New Voodoo Nzumbi or something 2nd hand for 148cm tall 9yo?
Hey, my son (148cm tall 9yo) needs a new bike and I want to get him a decent MTB. He mainly rides a local pump track, gravels paths and sometimes to school and back on his hybrid Islabike (now far too small for him), but in the past I've taken him to Bedgebury (we're in SE England), which he either loved or hated depending on how hungry/tired/hot/cold he was. More recently we went to Swinley Forest, where we rented an Orbea Onna (adult XS size) and he LOVED it. Point of all this is to say I'm fairly sure we'll get a decent amount of use out of it on trails, hopefully - because I love riding them and on the Orbea he was fast enough for it to not be frustrating for me, so we both had a great time.
So my questionis; is it better to get a new cheap bike - the Voodoo Nzumbi in halfords is £405 right now and seems a solid choice(?) although it's a 26er (he handled the 27.5 Onna pretty well), or a 2nd hand Orbea/Specialized/Trek/etc. for £300ish, leaving some budget for an inspection/service/freshening up? (I've never had a bike with disc brakes or suspension so I'm not confident in maintenance of these new-fangled contraptions - I still ride my '95 diamonback Apex that I bought new😲 - so any tips what to look for or avoid when buying used would be super useful). Total max budget is £400, £350 would be better. Any thoughts or insights would be massively appreciated!