Welcome to the hobby, wont be long and you and your son will both be hopelessly addicted. You made a good choice on the E-Maxx, its a very well built fun truck to play with right out of the box. If I were you, I would save up some money and just keep it handy. Run the truck as is, and as things break (which should not be to often unless you drive the truck into a wall) replace them with upgrades. Overall I make bets you will be very happy with the truck, and shouldn't break much.