I made my suggestion based on his price range. I happen to have exp with one, it's not a bad car. It would be a decent first car to make sure he even wants to race 8th scale buggy. Otherwise, he could blow $500+ on a nicer setup, decide he's not interested, and then it'll be $500+ paper weight... There's nothing really wrong with that car, it's a decent first step, wich is what he's looking for. I'd take a new Ultra Comp over a used, slightly higher quality car any day. At least at that point you know nothing has been broken/worn out...besides, everyone on here knows that ANY properly set up car can be competitive.