May I suggest looking into a Jato. They are really simple and there are tons of them out. To really do something like an 1/8 or a monster truck you are going to spend a lot of money on your motor (Neu or Plett) then you will have to get very large lipo batteries (minimum 6000 mah with 20C ability and 4 cell at least). The Jato is a great straight foward car. YOu can get a roller for aorund $60 to $90. Then you can get a Mamba Max esc and a 3 cell lipo from Max Amps and if you want a inexpensive motor gat a Nemisis or Feiago, or if you want a better motor get Hacker or you can go all out and get a Krontronik or Neu. The whole car will be a good learning experance for you and wont brake the bank. This is a photo on one of mine (I have 3)
This is my sons
