I'd offer less for the bike. My D-I-L got a very nice Scott Contessa that is half that age for less than half that price on Facebook Marketplace last year. Got cycling shoes that fit her along with SPD-SL pedals and a helmet included in the deal. Of course your area affects prices and some sellers get offended. I'm willing to let them be offended.
The older the bike the more issues you might have with component compatibilities when you have to change out something that goes bad. And that could get quite costly and require you to change out stuff that hasn't gone bad. Of course you can buy used stuff, but most sellers on eBay and other places want more than new prices for used stuff last time I needed something.
But on the other hand you can just look at it as a inexpensive cost to get you on a bicycle. Assuming $700 is chump change to you. And in that situation, I'd just ride the heck out of it, hope it lasts a year or two and then throw it away or give to someone needing a bike but less fortunate.
Oh....
Public forum. So you can't control who does and doesn't respond to your posts. So IMO, don't try. Just ignore those that don't present anything useful to you.