ORIGINAL: thestratcat
I will agree though, look at the stores in the area, buy what they stock parts for or be ahead of the game and stock parts yourself, at any given time I have a couple of each part I've ever broken sitting at home, this works for me, the nearest hobby shop is about 60 miles away.. you've got to look at what is in stock and available for repairs... LIFE SUCKS WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT A BROKEN TRUCK!!
So true. My LHS has mostly Traxxas parts, but they have no idea about the RC hobby. Every time I go in there they try to sell me the wrong parts for my Rustler.
As to the OP, I'd go with the Savage X. Take a look at the MT forum and see what people are saying about it. It looks like there's one part that is prone to breaking after some time, but it can easily be upgraded to aluminum to stop that problem. I got to drive a friend's Savage X and fell in love with it. It makes my Rusty look like a POS.