Which mountain bike? £350

[Cycleops]

What does a worn sprocket look like?

How does a novice looking to buy a bike for £350 tell the wheat from the chaff?

Do they buy a bike from a Facebook vendor for £250 or get one from Halfords for £335 with a guarantee and a free safety check after one month?

I'm all for 2nd hand bikes and I'm looking for something right now for my son. But I wouldn't recommend 2nd hand to a novice.

Agreed it can be difficult to sort out a decent bike for a novice but there are a few simple checks you can do:
Are the wheels running true?
Are the spokes tight?
Are the gears changing as they should with no chain slip.
Hold the front brake on and pull the bars back and forth. Any movement here is adjustment needed/wear in the head bearings.
Are the teeth on the chainset worn to a point?
Pull the cranks from side to side to feel for BB wear.
check tyres for wear and perishing/damage.

If the bike looks to be in good condition generally it’s a fair bet it’s been looked after or had little use.

I bought this Cube and a Scott down here recently. I believe the Cube would be around £350 in the U.K. The Scott a bit less.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/show-us-your-mtb.222432/post-6357233

 

[battered]

As others say SH is a good option. You can get it wrong, but in my experience if you are shopping at £350 + you won't be looking at bikes with a lot of wear. If a bike looks new, it generally is new. I looked at a bike last year, didn't buy it as not my size, but it was a lovely MTB that the chap had bought on cycle to work, ridden to work a bit lost his job and needed to sell. It had obviously never been used off road, if it had done a few hundred miles that was all. Anyone buying that would not be sorry. MTBs in particular look very well used when they have any amount of wear going on, so walk away from these unless you know what you are looking at and the price is right. It's like looking at second hand cars or anything else, the low risk option is to get something nearly new. If it doesn't look all but new, walk away.

 

[Illaveago]

Is there a bike charity workshop in the area like Julian House ? They usually sell 2nd hand bikes which they check and service. I've bought an old bike and frame from them . What they have might be limited but worth a look .

 

[MontyVeda]

What does a worn sprocket look like?
...

it's easier to just do an image search for 'worn sprocket' than me trying to describe one

 

[Kingfisher101]

What does a worn sprocket look like?

How does a novice looking to buy a bike for £350 tell the wheat from the chaff?

Do they buy a bike from a Facebook vendor for £250 or get one from Halfords for £335 with a guarantee and a free safety check after one month?

I'm all for 2nd hand bikes and I'm looking for something right now for my son. But I wouldn't recommend 2nd hand to a novice.

If I was you I'd get the Carrera Vengeance from Halfords. You might get ripped off with a secondhand bike by the sounds of things. The Carreras look alright and will be fine.