💬 Buy Once, Cry Once
The advice that paying more for the good version up front costs less than replacing the cheap one repeatedly.
Most often aimed at chargers, radios and tools, which outlast the vehicle you bought them for. It is not universal advice — it is worth less on wear items you will destroy either way.
What it actually does
The hobby's favourite piece of advice: buy the good one first and be upset about the price once, rather than buying the cheap one, replacing it, and paying more in total. It comes up most around transmitters, chargers, servos and goggles.
In practice
It applies best to things you keep across many models — a radio, a charger, goggles, tools. It applies far less to the models themselves, where a cheaper first car you are not afraid to crash genuinely teaches you more than an expensive one you are nervous with.
Worth knowing
It is advice, not law. Plenty of people have spent heavily on their first setup, discovered they preferred a different discipline entirely, and wished they had bought cheap and learned first.