Ok, just stumbled on this RC truck, the Caldera SC. I've heard nothing but bad reports on Redcat in general, not just opinions, from LHS's who repair everything. The Caldera's, seem to have a different reputation working. My son is looking to move up from his 1/18 scale stuff and get a 4wd 1/10th scale basher. We have never been to a track, so realistically, I doubt we will any time soon. We take them with us camping and go look for places on the weekends as our townhome has no yard.
The reviews I read on the Helion 10SC scratched that one out. Watching Jang break one on his first attempt on UltimateRC sealed that one. The others we were condidering are brushed, the Ofna Hyper 10SC and Hyper 10TT. The only brushless truck I've found is the AE SC10 Pro Comp 2wd for $250. He has $250 to spend and that's it. I think that's plenty for something we just screw around with. We already have 5 1/18th scale 4wd's collecting dust.