There are lots of ways to do this with many opinions. I have built them from scratch and purchased them and developed the car. At the end of the day you will spend the same amount. What you have to consider is your initial invenstment money and then what funds you will have to complete or develop the car. The are cars out there for reasonable costs...say $2500-3000. You can be pretty sure that someone did something to the car...and these cars CAN provide you a great platform to become competitive. The most important thing to remember is that you -most likely- will not win a race or event the first or second time out. So...be prepared to have fun just getting out there. FAST will happen...but your first step is buying the car. Honda-Saturn-Mazda...just buy the most you can for what you have to spend...and be ready to invest more time and money into it. That is what "the book" teaches...and experience will also add that this sport is all about a budget of time and money and skills.