Upgrading is a never ending state of mind in mountain biking. I'm sure there are people who threw down $3000 on a bike but still felt the need to upgrade the wheels, handlebars, seat, seat post or something else. Someone upgrades to XT and after its all said and done, they'll want XTRs. They throw down $600 for a nice set of wheels and they'll want a set of carbon Enve wheels.
So absolutely find a bike within his budget and just enjoy riding.
Bought the New Hotness last July with an MSRP in that territory.
It's got a different stem, different saddle, different pedals and different tires now. I thought about a seat post but demoed some bikes with droppers and decided not to spend the money.
I'm pretty happy about the parts swaps I've made so far. Only the tires were expensive (not very, hooray for team form) and the bike fits me better.
May do the bars, I haven't really decided. The stem is a -17, sitting on the headset's dust cover. So it's either flip 'em or go to flats if I want my grips any lower.
Most of my hope with this bike was that I'd be able to stay away from the expensive stuff, like the fork, drivetrain and wheels. I'm a little worried about my front wheel, it's got a hop that didn't quite true out and only 24 spokes. But if I can drag my feet until August, that would be good. Poor road bike's braking tracks are way worn and I want to put new wheels on that bike, and maybe "my" handlebars and STI shifters on my disc road bike first.
Much as I like thinking I'm about the riding and not the toy, it's amazing how these things can keep pulling one in. If it's not that something's broken, it's that it's worn out. If there's not a mechanical problem, it's that it doesn't fit my body. And I do have a soft spot for fancy tires.
At least I'll never be that girl (for a number of reasons) stopped at the aid station on a Century with badly damaged housings and no idea why her bike won't shift or stop that well.