NewRed Hobbies — Local services in Ocala

My first bad r/c experience. Came to the store to check it out, explained I was new to the hobby, and possibly wanted to buy a car to race. Bought the car, batteries, and 3 transponders just to have Michael aka sticks, sell me the wrong batteries, have the car cut off constantly. I went right back inside after googling the issue and realizing he sold me the wrong batteries. Never even left the property, bought it all so I could race. When I brought the batteries back in he pointed to the no refund sign. I reminded him I’m new and simply bought what he pulled out of the case and said is what I needed. I even bought two to have a backup. His response was “I am not a buggy person, I really don’t know anything about those things.” I said that’s ok, can you atleast trade me for the “right” batteries,that actually cost less, so I can race.” He got irate and said he’d have to throw away the batteries he sold me and that they simply don’t do refunds. After going back and forth, explaining that it’s bad business he finally slammed the nearly brand new(wrong ) batteries in the trash and gave me a different set of batteries which seemed to work for a bit….This was a display model. Upon turning on the transmitter there was a low battery light that couldn’t be turned off, no matter what batteries we tried. Fast forward to racing and the car dies on me, ESC flashing red, no steering, no power. I dnf my first race and I have a fried car here with no accountability whatsoever from the hobby shop. I tried calling in today and it’s Michael a.k.a. sticks again working and he explains he is the manager. There’s nobody else that works there and that the owner Tom is going to tell me the exact same thing and to take it up with Horizon hobby. it’s not Horizon hobbies’s fault that he sold me the wrong batteries and messed up the car, and I’ll let horizontal hobby know that their warranty system is being abused by this place. Overall race community was complete opposite of my one other RC track experience, which was great. The teenage kids and most adults don’t Marshall in practice, only Marshall when forced to, and move like a turtle if it’s not their friends car that’s flipped etc. At this point, they should take the car and the batteries back, show some accountability and I’d probably become a regular customer/ racer in the 1/10 class. But if they choose to continue pass the buck to horizon and stiff me, so be it. I can only give so many opportunities for them to...

Rude staff and ownership with double standards. During various visits I have witnessed several instances to demonstrate this. Witnessed a staff member kick a wooden stool off the driver stand and barely miss hitting another driver in the head that was sitting in the pit area... nothing said to them unless done so in private. Witnessed a driver having a verbal disageeement after a race and the driver was immediately and publicly told to not return for 2 weeks due to suspension. Witnessed children running in and out of the concession area no problem and on a different occasion witnessed another individual being told not to enter the concessions area for safety and insurance reasons. The attitude of the staff and owners changes from day to day. One day things are acceptable the next they are not and it is selective based on the individual in question. It is unfortunate that I still regularly visit this establishment out of convenience because it is only a short drive from home. I am considering driving the extra hour to the next closest establishment in hopes of receiving better service and consistency or strictly using online sources. If a zero star review was an option I’d...

So I've been in twice now. First time was to pick up a new truck and the second time to blast around the track. Both times I had a great experience both times. The hobby shop is compact but it's well put together. The sported a sizable collection of Losi and Arrma trucks and buggies. There is a number of consignment trucks, drones, and even a tank. The parts supply is also impressive and again the staff was helpful. As an avid RC enthusiast it was great to see such an outpost. They have a hard pack dirt sticky track indoor that's well enough maintained. The majority of racers are running slicks or street compound but I ran offroad tires during practice and it was a lot of fun. Outside there is a loose dirt track and if you like a powdery drifty jumpy hot mess then it's for you! Anyways, I'm only in town for another 2 months or so, but I'll be back for sure. Good crowd, good track, and good parts support for my new...