RE: Help A Beginner!
Losi makes a nice electric, it's what most of the drivers run at the track I go to and it's not overly expensive - check it out !
I considerd both electric and gas before I bought one. I liked the electrics (I fly an electric plane and it so easy to go out with a charged battery, flip the ON switch and fly. No hassle with fuel and trying to get a balky engine started) but the sounds a gas truck makes swayed me.
You need to pick out a make and model you like, get the list price and then visit local hobby shops looking for a deal (and maybe look for a used one on eBay. If you watch you can sometimes pick one up at a good price. I bought my gas powered version there and am very happy with what I got). As mentioned above, batteries and charger for an electric can be a big expense but again, if you look around (particularly online) you can get some battery packs at reasonable prices.