Kidirace Remote Control Car -2 Mini RC Racing Coupe Cars - with Rechargeable Batteries and Wall Chargers

The media could not be loaded.  I just got these, so the following are first impressions.I ordered Four Sets of 2 cars, as prizes for public events where I setup a multi-player race simulator.I have owned some very BAD quality RC cars, and I have owned some pretty high quality RC cars.While these are not of the highest quality, they are NOT junk. They are actually pretty good, much better then I was expecting, especially for the price. Now, how long they last will depend on where you drive them, and how well the driver treats them. A 4 year old driving it outside will likely destroy it in a few minutes. But it will last longer with a kid that respects it and drives it on a smooth open space.I have not yet driven it enough to know how durable the gears are. Going forward and reverse too quickly, too often, will strip the gears in just about every RC car out there, even the PRO cars. Tis is why open spaces will help it last longer.They do not have proportional steering, as the components to allow that alone would cost more than the price of this car.The one truck I have the steering does stick a little every once in a while, so you need to be quick to fix it when trying to go straight again.I was actually surprised that the throttle is proportional, not sure how proportional but you can go slow or fast based on the press of the trigger.The battery says NICD on it, but I did not think they even made NICD any more.The first charge I ran though the car (in the video) ran pretty well for at least 5 to 10 minutes, I did not time it, and they should have been charged before using the car.They are actually a true 4WD, there is a drive shaft and gearing in there to connect the front and rear axles.The only suspension however is in the front, the rear has none. This is the case on a lot of hobby level RC cars, but not usually trucks.I would say these are a larger scale than 1:48 some were between 1:48 and 1:32The truck is about as wide as a Kyosho Mini-Z, but shorter.

Much of the claims this product makes are simply false."BUILT FOR ENDLESS PLAY"I do not consider 20 - 30 minutes "endless". That's how long the batteries last, max, in ours."The set of 2 RC Mini Coupes is ready to race practically out of the box - no need to stock up on batteries or pull your toolbox out! Set includes 2 powerful rechargeable batteries, 2 USB chargers, 8x AA batteries (for remote), and a screwdriver."This is all pretty accurate except that it seems to allude that the cars are easy to use, which they're not, because after the very short play time, you have to unscrew the battery holder, take the rechargeable batteries out, plug them into the wall, and then do it all again to put them back in. Why have a screw at all? Why not just have the USB port connect directly to the car?

One of the two cars died a few minutes after charging and installing the battery. This set was the Christmas gift for my twin boys and so you could guess things didn't go all that well on Christmas Day! We don't live in the US so it is not cost effective for us to return the item. The dead car has been consigned to the trash bin. One star is for the car that still appears to work somewhat although after a few hours of use, even that is starting to show signs of fatigue. Not a pleasant purchase.(Update 6 January 2019): I wrote to the seller about this and since I told them I live outside the US so a return is impractical, they promptly responded with the offer of refund of the product price which I took. I was impressed with the speed and courtesy with which they set things right by me. Although the product remains firmly one star, the seller's customer service is definitely 5 star,thus the combined 4 stars.

Out of the box, both cars ran great! Initially we were very pleased. We noted the very short run time, which we mitigated by purchasing a second set of batteries. Then after only 1 week, one of the 2 cars stopped responding to forward commands. You could turn it off, let it rest a while, and try it again, and sometime it would work for 30 seconds, but it would die again. These cars were NOT treated roughly. They were ran on a large carpeted floor, fully supervised by mom and dad. No crashing allowed. Naturally my kids are disappointed. I would have hoped for more value for my investment than only a weeks worth of use.UPDATE: Contacted seller who promptly sent replacements. Cars are whizzing around the carpet once again, and my kids are smiling once more. I am changing my review from 2 star to 4 star. I very much appreciate the good support.

They have a few technical problems. For one thing, the steering is not proportional. Why have a proportional remote when the wheels have 3 positions: left, center, right? Also, the wheels don't snap back straight when the steering is released. There is some hysteresis and it makes the cars turn slightly in the direction they were previously going. (this is unrelated to trim).Eventually my 4 year old decided the trim adjustment needed some work and he pulled the whole thing out. That rendered them undrivable. After dissecting one to reinstall the trim, it would not turn back on. But knowing the anatomy, I was able to repair the second car without opening it.Good thing I bought the warranty.