I run a t-maxx and I love it, but admitedly it took a lot of work and $$$ to get it to where it is now. Stock: I broke parts almost every time I went out. It seemed that something silly would give out everytime I drove it. Over time I managed to build a maxx that I absolutely love and rarely break anything on unless I take tha abuse to extreme levels.

I also have a rustler, but it was decked out with RPM and titanium when I bought it as a roller, so I have never had any issues with breaking parts on it.

My brother-in-law has an HPI MT2, which at first glance appears to be built a bit more solidly than the traxxas vehicles I have played around with. In fact, when I first saw it I was really impressed. But after we took it out a bit we started to realize it is like any other RC in that it has certain weak parts that will break when you screw up. But unlike the traxxas vehicles, I found the available upgrades for the MT2 to be extremely limited (in comparrison to what is available for a maxx) and also pretty pricey. I still love the thing, but we have just found that you need to keep and extra set of arms, caster blocks and axle carriers with you if you plan on catching serious air.

All that being said, and given my limited exposure to other brands, I think the one real upside to the t-maxx is option upgrade availability. If you plan on buying an RC and working on it constantly and pouring money into it until you end up with an amazing RC, then it is a great option. However, if you just want to go buy something that is super durable right out of the box so you can drive it and not have to work on it a lot, then the t-maxx is probably not the best choice; well actually nitro RC in general is not the best choice they all require lots of maintenance and tinkering, but if you are into that kind of thing yu can't beat this hobby.