RE: Help with beginner (somewhat)
if your looking for just speed and like nitro a traxxas jato is freakin fast right outta the box....I dont know about their durability first hand, I do know people that own them...they dont beat on em real hard so its hard to say how durable...one thing I dont like about the jato is you havta do some tinkering on it to keep the front wheels on the ground...I think its the fastest rc out of the box there is out there....but thats just a straight line drag race....a 4wd truggy or buggy should eat it up on a tight offroad track, but then again it depends on the drivers...
anything you buy you will need supporting equipment...so if $700 is your max budget I would look for something in the neighborhood of say $500 to $550...supporting equipment isnt that real expensive indevidually but it adds up fast
nitro
starter kit (a couple tools, fuel bottle, ignitor, ignitor charger)...I recomend getting a 5 cell reciever hump pack, and rechargeable transmitter batteries...after run oil, shock oils, air filter oil, diff oils, tire glue (comes in handy for alot of things)..a charger for the reciever pack (you will prolly want a fast charger)...spare glow plugs..misc tools, and of course fuel..
electric
spare battery packs, faster charger, rechargeable batteries for the transmitter...shock oils, diff oils, tire glue