Haro Mountain Bikes?

[MrMitra]

I am looking at a good starter mountain bike, in about the $500 range. The two that have been recommended to me the most are the Trek 4500 and the Haro V4. I have found a good amount of information on the 4500 but not much on the V4. From what I've heard is that Haro mountain bikes are a great value. Does anyone have any experience with Haro bikes and which bike is the better bike?

 

[Ronanmk]

I used a Haro V2 for 4-5 years (this was back in 94). Then sold it to my future wife (yeah.... I know....what kind of person sells a bike to their loved ones) who used it for another 3 years...then she gave it to her sister who used it for another 3 years till it was stolen from her.
As far as I'm aware, the only maintenance done was clean it, lube it and pump it and it was going strong till the day it was stolen.
Haro are definitely great value.