I ended up buying a Stampede 4x4 XL5 for him.

The more I read about Arrma's brushed version of the Granite Mega the more issues and complaints I found. The Stampede 4x4 also seems to have less cost cutting measures compared to VXL specs than the brushed Granite Mega does compared to its brushless sibling.

I also like that my LHS has Traxxas parts out the wazoo. Traxxas also has more aftermarket support than Arrma.

Lastly, fyrstormer pointed out, it's also nice to have part interchangeability.