Buy once cry once

I have talked for long about sirmacing being being OK in a budget. That is still true. Entry level equipment has been for a while competent, long lasting, has features or compatibility that serves most. Todays video isnt really about entry level equipment, nor really about upgrades. Its more about an idea when buying simracing equipment called “buy one cry once”

Im not going to say here that you should buy the most expensive thing youll find or spend extra for the sake of it, but to get you in a mentality of having the least steps possible between any entry level equipment to a place everything in your simrig is build to last and theres really no reason to commit extra funds for any significant changes. At least not as much as subscribing to the channel. Thanks. 

The concept of buy once, cry once is one of intentional frugality. It encapsulates the idea that investing in a higher-quality, often more expensive product up front can save you money, time, and frustration in the long run.  Also, this video is not to shame your choices, or even lower end equipment, because as we have seen, a G29 has the longevity of a Toyota Corolla, so it definitely fits this description. 

Higher-quality products typically last longer, meaning you won’t have to replace them as often. While the initial cost might be higher, the total cost of ownership over time is often lower, or at least itll give less headaches, in theory at least. For example, a really good set of pedals is definitely a big buy, but could last years longer, saving you the cost of multiple replacements, or jumping around between sets trying to find a way to go around downsides cheaper sets could have.

Quality products often require less maintenance and are less likely to break down. This not only saves on repair costs but also reduces the hassle and inconvenience of dealing with frequent issues. A good direct drive, for example, should last you many many years. Even if more advanced options appear, the jump in quality often times is not worth it, as what you have still serves perfectly fine and the performance is till extremely good. 

Its easy to talk when I get stuff to review, and I have a bunch of equipment to choose from, but this is speaking from experience that is not always related to simracing as a hobby but applies to simracing as a hobby nonetheless.

Better products often offer superior performance, greater comfort, better functionality, more features, greater compatibility and so on.

So what does this really mean in practice? It means it  can mean more, that can even mean less. In essence spend money will using your noggin instead of spending it on a whim. Without much deep thought behind it. It means investigate and understand what you are getting yourself into and what it means to spend your money and your time.. 

Lets start this with an example at one end, which is going too cheap. There is such a thing, which is too cheap. It could be a wheelbase that doesnt even have forcefeedback, a wheelstand that it is so wobbly that might as well just use the desk. In this case the perception of simracing can be deformed through the lens of equipment so cheap, its unlikely to give any satisfaction to the user, to the point they can think simracing or any simracing adjacent activities suck. In this case the “buy once cry once” could be something a little more expensive that has better reviews, likely more usability and so on. Crucially here, investigating what to get and why to get it is important. Money doesnt grow on trees, and that cheap wheel may really become the reason why buy once cry once is true. Because if you spend those 80 bucks on a bungee cord you see at amazon, spending probably the extra same amount would probably land you something that would last for days, instead of a day. True story. 

However, there is the  other side of the spectrum, and that also needs a word or two. theres this reddit thread we can use as a cautionary tale. Please dont see this an an opportunity to attack the person, this user doesnt deserve it, we have all made such decisions in the past for one or another reason, ive done that with a car. But use this as a learning experience for all the community. 

So this user documents his experience of coming into simracing racing as a newcomer. Bought a rig with really good equipment that even myself would like. With close to zero experience in simracing, either that being in titles, building or understanding it. theres a lot of time invested into the build. It took about 2 weeks with a couple of hours every other day. Then he gets a couple of games on sale, Automobilista 2 and ACC. After some trying out, because nothing was going in the correct way, this user panics as the buyers regrets steps in. It was a too much of a leap.

He goes on to say “When I get into something, it is really hard for me to stop. I dive into researching, reading, watching reviews, and eventually, I will buy the best I can afford. In my mindset, I'm "afraid" that I'm missing out on something with "cheaper" equipment. I prefer to start with the best I can so that I won't find myself looking for upgrades or blaming the gear for my mistakes. It's also really important for me to mention that I did not expect to be better in any way by buying the more expensive gear.”. 

Thankfully the community was supportive and he ended up getting in the right direction for the experience he wanted to take from simracing.

Though it could very well gone the wrong direction, of over spending and then the expenditure doesnt match what you think you are going to extractfrom the hobby. Also, cheaper equipment doesnt mean that much. After a while the jump in price is a lot and the return on that is negligible in terms of performance, and even sometimes it can be a detriment to performance, pedals are something that come to mind, but that a topic for another video, so sub to keep up to date.

So, really, dont ever think if you jump from a a 12 to 20nm direct drive you are going to miss out a lot, because generally you really dont. 

In this case, its important, as a newcomer, to jump in to simracing with a a decent enough equipment list, but something you can test the waters with and then flip the equipment if you think the hobby is for you. Something that its easy to setup as it is easy to get rid of. So many choices right now in budget equipment, and simracing budget stuff is pretty good. 

Simracing as something casual is more of a commitment than any other games you'll ever play. Hence, it's better to start low with a good quality entry level and then build from there, instead of spending lots to then find out you don't like it.

So, buy once cry once should be renamed to “buy once, but you should investigate and contextualise whats a want and whats a need to make sure you allocate the correct amount of resources needed for the current situation to a point where those resources matches the expectations, cry once” But thats way too big of a saying.