Hi
I was in the same situation as you about 6 months ago and went with the virus 3 kit, i knew fair well it wasnt meant to be as good as a hyper 7 and finding parts for it wasnt going to be as easy or cheep, but i wanted a kit that was cheep just to get me back into rc nitro cars. The kit came with fairly basic instructions and took me a few days to build, it was fun and I learn loads about the car and as such there would never be a need for me to take it into some shop to get the to fix a part etc. I also went with a hongnor force .28 engine which fits fine but was a pain to tune and bed in, it seams a lot better now.
As for problems with the car so far I have had none and only broke things due to my own fault and the one time the reviver failed and sent the car out of control into a post and smashed the front suspension up.
The receiver got wet as I was racing it on a very wet football field and it took out the throttle servo which of course stayed on full, I have since fitted some hair bands which retract the carb if that happens again.
I don't regret getting the virus 3 its a good car but i wouldn't get the rtr, I would pay more for the hyper 7, You do learn a lot from getting a kit about the car and hobby its self.