I have been following this thread since day 1. King, you have a lot of choices. If it was me, I would have bought a buggy by now. You can't go wrong with whatever you buy. You need the skills to be able to tune the motor right and you won't be able to do that until you actually get to touch one. Then you will need tools and skills to be able to wrench on the buggy.

The bottom line is, if you buy an RTR kit you will need to replace the radio and servos (minimum of steering servo). Tires also make a difference in being competitive. Aside from a properly setup buggy, it's driver skill that makes a difference. As others here have said, a good driver with RTR hyper 7 can overtake lesser drivers with $1000 buggies.