I sent Dan the pictures and part numbers that he requested that were related in the manual and have not heard back since. I should have went with my intuition and put it back in the box, refused delivery and sent it back. Its broke, its not my fault its broke I took it out of the box broken but I get to pay for it. So today I get to spend a bunch more money just to get it back on its feet and put it back into the condition that I thought I was buying in the first place. What POS, F'd up experience this has been.

Apparently Dan's a great guy to deal with if nothing goes wrong. He got my money this time around but it won't happen again.

Anyone interested in a new broken out the box KM Baja 30.5 2 speed, I have been completely through, refilled the diff case, tightened and re loctited everything? The first OEM price plus shipping takes it.
 
What exactly broke? You said rear hub, now it sounds like UPS ran over it. And you're saying you shouldn't have bought a KM when it was UPS who broke it. That could have happened to any brand. Post up some pics so we have a better idea of what you're dealing with here.
 
thats not Dans style. he has dealt with lots of others, with no issues. betting your message didnt go thru to him, he will get back to you, if it did. i would try again, thru ebay message to him on it, once more.
in a point of view its not his fault either that it got to you broken, its the SHIPPING place that broke it, from bad handling. my box had fragile labels all over it, did yours? Dan understands things like this will happen, and is willing to make it right, which, isnt his responsibility if shipping place damages it, but he does it anyway, so don't blame him, blame the shiiping company.
 
I got a reply later today from Dan he will send the parts. There was no visible damage on the outside of the box so I didn't suspect damage before the driver left. It probably isn't Dan's fault but these things shouldn't break that easy in the OEM box. If Dan had kept me in the loop as to what he was doing last week instead of just leaving me seemingly out to dry it would have been better. I sent him the information that he asked for last week then there was no response so I assumed I was out, I have parts ordered also, what else was I to think or do. I guess now I have extra spare parts that I will someday probably need. I just wasn't prepared to have to spend this much extra money right out of the box before even giving the PS cord a pull.

I am at work with out access to pictures I took. The part that is broke the rear bearing hub carrier right below the bolt for the upper A arm which also ripped the axle boots when the wheel fell away and stretched them beyond their limits.
 
F350R said:
I got a reply later today from Dan he will send the parts. There was no visible damage on the outside of the box so I didn't suspect damage before the driver left. It probably isn't Dan's fault but these things shouldn't break that easy in the OEM box. If Dan had kept me in the loop as to what he was doing last week instead of just leaving me seemingly out to dry it would have been better. I sent him the information that he asked for last week then there was no response so I assumed I was out, I have parts ordered also, what else was I to think or do. I guess now I have extra spare parts that I will someday probably need. I just wasn't prepared to have to spend this much extra money right out of the box before even giving the PS cord a pull.

I am at work with out access to pictures I took. The part that is broke the rear bearing hub carrier right below the bolt for the upper A arm which also ripped the axle boots when the wheel fell away and stretched them beyond their limits.
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you have to keep in mind hes dealing with thousands of people and that takes time, you cant expect a instant reply back, sometimes if hes not too busy he gets back right away, sometimes it might take a week, i know, thats the way it went a couple times with me, but he always gets it done. as far as no damaged box, the same thing could of happened if you got a hpi, like mentioned above, brand makes no difference, its ALL in how its handled by shipper. i have heard of hpi guys having same thing happen to them, so its universal thing that can happen, no matter what brand you get. it could of been damaged at the factory itself even by the dude who packed the truck, its sealed in a box with no window to see the truck, and Dan prolly doesn't open it to check. maybe he should, but then, some folks would think, hey its been jacked with cuz box isnt sealed. when i got mine outside shipping box was perfect but the inside box the truck was packed in was a bit, and when i opened it, the rear right side body post spot on body was cracked a lil. i figured no biggie and fixed it myself, but that may have been done at factory, they may have handled it ruffly, before putting it in shipping box to Dan.

im glad he got back to you, as i knew he would, if a lil more patience on your part was done, you wouldnt have spent more money for parts you didnt need yet. but on upside, as you said, now you have spare parts ready to go just in case. i have spares myself, of certain parts. never a bad thing to have them on hand. yah by now i have almost as much in mine in upgrades than what a new hpi wood cost me, BUT, its tougher now, more durable and dependable than a hpi new wood be outta box.:)
 
So, $30 in parts to fix what broke using HPI parts:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HPI-Racing-...ccessories&hash=item53e98adc91#ht_3549wt_1059

