spare parts?

pissed

Hi just wondering about spare parts for nitro cars. My son got a 1/10th scale nitro car last christmas from a shop in santry. When he bought it the guy said there would be no problem with spare parts as it was their own brand car they were promoting. Anyway it broke recently and I asked about buying the parts but the assistant mumbled something about might not be in stock etc so I just left it with them to fix. I would have preferred to have a go at fixing it myself. Got the bill and it came to €64 which I thought was a bit steep. Clutch bell housing and a new clutch. I found some online in a shop in the states and the housing was something like 7 dollars and about the same for the clutch. Question is would parts like that be universal or is it a case of having to go back to the shop that sold it? Also any good model shops in the Dublin area that I could try in future?

coolwings

As a guideline clutches (in www.greenhobbymodel.com Dublin) are usually about €8 to €9, and clutch bells usually about €9 to €12. Time taken to fit them by permanent staff would be 5 minutes to 10 minutes.

I do not know what other places charge.

Parts are not universal for all makes of model car, and this is one reason why strange makes of car (with strange parts) sometimes have a very short lifespan. Since a working car consumes both fuel and replacement parts, when they break, such models can become expensive ornaments.
On the other hand, a significant number of the parts in a car are generic, and do appear in one or two other makes. An expert will immediately recognise those parts, although they would have a different part number when in a different make of car.

By the way, when a clutch melts, the melted plastic stuck inside the clutch bell can sometimes be cut out with eg a stanley knife, leaving the clutch bell inside clean, and good for use again.

DennisZ

pissed wrote: »

from a shop in santry. ... Got the bill and it came to €64 which I thought was a bit steep. Clutch bell housing and a new clutch.

I bet that was infamous "boyztoys" ...
It usually takes about one week for them to get spares, but you need to know exact part number.... and, if price of that part was not in their computer , they will invent own ... about twice as much

pissed

I bet that was infamous "boyztoys" ...

You got it in one. Thanks for the info on greenhobbymodel, will check with them first next time.