If you find a car club then that will be your best bet as you will no doubt find a car there pretty cheap, this is how I found my first heli then when I knew what I wanted I bought exactly what I was after and 2 years later I still have it, but failing that just go to your local but reputable model shop and they will be able to sort you out.
Never raced my self but had a few nitro and electric cars. Weve also had a Plane which didnt last very long. Want to get my self a heli sometime though!
Bro has him self a HPI Savage XL 5.9 with a few select mods on gearing, wheels etc. Will get some pics of him later on but for now a video of when we got it....
I used to race RC cars before I moved onto bigger things:
Former mini-champion at Leighton Buzzard
Multiple wins in D1RC UK champs
Tamiya Stuff is good but with the current price of the Yen is quite expensive. Best recommendation is usually what you can get parts for locally and cheaply, but buy something cheap (but new, second hand cars are mostly junk) to start with (you're gonna end up smashing the crap out of it any-way). Spend money on good radio gear - it'll last a long time, hold it's resale value better and will make driving a lot easier and more enjoyable. It really sucks sitting races out because your radio gear has packed up.
Check out the BRCA (British Radio Car Association) for local clubs http://www.brca.org/
Check out D1RC for (my fave) drifting D1RC
I've spent lots of money really, i dread to count really....
But a Prowed owner of a Traxxas Rustler VXL (Lipo'd and Maxmamba'd)
And a Hoboa Hyper 7 TQ Which is fairly basic still really - and is still a brute of a car
And a Now Shelf Queen Hpi Rush Evo
love Rc's to bits
Its the Driving at high speeds WITH a Reset button that sometimes doesn't cost if you have to press it