In the lower mains there is PLENTY of contact with 12th scales...but it's all inadvertent...no one bumps others out of the way....but you'll accidentally clip each other..drive into a wall and bounce into traffic, etc...

You can find a deal on a used 12th scale kit....but thenew ones are not really that expensive, all things considered...

At Cleveland Trinity's new Reflex 12 was $199 and the CRC Carpet knife 3.2 was $225, the difference being the CRC came with purples and greys so you'd have what you need to run carpet...the Reflex to my knowledge had no tires...

What will cost you the money in getting setup is high performance compact electronics, servo, ESC, and Receiver...plus your batteries and motor....

You can save yourself $50-$100 by buying used...but that will give you(most often) an older kit, questionable build quality and an unknown amount of abuse..

If you KNOW someone you trust..then buying used is great..otherwise it's hard to put a price on piece of mind