Advice on a used bike

Solution1991 said:

Hi, I'm new to cycling and therefor thought it might be a good idea to get my feet wet with a used bike. I'm 19 and want a versatile bike that will likely be used on concrete trails throughout Dallas, or dirt trails that aren't to violent.

Below is a link to a craigslist ad for a bike that I would love some opinions on.

Road/Cyclocross Road-TREK-15 Speed

Does this bike look like something I could enjoy for the uses I listed above? How over/under priced is it based off the information provided?

Any advice for a new biker would be greatly appreciated.

The bike looks to be okay-to-good for what you want ... but, FWIW, I'd be probably inclined to paying closer to $225 for it BECAUSE for about $425 +/- (discounted at the end of the year from the $550 MSRP), I could get a JAMIS CODA ...

And, while $100 difference between the asking price on the "local" Trek 700 & the JAMIS may seem like a lot at this moment in time, in the long run it isn't.

BTW. That Trek is probably best suited for a rider between 5'7" & 5'9" ... so, if you are taller or shorter then you may not be happy with it.

Craigslist sellers are notorius for having two prices; an asking price and a selling price. Offer him $200.00. Considering all the stuff that is new on it one could probably assume that it has a lot of miles or a lot of time on it.