Thanks for all the replies!
I've made up my mind to go ahead and get the Inital D set as my entry into the mini RC world. I really enjoyed the Anime and thing this would make an excellent gift to give to my favorite person -
ME 
I will also likely pick up on one of the LLX clones to test with as I don't think I want to trash the "Hachi" while trying something that I seen here.
Last question for the moment:
Will the original Tomy bodies and replacement bodies, fit on the LLX?
A few people replied saying that the LLX could use most of the parts, but I wasn't sure if that meant that there are some that aren't compatible.