New vs. Used vs. Rebuilt Kart parts Pros and Cons

Yeti Racing

New member
Once again, not sure this has ever been discussed on the Bob's General Forum but thought it would be an immensely beneficial thread to newbies and perhaps all before all the " elders " pass on. Just say'n , but no offense intended as I'm in the later years as well. Ok, I digress, let's focus on, but not limited to, clutches of all types, engines, calipers, master cylinders, j/s, seats, digital information systems etc...

To start the discussion let's discuss clutches of various types (i.e. wet, dry, j/s clutches, engine clutches TD-43 Tomars, birkey's, SMC axle clutches, among others. - IMHO - It all comes down to TRUST. In any used clutch or part it's a "pig in a poke" pics or no pics bc unless u have expertise and the luxury of physical inside inspection with proper tools/instruments in hand it's all moot. U r trusting the seller (who probably trusted the seller or craftsman before him and the seller doesn't know a damn thing about the internals anyway bc he more often than not didn't do the work). You are only buying the "guesstimated" hours left on the clutch until mean failure and you have the "Russian Roulette" risk factor. If it's a used rebuild then you are "trusting" the craftsman's skill who hopefully did the job, you hope, minimally correct per industry standards and you get full rebuild time service less the risk of core housing or hub failure. In the later scenario, hopefully you have certainly paid for some mitigating risk & reassurances albeit still with some unforeseen risk. With "new" You are "Trusting" the OEM, paying at least double plus in some cases tax, BUT you should be paying for full life service from a 0 time clutch or part with very minimal risk, as there's usually no warranty on race parts. - JMHO

That should be good enough to get us going.
I believe it would be beneficial to the karting community for all of your input
Thanks - Yeti
 
I can say in general that yes, buying used anything is a gamble. I would have never got into karting though if it wasn't for the ability to buy things used. I have had parts go bad, but I have been far more successful with used parts, including clutches, than I have with failures. In fact, I rarely buy anything new. I'll pay less than half of what it is worth new and use it until it's worn out, which in some circumstances never happens. In addition, when I have bought new before (just not it karting), I have received some manufacturer defects that I had to have replaced, sometimes at my own expense.

It's not that I am poor, I am just cheap. And it has pretty much served me well over my lifetime :) I never go racing without crucial spare parts in cases of failure. And that also includes a spare motor...probably bought used :)
 
The only new thing I've bought in yrs., is my 2007, Buller Velocity kart, lots of used stuff, mostly from folks I know or trust from being on here over 10 yrs. Best used thing I ever bought from guys on here was from Troy Lamb, a fantastic Buller built Sudam stroker engine.
 
DDaddy - " It's not that I am poor, I am just cheap " Cheap or Frugal ? IMHO -There a distinct difference . For myself I'm definitely "frugal" because I will buy new but I will shop around likae for like, new for new, I usually don't tip 20% ....unless it's exceptional service, but I don't tip 10% niether so being the frugal person I confess to I pay 12.5% vs. 15% :p Never buy used tires unless u really have to. - JMHO
 
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if it wasn't for good used parts/engines/clutches,chassis,ect I wouldn't be racing karts I just couldn't afford it, so a very big THANK YOU to all the people I have bought items from :) and not one item was junk..
 
DDaddy - " It's not that I am poor, I am just cheap " Cheap or Frugal ? IMHO -There a distinct difference . For myself I'm definitely "frugal" because I will buy new but I will shop around likae for like, new for new, I usually don't tip 20% ....unless it's exceptional service, but I don't tip 10% niether so being the frugal person I confess to I pay 12.5% vs. 15% :p Never buy used tires unless u really have to. - JMHO

Definitely cheap :) Also very impatient. I will not shop around if it takes more than a day (unless it's a big purchase). I want it, and I want it now.

I tip 20 or more percent simply because before I was married I was a bartender and I know that they live on that money, unless service was bad, then I'll stick to 15%. And I have only bought 5 new tires in my karting career :)
 
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