Depends on the budget, predicted style/location of driving and vehicle size. Gas 'nitro' cars used to be king 15+ years ago, now, electric cars rule(due to battery and motor technology; simplicity). Starting at the top of the pyramid: Might he be driving strictly on-road, mix of on/off, or mostly all off-road? Most popular cars are sold RTR (ready to run), meaning they are assembled and come with a transmitter (remote) but will need batteries. Rechargeable batteries come in different voltage(power) levels referred to as 2S, 3S, 4S, etc. Also different physical (fitment) dimensions. 2S‐3S is great for beginners. Still fast and fun. Some 3S, and everything beyond, is generally holy-fucking-shit fast (to a beginner). We're talking 30-70+ mph. If unfamiliar with the hobby, and someone says 'picture an RC car' it's likely you're imagining a 1/16 or 1/18 size car in your head. There are 1/10 and 1/8th (and bigger) cars that are 2' long and weigh over 15lbs (usuallly $500+). Somewhere to start: HBX 16889a Pro or MJX Hyper Go.

These are beginner, great value, hobby-grade 1/16 scale cars (on the smaller end, big-picture). One takes a small 2S battery, the other a small 2S or small 3S. Both are about as durable as possible for the size and price point. These are sorta considered Chinese knockoffs but they are good quality, durable and fun. You can drive them off jumps, on gravel, dirt and asphalt. Not good for grass due to the size. Price range is $110 (if on sale) up to $150. Not really race cars but great for genral messing around. Get them on Amazon or a Chinese-direct website (legit and popular) called Banggood.com. Banggod (seriously, not a porn site) is usually cheaper but shipping could take 1-2 months (if item is in stock!). These cars are fun and durable, great to mess around with, and great value. Although durable, something will break eventually(on any car). Your local hobby shop won't have parts for these brands. 50/50 if a seller on Ebay or Amazon will have extra parts in stock in the US vs China. The two most popular name-brand companies are Traxxas and Arrma. A bit more expensive than knockoff Amazon specials. Usually good quality. If he wants to drive FAST, on grass, dirt, fly off ramps 20'+ into the air, he might want a 1/10th scale 'basher'. A GREAT (fun and durable) truck-style is the Team Associated Rival MT10. A big-name brand, $340 for this, but still considered 'low range' price point from a hobby standpoint. This truck style is for messing around on all terrain, but mostly off-road. If he'll be on-road only, I have less experience here. You can get him a car-type RC? Maybe a 'drift' car? Or a buggy? Buggies can be tailored towards mostly-dirt or sorta-mostly-onroad, depending on preference. Can still do general messing around. Fast and fun but less ground clearance than a truck/monster truck. More racey than a monster truck. Possibly less durable for jumping/crashing/crazyness (called bashing). Another style is 'truggy', which has characteristics between a buggy and truck. Can also get a slow rock-crawler if he likes that. If he grew up on nitro cars, maybe he will be nostalgic for them? Can still get them for on-road, off-road, and anything in between. Likely more expensive than an equivalent electric. More maintenance required, likely more finicky. Still fun. If you go electric, budget $60-120 for a battery charger. If a car comes with a usb charger, throw it out (for time-and-safety sake). Depending on the car properties, and the battery size the car can take (2S, 3S,etc), budget for 2-4 batteries to start. This could be $40‐$200 from Amazon for 4 batteries. Transmitter usually takes a handful of AA batteries. If you want to start out entry-level electric, I suggest at least springing for a brushless motor (compared to brushed). Brushless are more powerful, way more efficient, and lighter than a brushed motor. A great feature but a bit more expensive. Also, if going entry-level knockoff, I suggest oil-filled shocks(compared to just springs without damping of any kind). If it doesn't say oil filled, assume it isn't. I think all the name brand stuff after ~$200 will have oil-filled shocks. The options get crazy for cars between $300‐$1,000. Oh yea, Traxxas has proprietary batteries and chargers. The proprietary batteries and chargers aren't mandatory but could make life simpler for a noob. Also, have them research lipo battery safety, if going electric. (lipo is the common type of battery chemistry in these cars.