You could always join the Super Saver club at Tower, and order the car, radio, ESC/motor combo from there with a discount. With the super saver club, you get free shipping on any order over $150, and you get coupons for up to $50/$60 off any order over $300.
You can find decent LiPos from
www.hobbyking.com. They're from overseas (but they do have a USA warehouse now), so the shipping time is a little longer, but I was able to get a 5S 40C 3000mAh and 6S 40C 3000mAh battery for just over $100.
It's certainly not a cheap car, though. That's for sure.
I'l like to order the exact same batteries. How do they fit?