I just got back into RC after 4 years lay off. I think the main reason I got out was having smaller kids and dragging them to the track only to spend the day fixing their trucks. The kids are older now and have their own activities and so I have more time on my own. Getting my old RC stuff I was please to find that my T4's were still being used. I started running my factory version and found out that I was breaking things at a pace similar to how my kids did. I probably never broke anything because the kids would break things faster than I could. I was getting frustrated and thinking this is not for me. I began looking at the Slashes at our track and notice how robust they seemed to be. Well I bought one and never have been happier. They are very forgiving and can take considerably more abuse and they keep going. My point is durability is important if you're starting out because it allows you to continue to drive and learn rather than sit at the bench fixing things.