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HPI-85424-R...ccessories&hash=item4837f6b075#ht_1470wt_1185

an over $700 Shelf Queen that I have to spend about as much or more money to just get it out of the box and make it as new again, as I could have paid for an HPI. I would have been money ahead to have either bought a new HPI kit
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You make it sound like it's going to cost you over $700 just to fix it, when in reality it's $30. The HPI is about a $1000 give or take $100, and you don't get a 2 speed or a 30.5 engine. We all told you Dan would take care of you, and he did. I guess what I'm saying is you're ready to hang KM from the nearest tree over something that a) likely isn't KM's fault, and b) isn't nearly as big of a deal as you made it out to be. You're not going to enjoy this truck if things like this get to you. Things are going to break regardless of the name on the side of it. You can blame whoever you want, but the best solution is to simply fix it and move on.
 
F350R said:
I hate to say it but I am not the least bit impressed with saving money on a Clone that is now an over $700 Shelf Queen that I have to spend about as much or more money to just get it out of the box and make it as new again, as I could have paid for an HPI. I would have been money ahead to have either bought a new HPI kit or take my chances on buying someones used HPI. I asked Dan to replace the parts that were broken that I don't feel are my fault as they were broken in shipment. I sent Dan the pictures and part numbers that he requested that were related in the manual and have not heard back since. I should have went with my intuition and put it back in the box, refused delivery and sent it back. Its broke, its not my fault its broke I took it out of the box broken but I get to pay for it. So today I get to spend a bunch more money just to get it back on its feet and put it back into the condition that I thought I was buying in the first place. What POS, F'd up experience this has been.

Apparently Dan's a great guy to deal with if nothing goes wrong. He got my money this time around but it won't happen again.

Anyone interested in a new broken out the box KM Baja 30.5 2 speed, I have been completely through, refilled the diff case, tightened and re loctited everything? The first OEM price plus shipping takes it.
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so it was broken when it arrived? Man this is the 3rd time i have heard this. So is this thing still worth it? cause you guys have me very confused now Im thinking about just buying a used HPI 5t, unless yall can change my mind. I cant aford Buying a $600-800 rc truck, and then put a couple of hundred more into it, to get the thing moving even though its supposed to arrive new with no broken parts!
 
fireman,theres nothing confusing about it, this is a shipping issue, when mine came in the outside box had crunched corners,the styrofoam fillers where all breaking apart some in the buggys nucks and crannys,all depends on how its handled during shipping,either from china or from the shipper here, i can tell that the seller here did not open the box especially with a box no# of 76 out of 225 so thats alot of boxes to go thru and to keep prices down.
also fireman you saying your wanting to buy one,but you keep looking for every reason not to buy a KM,asking everyone if they are happy and what not, no one here is going to make your mind up for you, and i would not want to,we all have personal preferences when it comes to these baja's be it a hpi,km, rovan or any other brand out there, we all upgrade what each of us thinks we should and pass those ideas on to the next person.
what happened here was someone was a bit impatient and jumped the gun,now if your confused by that are you sure you want to get into the 1/5 scale game? your gonna break parts your gonna want to upgrade parts, just depends on what, when and how much you want to spend on what ever you need or want to buy,
i'm happy with my 2 KM's,what i spent in upgrades would been the same thing if i owned a hpi, you really should stop reading everything thats out there and just make up your own mind on what you want and what you expect out of what ever you buy.
 
Fireman15 said:
so it was broken when it arrived? Man this is the 3rd time i have heard this. So is this thing still worth it? cause you guys have me very confused now Im thinking about just buying a used HPI 5t, unless yall can change my mind. I cant aford Buying a $600-800 rc truck, and then put a couple of hundred more into it, to get the thing moving even though its supposed to arrive new with no broken parts!
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To be honest, I hope you buy an HPI. Not because I think it's a better choice, but because if you buy a KM and something happens to it, you're going to blame KM. If you crash an HPI and it breaks, you're going to blame the crash. If you crash a KM and it breaks, you're going to blame it on cheap plastic. Just like F350R in this thread. Had his truck been an HPI, he would have been blaming UPS instead.

I've mentioned this numerous times, but I've broken parts on my HPI, and I've broken parts on my KM. The HPI plastic does seem to be a little better, but for the substantial price difference, I'll take replacing a few plastics, which are cheap, and save me hundreds.

Go buy a used HPI. Even if you have to replace a bunch of parts anyway, you'll sleep better at night. I don't think the KM is for you.
 
