Let me tell you something from my own experiance,,,
I've tested some trucks for bashing purpose such as T maxx, revo, slayer, savage x4.6, savage xl 5.9, Jammin CRT.5 ,,,, and one or two more. however i regret i've never own Truggy, and the reason was bcause its come as a kit and it needs many things to be ready to run like Tx/rx, servos, engine/exhaust, starter box/battery, tiers/wheels ,,,,, in short, more expenses. but during time i have spent lots of money for a broken parts and upgrades including engines,,,,
from the above case i want to recommend you to buy a Truggy (popular brand),, at least you can either bash or you may want to race it in your local track soon or later,,,, but as you are planning to pay less than 500$ you may need to be patint until you find the appropriate one maybe here on forum forum or even ebay
thanks