Well, first off the the man should not have laughed at your purchase.
What buggy is this we are talking about??
I am unclear why you cant get a drill to work. Is it because you don't have a long extension or is there just no way to feed a bit through the chassis. If it has a roto start system on it there should be a way to get on it.
You can look into a different roto start system but that is gonna set you back 50-60 bucks. I would go ahead and invest in a good starter box. You will be able to use this with anything you purchase in the future.
If you are getting into nitro you will not want a pull start or a roto start.
Bump box is the way to go