Buying my first radio, battery and charger

[SOUCHAN]

I realised a couple of months ago that I'm actually rich enough now to get into the RC car racing scene, and went out and bought myself a TB-02 chassis and MC330CR ESC.

The chassis and ESC were roughly the same cost to buy locally as they were to buy online, however the battery, charger and radio are significantly more expensive from all the local stores than they are from eTamiya or Tower. One of the bigger problems with my local stores is that there only seems to be one decent battery available (a 3000mAh Ni-MH) and it retails for NZD$100. eTamiya sells the GP3000 for NZD$40.

So I have a few questions.

Primarily, I'd like to know who you'd recommend I buy the parts off. eTamiya has excellent prices, which leaves me wondering how reliable their customer service is. Tower is noticeably more expensive, but I hear their name a lot more than I hear eTamiya's.

Secondly I'd like to know what parts you'd recommend I buy. For the radio I'm pretty much settled on a Futaba 2PL, but I haven't yet decided on a battery and charger. Mainly because none of eTamiya, Tower and my local stores stock the same items, so what I get will depend on the store I buy from.

Having said that, I do know I'd like the batteries to be 3000mAh (or higher) Ni-MH packs, and obviously they will need to fit reasonably well into a TB-02 chassis. The charger just needs to be a decent charger that knows how to charge a battery without destroying it.

What are your thoughts?

[Giant655]

Dynamite makes a peak charger that is called the prophet. it is a peak charger with variable amperage rates ( 1,2, and 4 amps), will charge receiver packs also ( this doesent apply to you, but now the nitro guys know lol) and only costs 40 some bucks. Peak racing makes 3000 mah batteries that come in a pair for only 45 bucks, and I believe you can find the charger at www.horizonhobby.com I am not sure about horizon carrying the batteries, but if they dont carry them, take a look at www.towerhobbies.com , they wont carry the charger though ( dynamite is one of the things horizon distributes exclusively)

[highroller]

Being in New Zealand might put a limit on the different chargers and batteries that are available in the US unless you able to go through an online site that does foreign shipping. Stormer and Tower hobbies are two I deal with that ship to foreign countries and will give you a foreign exchange rate as you purchase.
Charges are available from a number of companies - compare prices, what you need in terms of functions-charge rates, preset detect or adjustable detect settings, discharge function and some other features.
Batteries are now in the 4200 MA range, with the IB3800, Ib4200 being the most preferred for competitive racing, GP3300 might be fine but the supply might be limited especially good matched packs. Prices are usually better from the smaller matching companies - so again do comparison shopping and pricing. Stormer Hobbies was having a closeout on some of the GP3300, IB3600 so check their site for what is available and check the chargers they have.