If you are giong to spend around $500 you better stick with a hardtail. The next line is from the FAQ at the top of the message list "Car Branded bikes Anytime you see Jeep, Honda (except the new DH bike which the average Joe can't buy yet), or Hummer RUN AWAY." So definately don't but the jeep, but do check out the specialized line if you like your buddies bike. The best advice anyone on here is going to give you is to ride several bikes within your price range and pick the one that feels the best. Also as a rule of thumb for buying a quality full suspension bike you should spend around or over $1100. Again here is another exerpt from the FAQ
"Chapter2: Buying a Bike Around The $500 Pricepoint
Overview:
The bikes in this pricepoint) are solid entry level bikes that are intended to get people interested in the sport so that they can decide to
Continue in the sport upgrading to a more expensive bike later
or
Decide that they don't like the sport but find that they still aren't out that much money
Go to your LBS (Local Bike Shop) see what they have and test ride. Find two or three that you really like and feel good then come back for our opinions. (If you bombard us with 8 bazillion Bike A vs Bike B questions the quality of response WILL go down.)
The #1 thing is "Does the bike FEEL right?" components are a secondary concern (You really don't want ***** components but it's still not as important as feel.) It's my opinion that buying a bike is 80% FEEL and 20% everything else.
Go To A Real LBS
My suggestion is to go to a REAL bike shop were bikes are the MAIN business (not Sports Authority and the like) and see what they have to offer. Even a used bike would be a better choice than those boat anchors sold at Sports Authority X-mart and the like."
Edit: Most of the time Disc brake are better than v-brakes but make sure they are quality disc brakes such as avid.