I think it really depends on if you want to build it up yourself or not
agree, and it depends on if you know what you want out of the truck. If you want something you can roll, you could pick up an already beat on and upgraded truck for allot less than the parts let alone the truck.
Most don't have 7-10k to throw down to start with something, so starting at 1-3k and going through the stages of moding isn't that bad either. you really get to know your truck. Simple things break and you fix them, things get harder to fix as you go on and you learn more and more. then eventually you have a truck that does exactly what you want.