Castle Pricing for Non warranty
 

So I have 2 dead mamba monsters, i was thinking about sending in as they are just back-ups. Last time i checked it was $70, which seemed fair. I checked a little while ago and it was $80, well its now $85. I emailed castle support, which took them 9 days to reply (that's beside the point). I was having an issue with a bec and needed some help, as well as asked about if i sent in my 2 mamba monster v3's if i would get a Mamba monster V2 Waterproof as it was the same price for sending them in. The response i got was The cost for mamba monsters is now $85, send in the BEC as we'll so we can check it out.

WTH? none of my questions where answered in the original email i had sent. I've only dealt with sending in an items twice now and all where pretty painless and didnt require much on my end. But it seems like it's gone down hill recently and leaves a sour taste in my mouth as i strictly run all castle in all of my 8 rigs. So now for $85+postage, i may as well trash bin these mmv3's and pick up a brand new one from a xo1 off ebay for $100. If getting a V2 waterproof was an option i might send ONE in...

Be aware that the Castle ESCs that are coming out of Traxxas or HPI cars are not upgradeable because they won't allow beta firmware on them. So you'll be stuck with firmware 1.32 and it's cogging issues when using the XO-1 ESC. On the lightweight XO-1 with small tires and not much traction it's only a little annoying when running high gearing, but if you run it in a heavier Monster with big tires and more traction you will have issues.

Maybe someday they will release a final version of their firmware (but don't count on it, it has been over three years now after the latest non-beta firmware).

For the HPI Blur ESC from a Savage Flux there is a way to upgrade it to the latest firmware because they work with older castlelink software that still has an unencrypted settings.mdb (Microsoft Access database file). The XO-1 ESC however, will only work with newer castle link software that has an encrypted SQlite settings file, so there's no easy way to change things in there.

Edit: Forgot to mention that you also cannot downgrade the XO-1 ESC to 1.24 firmware.

Nice, thanks for the info! I usually only use the 1.24 firmware on most of my rigs and run an external BEC on 4 outta the 5 mamba monster i have now. I do have a blur ESC though, maybe i'll have to play around with the firmware now...

I only run a Mamba monster in one MT that is a big heavy pig. The rest are fairly light weight, but i hear you on the Xo1 esc. I was just looking into that because of the price point and the added bonus of the cap pack already installed.

I have 3 dead mamba monsters ...

How much is the replacement cost for a MMM2 ??

To swap out a non-waterproof Mamba Monster (Castle or OEM) for a Mamba Monster 2 the cost is $100 + shipping. Standard shipping for US customers is $8.00, international customer are calculated based on destination and weight.

To swap out a non-waterproof Mamba Monster (Non-OEM) for a non-waterproof Mamba Monster the cost is $85.00 and includes return shipping.

To swap out a non-waterproof Mamba Monster (OEM IE Traxxas, HPI, etc.) for a non-waterproof Mamba Monster the cost is $100 + shipping.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations

Thomas

I can't find a way to do it through the web can you help me ?

Right here Molak:

http://castlecreations.com/support/repairs.html

^^^^ What he said.

About half way down there is a blue box that says "Process Repair"

Choose
Is this a warranty claim? > No - Non-warranty Claim
Type of product > Car/Truck
Select a product > Mamba Monster 2

The price will show $85, but that is only applicable if you're sending in a Mamba Monster 2 for non-warranty. The repair department will manually adjust the price once they receive the units. You can enter a credit card number on the following pages, but the card will not be charged until we are ready to ship out the replacements. You can also send a check or money order (USD only) or they can setup a PayPal payment if you'd like.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations

If I pay $75 to mail in my dead mamba max, what esc will I get back?

We will replace a Mamba Max with a Mamba Max Pro for $75.00.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations

Speaking of the old MM, I wonder how long it will be before a sealed-in-original-box MM becomes a collector's item?

Ohh heck, if a Castle ESC becomes an "antique" I've got a desk draw full of goodies we could flood the market with! :mdr: There's a Mamba Max floating around Tech Support that has a neon yellow case.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations

Proof: Neon yellow cased Mamba Max.

Thomas Porfert
Tech Support
Castle Creations

I'm glad that idea never made it into production. Yellow in general literally angers me. Don't know why since yellow is supposed to be calming. You would have gotten several of those mysteriously destroyed for warranty work.

Anyway, it's not sealed in the original box. Mine is. I'll see what it's worth in 20 years I guess.

As of a month ago they are worth $69 on ebay bundled with a 2 pole 6900kv motor and 2 pinions. Yes, new in the box. Yes, I was disappointed. :neutral: