I'd like to buy a ready to run setup

Thats cool you guys are getting started. If you like racing you will enjoy it. It has all the same thrills and enjoyment of racing any scale in my opinion. But it all boils down to practice to do well. I've seen guys that are experienced racers that have never tried mini-z's pick up a transmitter and do well. And I've seen guys that just cant get the hang of it without alot of practice. Bottom line is it takes practice to get fluent with racing these and really anything.

As for West Valley Hobbies they can be kind of hit and miss for attitude. Once you get to know the guys there than can be pretty cool and helpful, but it depends on the day and the person. Dont worry about what thier opinion is on Mini-Z's. They used to sell them and race them there but they've all moved on to other scales and classes they enjoy more. Thats cool, to each his own. Most the guys there are frequent racers. Lately the big thing seems to be Rock Crawlers and Short Course Trucks. It makes sense for them to promote and race what makes the shop money. Its hard for someone to promote something they dont do so I wouldnt worry to much about what the Ford guys says about Chevy's if you know what I mean. If you want to see something fun, show up Tuesday nights (tonight) accross the street from WVH at Cafe Rio and watch them run the drift cars. It looks really fun, but its just another class of racing.

I guess my point is that different people find fun doing different things. Personally I really enjoy the Mini-Z's, but its not my only scale of RC. It is one of the funnest for me because the guys we race with are cool, and everybody is out to help everybody else have fun, rather than a big hard nosed competition. We all still try to compete the best we can, but if you arent having fun whats the point? I think you will really enjoy it if you give it a fair chance. You can spend a ton of money on Mini-Z's but you really dont have to. Practice will make you faster than any hop up you can buy. If your like me though half the fun is the wrenching on the car and hopping it up.

We look forward to you guys coming out and racing with us.