I have both a Traxxas bandit and slash. Both are great vehicles and very fun. The bandit (xl-5 - $160ish USD) is slightly less durable than my slash but a good runner none the less. They offer a VXL bandit (Brushless <$300 USD) for a very reasonable price and you might consider that as well if you like the buggy styling. If you get both know that the transmissions are the same and a lot of parts are interchangeable such as the misc screws that you are going to lose on occasion. Which would simplify keeping parts on hand.

The slash has a great rep for being able to take punishment very well. I can personally vouch for it's robustness.

my .02