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19cobra93 said:
To be honest, I hope you buy an HPI. Not because I think it's a better choice, but because if you buy a KM and something happens to it, you're going to blame KM. If you crash an HPI and it breaks, you're going to blame the crash. If you crash a KM and it breaks, you're going to blame it on cheap plastic. Just like F350R in this thread. Had his truck been an HPI, he would have been blaming UPS instead.

I've mentioned this numerous times, but I've broken parts on my HPI, and I've broken parts on my KM. The HPI plastic does seem to be a little better, but for the substantial price difference, I'll take replacing a few plastics, which are cheap, and save me hundreds.

Go buy a used HPI. Even if you have to replace a bunch of parts anyway, you'll sleep better at night. I don't think the KM is for you.
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Actually I think your wrong Im going to buy what ever is cheaper. If i can buy a used HPI for around $600.00 then Im going to get it. But if I can find a King Motor For around the same new then Im buying that one. In the end it comes down to the price. Because really its just a toy with a chain saw engine on a frame with wheels.
 
19cobra93 said:
To be honest, I hope you buy an HPI. Not because I think it's a better choice, but because if you buy a KM and something happens to it, you're going to blame KM. If you crash an HPI and it breaks, you're going to blame the crash. If you crash a KM and it breaks, you're going to blame it on cheap plastic. Just like F350R in this thread. Had his truck been an HPI, he would have been blaming UPS instead.

I've mentioned this numerous times, but I've broken parts on my HPI, and I've broken parts on my KM. The HPI plastic does seem to be a little better, but for the substantial price difference, I'll take replacing a few plastics, which are cheap, and save me hundreds.

Go buy a used HPI. Even if you have to replace a bunch of parts anyway, you'll sleep better at night. I don't think the KM is for you.
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well said cobra and i don't think a km is for fireman either . fire man if you look at my avatar that buggy can be had for 400 + shipping. did i have issues yes. lots of them. but this is what it is now for less then a new 5b (that it will out bash ) http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp333/convertedsavagex/rjandbaja005.jpg
 
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Fireman15 said:
Actually I think your wrong Im going to buy what ever is cheaper. If i can buy a used HPI for around $600.00 then Im going to get it. But if I can find a King Motor For around the same new then Im buying that one. In the end it comes down to the price. Because really its just a toy with a chain saw engine on a frame with wheels.
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If it really were just a toy with a chainsaw motor, you wouldn't have created 9 threads about whether it's good enough for you or not.

You're looking for the cheapest one you can find, and you're going to get what you pay for unfortunately. There have been a couple cheap used HPI 5T's for sale here locally, and when I went to look at them, they were just hammered. I'd much rather buy something brand new that may need a few parts, then something well used that needs a few parts. I've broken a few parts on my T1000, but they all came as extras in the spare parts bag it comes with. So I haven't had to spend a dime on mine yet aside from upgrades like outerwears, and some spare wheels/tires (paddles and road tires).

With that said, I really don't think you'll be happy with the KM. The first failure you have with it and you'll be cussing up and down these forums about how you should have bought an HPI. So save yourself some typing, and just find you an HPI. That should keep everyone happy, including you.
 
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Fireman I would still say its worth it, it certainly is disappointing none the less but it will be fixed and running here in a few more days. Dan is sending the parts and I had already ordered parts due to not hearing back from Dan in what I thought was a reasonable time. None the less it will get fixed.
 
F350R said:
Fireman I would still say its worth it, it certainly is disappointing none the less but it will be fixed and running here in a few more days. Dan is sending the parts and I had already ordered parts due to not hearing back from Dan in what I thought was a reasonable time. None the less it will get fixed.
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Ok then based on that last post I will be purchasing a Brand New KM T1000 30.5cc truck, when i get my taxes back. Still do not know if I want the 2 speed or not.
 
the 2 speed on mine is really cool, i love to stomp the throttle and after a bit of runout hear that 2nd gear kick in, it almost lifts the front off the ground when it hits, so cool. only thing is i cant keep it in 2nd for long, unless im running it across the field, then i can keep it in 2nd lots longer. on the asphalt road nout the time it hits 2nd its time to slow it down to turn it around. what i really need to do is find a empty stretch of road, asphalt, and get in a vehicle and run the truck out in front of us, and using the speedo of vehicle find out close to what max speed realy is. i know i am getting almost 50 mph without doing that, but i know trucks got more than that, im betting, it will get real close to if not more that 60 mph.
 
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