It doesn't neccessarily have to be a Jato. I just thought they look cool and that would be about what my budget would be. What ever I go with, I want to do a scratch build or maybe a kit. I haven't done that yet, should be interesting. I also considered a Dark Impact or a Rustler with a few upgrades.
I'm learning I enjoy building and working on them as much or more than running 'em.
Yeah, it's my understanding that it would take another $100 or so to make it stand up to the MM BL set up, plus a little suspension work to actually be competative.