A quality charger and radio are a must. I would say that because there are still hop ups to buy (The RPM bearing carriers and ball bearings for the wheels are a definate must, don't even bother running the truck without them. The bushings are a joke, as the LHS, they'll tell you the same thing). The battery they will sell you for a total of $190 will suck compared to a nice side X side GP3300 pack. It doesn't even need to be matched, but it still helps to have a nice battery. A nice peak charger with some adjustability to it is also a great idea. We have 3 Rustlers here, along with 2 E-MAXX's, 2 Stampede's, a Bandit, a Street Sport, and a Nitro Buggy... in short, we like Traxxas cars.
The thing you need to know is; they aren't really race bred vehicles. If you are buying this car because you want to race at a local track, don't get it. It's a basher, meaning it's heavy duty, brawny, and strong. It isn't as nimble and lightweight as the racers out there, but it will definatly hold up to a pounding. We race at our track, and either you have a Losi or an Associated or you don't race at all. Out of my own personal collection of 24 R/C cars, 6 are Traxxas'. Go to
www.TeamPlatinumRacing.com/Rides.html to check some of them out. I can tell you some modifications that you should get if you want, but I'll save that for later.