History:
Ever since I read an ad in R/C Car Action Magazine about the Tamiya Avante I have wanted one badly. When the Avante was released I could not afford one, I believe they were roughly $300usd.
My interest in the RC hobby came and went over the years as I transitioned from a teenager to a young man. During that time many models from various manufacturers were discontinued, including the Tamiya Avante.
My attention has pretty much been captivated by Team Associated from the get go so I never really "pursued" other manufacturers. I digress, the Avante has always intrigued me even though.
I looked for a used or new Avante for many years but never had any luck. I blame that on my locale, the southeast. I vaguely remember seeing one in a hobby shop many years ago here in Tallahassee but if memory serves me correct, it was very expensive.
To summarize, I wanted a Avante but could not afford one.
Mission:
As the years went by and my interest in the RC hobby started to grow strong again the price for Avante's went up.
This was due in part to the simple fact that not many were produced. It wasn't a very good selling buggy since they were expensive and parts broke easily on the track.
As the supply of remaining Avante's dwindled the price for them went up almost exponentially. These two things coupled together with a growing interest in collecting them has made the Tamiya Avante one of the most sought after buggies to collect.
Enter me, my mission, looking for one to purchase. I started locally in the papers and classifieds which usually turned up very little at best.
Then I started hearing about all the great deals people were getting on ebay so I decided to take a look. I found a few rather quickly but they always seemed to be to expensive or basket cases.
A few years went by with the same scenario happening which almost motivated me to give up looking. Then in October of 2007 on a Saturday I just so happened to search for a Avante.
My search turned up a myriad of listings for parts and the newer Avante MK.II DF-03 and one very interesting listing for a original Tamiya Avante!
The auction had only a few hours left and no bids, NO BIDS! Instinctively I thought something was "fishy" but after a little research I found the seller to be on the "up-n-up".
Without haste I placed a bid, with only 45 minutes left I refreshed the page probably 75 times, maybe more. When the countdown got into the last few seconds my heart started to race because I was thinking someone would snipe at the very last second.
Once it ended, it took a few seconds to realize that I had won it, yes, I won it! To sum up this long story, I finally got a Avante!!
Photo's from our RC galleries: