This is my first RC so I'm not the best person to ask but it seems good to me. Liks are plastic but several youtube videos on DIY upgrades, which will help. My biggest gripe is having to remove the body to turn it off. Second gripe would be, it comes nimh and lipo ready but in the lipo mode. I bought a 5000 lipo and charger. But, you have to use adapters to run the lipo. That seems kinda odd to me. Overall I love it. I can't drive worth a crap but that will change, I hope. I bought from RCSuperstore. They had it on sale for $350 with free shipping, a free 3000 nimh and charger, I upgraded to a 5000 lipo and charger and had $414 in everything. I'm happy and felt that I could get most back if I didn't like it.