Most Durable RC Cars You Can Buy Today

Everybody is going to crash their RC car at least once—it’s inevitable. But a crash should not destroy your car. Cars that can no longer be driven are worthless. So, if you are looking for a durable RC car, then you have come to the right place.

What are the most durable RC cars? These are the six RC cars that we recommend for their durability:

1. SGILE RC Racing Car
2. JEYPOD Remote Control Car
3. BIFYTON Remote Control Car
4. RC Cars Remote Control Car
5. NQD RC Car Off-Road Vehicles
6. Crenova 1176A All-Direction RC Car

Let’s find out what makes these RC racing cars durable. And what are the features one should look for when purchasing RC cars?

Things to Look for When Buying RC Cars

There are many factors to consider when purchasing an RC car. Two obvious ones include

• Speed. Speed and cost are related. You can spend a ton of money and get cars that get 60+ miles per hour or spend less and get speeds around 20-30. Budget, purpose, and who will be using the car will influence how important speed is to you.
  
  

• Battery Life. If you’re new to the RC world, it might surprise you that even though RC cars run on a fuel source (mostly nitro), they won’t go anywhere without batteries.
  
  

The specs for those two are clearly spelled out for most products. Durability is another matter, however. It’s an easy word to use, but what makes a car durable?

Durable Materials

What’s on the outside matters, of course, but what’s inside is maybe as important. Here are some features you want to be looking for when judging a car’s durability.

Shocks and suspension

RC cars will take a beating, and shock absorbers will help them absorb that beating. When looking for listings, check to see what they say about their shock absorbers. The more they are like car suspensions, the more they will add to the vehicle’s durability.

Cars claiming to be durable that say nothing about shock absorbers are suspect.

The suspension is another factor that should be mentioned. Suspensions are essential to the control of a car, so a good suspension is obviously important. Look for cars that have independent suspension.

Waterproofing

Since RC vehicles depend on electronics run by the batteries, those elements should be protected from water. Be careful to distinguish waterproof parts and waterproofing of electrical elements.

Tires

Pay close attention to this feature. You want tires with strong grips that have some bounce to them. The good news here that buying replacement tires is relatively easy and doesn’t break the bank. 

Best Durable RC Cars You Can Buy Right Now

Not everyone can afford a top-line RC car, so we decided to present some of the most durable cars at different price points.

Element RC Enduro Sendero RTR 1/10 Rock Crawler

We love this crawler truck. Sometimes it’s the little details that tell the big picture. For example, the pivoting side mirror—on the one hand, who needs a side mirror on their RC? On the other hand, what does it say about a company that thinks through little details like that?

In looking at the construction, you’ll see lots of metal

• Motor plate—aluminum
  
• Driveshaft splines—aluminum
  
• Ring gear—metal
  
• Gears—metal
  
• Top shaft—steal
  
  

And the list continues. We also like the behind the wheel steering, which improves the clearance of the front-end. Another feature that caught our eye was the waterproofing of the gearbox.

A few things to keep in mind for this racer:

• At a price point of around $350, this is not a first-time car.
  
• You’ll want to get better tires.
  
• Batteries are not included. Picking up batteries is not a big deal—if you know you’ll need them. Who wants to drive to the store to get some batteries after opening the box?
  
  

If you are interested in seeing the insides of the Enduro, check out this video. If you want to see it in action, you’ve got this video to check out. It’s long but skip ahead to about minute 25 and watch it take on some rocky trails.

Traxxas 37054-1 Rustler

This is another durable RC car. One reason we picked it was the lower price point. If you shop around, you should be able to get one for around 200 dollars. Maybe you want a high-quality car, but you’re not ready to spend as much. Or perhaps you realize that you’re going to also spend some on upgrades.

One of the key features we like about the Traxxas is the waterproofing—both battery and electronics are completely waterproof. The design of the cars is such that even if it sinks, once you bring it back to the surface, it will be zip right into action. If you find that hard to believe, check out this video. The Traxxas goes underwater, comes back up, and keeps driving.

A lot of other durability features come with the Traxxas, such as oil-filled ultra-shocks, bell-crank steering, a torque-controlled slipper clutch, and a gear differential with hardened steel internal gears.

Another thing we like is the amount of spare parts. If you’re looking to update, there are many choices. Updates and repairs are also straightforward on this model. 

A few things to keep in mind:

• Go ahead and get the upgraded steel shock drafts. The ones that come standard with the Traxxas aren’t as sturdy as we like
  
• Spring for some extra batteries. The batteries will run 15-20 minutes full throttle, or about 30 minutes if you’re driving slowly—but who want to do that when you can hit 35 mph? Recharging time is about 30 minutes. With a second set of batteries, you won’t have much downtime.
  
• You might want to look at upgrading the tires.
  
  

BIFYTON Remote Control Car

It looks like a modified Mars Rover, but boy, is it tough. And fun. It’s designed for kids, and budget-friendly, which is why we include it in our list. We like that it has a four-wheel drive and is made from high-impact PVC. When this vehicle hits a wall, it doesn’t stop, but just goes in a different direction—like a Roomba on steroids.

Sometimes seeing is believing. Check out this video to watch it take on stairs and slides.

This RC car features two motors with 4WD and is ideal for outdoor and indoor crawling on all terrains. With its flexible wheels, you can easily make quick turns. The car has four off-road wheels for fast acceleration while overcoming obstacles.

This RC car is a great gift for kids, but seriously, once you see it in action, you’ll want to grab the controls and send it down the stairs yourself.

A few things to keep in mind

• You’ll need a screwdriver to open the battery compartment. If buying it for a younger kid, you might need to help them once or twice with that.
  
• It can be hard to tell what’s front and back, so getting the steering right can be a tad frustrating. If you can’t figure it out, hand it to a kid. They’ll get it going in no time.
  
• As with many RC cars, battery life is short (15-20 minutes), and recharge time is much longer (2 hours). Just long enough to clean a room, do the dishes, and take out the trash.
  

Durability test

If you are planning on running your car through some intense situations then you will want to see how it performed in a durablity test.

Check out some of these amazing durability test videos

Have a Good Time with These RC Cars

RC cars are fun, but there will be bumps in the road. Our recommendations will give you a durable car that can handle those bumps and the occasional crashes. 

Over time you will find which brand and model is the most durable for the way you use it. If you are always going fast then having a durable engine is probably the most important thing to you. If you tend to hit rocks or other obstacles quite often then finding a car with a tough exterior is a good idea.