Another way into the hobby: (prices rounded to nearest full dollar...)
Decent competitive car at a bargain price... $290
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...tion-Buggy-Kit
Good beginner engine at a bargain price... $120
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...G-Buggy-Engine
Or the engine I run, but mine has been modified... $150 for stock engine
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Standard-Plug
Inexpensive mid-range pipe... $55 (This would probably be the pipe for the first engine... the Novarossi you would probably want the 086 instead... same price)
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Hard-Anodized
The least expensive full-featured radio you can get... $100
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...annel-Receiver
The ONLY steering servo I would buy... $120 on here... can find them for about $100.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Digital-Servo
If you absolutely, positively HAVE to save money, you might get by with something similar to this for a throttle servo... $55
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...tal-Gear-Servo
A starter box will run you at least $60
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...le-Starter-Box
Receiver battery pack: $15 is as cheap as they get
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...r-Pack-1600mAh
About as cheap as tires with foam come- $16 a pair x 2, so $32, plus you need glue, add another $3... $35
(I just picked the cheapest decent brand tires that had foams with them that I found.)
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Foam-Silver-2
Now... we're at $795, to match the FEATURES in the LOSI RTR kit, which costs $700. Add $120 to the Losi for the good servo.
The Losi is a better car than the HB... not that the HB is bad. The radio is MUCH better- the LOSI comes with a $250-300 radio!
Costs? $795 for HB, $820 for the LOSI with the upgraded servo. $25 more for the LOSI, with a better radio? That's a no-brainer.
Note that NEITHER include fuel, fuel bottle, battery for starter box, battery charger, tools, extra tires and wheels, spare parts, etc. Speaking of spare parts- that's why I say stay away from that cheap car you mentioned. Get something that you can get spare parts for without waiting weeks for shipping from overseas.
This isn't a cheap hobby. If you absolutely have to stay under $400 get a Slash/SC10/etc. and stay away from 1/8 scale.