I've had a bunch of buggies and truggies, and still, after eight years or so in RC, THE best RC I have ever had is my first RTR LST2. Buggies and truggies develop slop in such a way that you have to replace a bunch of stuff periodically, whereas with an MT it doesn't matter as much. Plus, I just like a 2-speed.. My LST2 is nearly seven years old, and a lot of it is still original... You'd have to completely rebuild (or replace..) a buggy or truggy 2-3 times in that period.. (And yes, I have replaced a fair bit on my LST2 in that time too, but still..) My SC8 is also very good, and yes, buggies and truggies are great too and have a simple layout, etc.. and don't have as much on them that can go wrong, but not all RTR MT's suck. Losi has always offered awesome RTR's...

HPI Savage RTR's are decent for what they are.

Traxxas, IMO, is overpriced, overplasticy, and underdurable out of the box.. I know some people like them, and that's fine. But I wouldn't spend my money on one.