I would stay away from Traxxas, they are not known for durability, main reason hobby shops promote them so much is because they make a ton of money on replacement parts and upgrades
I disagree. Traxxas tough is a real thing but like anything else they have limits. I have two Traxxas cars and I hardly ever have to fix them. I have no problem throwing my TRX off a wall or jumping the Slash.
Everything breaks at some point. Buy what you like and drive it properly. Drivers are the problem, not the cars.
The thing that I look for is support and replacement parts. Traxxas, Axial, Arrama and Team Associated all seem to have tons of aftermarket and replacement parts. They usually aren't hard to get via mail order.
Maybe you can order from the UK or EU? I'm sure they have lots of support and are close by. EU might be easier?