The mlst is a great beginner truck as long as you have somebody who knows what they are doing around. Of course, your son can rely on you for any problems he has and cant figure out, so he's got that covered. It is definitely a tough truck, so breaking parts probably wont be a problem, and you can take it off large jumps. The rtr also comes with a little handbook thing, which has step-by-step instructions on how to replace servos, disassemble the diffs, and the main gearbox so he will learn to fix the car a lot faster than just trying to figure it out with by himself. I say, Go for the M-LST.