Servo and ESC kapoop?

[DeGe]

I bought 2 AMPS, one for my daughter (10yo) and one for me. The last 2 weeks have been fantastic fun for both of us. The speed and acceleration are good enough on full batteries while we are learning. Tag is one of our main uses and there are quiet a few bashes and I don't want to deal with the consequences/breakages at higher speeds at the moment, and its great that we are using the same car.

Today her car stopped steering, Forward/Reverse OK.

I unplugged her servo into my esc to checked the servo.....no go
I plugged her esc into my servo to check the esc....no go

I assume the esc and servo went at the same time.

A few questions come out of this.
1) Any other possibilities for no steering?
2) Should I buy another kit and start using the present one as a parts car? ($110 for the esc and servo or $249 for a complete kit; Australia) I'm not sure how many things I'll be replacing due to bashing. No hobby shop nearby so everything is ordered online.
3) Should I upgrade the TX and RX and ESC and Servo for possible future (12 months) upgrades to the motor?
4) I was thinking of future upgrading to LiPo for both cars, will this effect how long the ESC will last?

 

[HeavyBag]

Did someone turn the Dual Rate knob down on the transmitter?

 

[DeGe]

Bought a kit Amp for replacement parts, replaced the parts in my daughters car.

Servo and ESC/Rx Did the same thing again on my daughters car again. This time the servo has melted the casing at the back. So I'm assuming the servo malfunction caused the Rx to burn out.

Changed my esc/rx to my daughters car and upgraded mine with a new tx/rx/esc/servo (different brand), stayed with brushed.

Will wait to see if she burns this one out, and in the mean time see how the new types work in mine.