>>270694>How about a used one that needs some work? What should I look out for?>How about price? How much should I expect to pay for a decent new bike?The sweet spot is $500-$750 for a new bike for on-road use. You don't need carbon fiber or $1000 component sets for riding around for fun.
I would not recommend spending that much on your first bike though. Buy a cheaper bike and move up from there if you enjoy it.
$100-$150 is a good price range on Craigslist. Stay away from Wal-Mart and other big box store brands.
The biggest money saver is knowing how to do work on your bike. There are tons of guides online for this. One of the more recommended is Sheldon Brown.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/