If you are planning to mostly club race you don't really need the best of anything. I am super cheap guy when it comes to this hobby so my advice may not be what you are looking for but I'll try to help you with what I've learned. I got back in the hobby back in February after about 8 years off. Most of everything is better than it was but not everything will make you faster on the track. As far as kits go, Kyosho would probably be my last recommendation. At my track everyone that ran them switched to other brands and everyone is faster with what ever buggy they got. I am a little bit loyal to HB and I love their cars but I am not sure I would recommend them to you either. They are easy to run fast and forgiving to drive but they are not easy builds. You can't even build the stock setup without option parts. Plus its a little on the expensive side. The AE b3.1 on the other hand is awesome. Setups are everywhere. Most shops have parts. It will turn with anything. It has a great clutch included in the kit and its fast out of the box. Check out fiercercsolutions. He's got some of the best prices. Another car to look at would be the new Tekno EB48 2.0. It looks really good. Tebo runs my home track and I have seen it out there but of course he is going to make any buggy look really good.
On to the other aspects of the car you will need.
Servo's- Savox 2274sg for steering and savox 1258 for throttle
Engine-If you will be racing expert Protek samurai, Sportsman nova p5xlt or Protek LS-5. I have the LS-5 broken in by Drake using the EBIS method. I have won two sportsman trophy races with this engine. I have yet to have a flame out. Power is awesome from mid to high rpm. I have had excellent runtime with a 053 pipe. I plan on moving up to expert and I am using this engine.
Tires- I have been using James racing and they have been great and they are supper cheap. Get them at dialedrc or eBay. Prolines and AKA's are great too but more expensive.
Radio- Mt44 is awesome. Futaba has some great radios too.
Air filters, I oil mine myself with mx no toil filter oil and then clean them with no toil cleaner. It came in a package for less than $20 and is enough to last me for years. I clean and reuse.
Also check out RCjuice. They have some great products. They have a great engine warmer for $20. Cross check prices on eBay. Sometimes they have better deals from their eBay store.