I agree that your LHS (Local Hobby Store) will be more inclined to help you especially if you buy from them..
BUT.. if your smart with your money and if you know exactly what you need (just takes some research), you can go ahead and browse online stores like towerhobbies, acehobbies etc.

Also.. Dont look without knowing what you want.

Do you want offroad/Onroad?
Do you want a monster truck thats slightly slower but goes over everything?
Do you want a 1/10 scale onroad car that has superb speed and handling capabilities?


My advice.. do your homework and make sure you KNOW what you want before you go shopping.
If you go to your LHS and say "I dont know what I want.. heres 500 bucks".. I'm sure you wont be too happy!

ram