If you just want the one truck, and if you don't anticipate buying other vehicles, then the RTR is a good deal.

But if you already have a good radio, or if you just want the max performance out of the vehicle, then buy the kit.

I'm gonna guess that the electronics that come with the RTR cost $100 of the total cost? But if you buy electronics separately, you will spend more than $100 to get a running truck. I think it'd be difficult to get a transmitter w/ receiver, motor, ESC, and servo for under $300 of you buy them separately. So in this respect the kit is a good deal.



But I probably would not buy an RTR. I already have a nice transmitter, and I personally prefer to pay a little more for higher quality. I already know I would be dissatisfied with the quality of the electronics, and I would not use the included radio anyway. So for me personally, I would end up saving money buying the kit, because I would not use the included electronics.

This isn't to say there is anything fundamentally wrong with the components that are included. The electronics of an RTR are engineered to work together as a system. The components you buy separately are over-engineered, because the mfg doesn't know what motor will run with which ESC, and in what size vehicle. But on the RTR, engineers can carefully match the motor and ESC to the vehicle. This allows them to reduce the cost of components without sacrificing reliability.

A lot of guys here will always say to avoid RTRs, but the thing is that it is a bargain if you run it as is. And if you are running the RTR, I wouldn't stress about upgrades.