Thanks for the replies and for the info, after doing alot of research and reading im leaning more towards an RTR, to get my feet wet. Perhaps sometime down the track i may venture into building a kit.

So with that in mind top contenders are the TRAXXAS cars.
In particular it would be the Slash and the Bandit.

So parts are interchangable between the Slash & Bandit?

Would the VXL be overkill for now? I've seen a few youtube videos where a brushless Slash is flipping over backwards on straight accelleration due to the hugh power.....perhaps its too much for now. Can i always buy a brushless motor down the track and upgrade either of these?

Can other upgrades be done to these two cars aswell?

I must admit i like the water resistant features of these two cars, does that mean its harder to maintain or upgrade? and how would the performance of these two stand up next to each other? im thinking to eventually purchase both, so that i have a buggy, and a truck. which would be even better if they could fairly closely compete with one another.

sorry for so many questions, but this place really seems like a great source of knowledge. I find some shops often have alterior motives behind their advise....

Now these kits come with a radio control, i assume these are good controls, so that means all i really need are the batteries and the charger. for the controller i know it needs AA batteries, but would i definately need to get rechargable? or not really? also with the battery pack is it worth getting LIPO ? or its not really necessary yet?

as far as chargers go, what should i be looking for?

and lastly what power battery will give me a run time of at least 30 mins, preferably longer?

Thanks again for all the info, i really appreciate it.