also, bear in mind anyone who you may inflict yourself upon, ie, anyone who lives under the same roof as you. eg if you intend to do your mechanincs or rebuild a motor on the dining room table, or run in a motor while watching TV maybe electric is for you (as mentioned it is much cleaner, and quieter, with no exhaust fumes). or on the other hand when the guys at work ask you what you did on the weekend, will you confess to playing with battery powered toy cars (most non-rc people think that nitro is cool, but all electric cars come from Tandy and only take AA cells )

as mentioned, go for a qualilty, used, complete second hand setup (about $500ish) and see if you like it. if you dont, you can probably sell it for about what you paid for it, if you do like it, upgrade...