This might sound a bit silly but get one of the little cheerson x10 things for anout a tenner and learn to fly using that. Very agile and normal mode 2 controls so perfect for figure 8s, hovering and the like. No fancy stabilisation or software mission control just real flying. When you can fly accurately and safely with that you are ready to move up.
Once you've done that think about what you want to use the quadcopter for. Do you want really advanced mission planning and automomous use, if yes then you are looking mostly at DJI offerings (with their own software, and numerous very good third party apps though they cost). Is it just simple photography or video in more awkward to access open spaces. I don't do video but some of the cheaper drones give dire footage. Is it just to fly? Loads of cheap options if just for average speed flying.
The more modern/expensive the qaudcopter the easier it will be to fly (generally speaking!). Thing is you CAN now fly manually and that will save you from a lot of potentially expensive accidents when compass or gps fails and device says 'oh look, a tree, I wonder if will be friends'.
As you now know how to fly you are in a much better position to look at second-hand. If going that route then only buy one you can see and try....and see it flying first. That includes you flying it for at least one full battery (batteries are expensive) . Look for smooth rotation of props, little vibrartion when running. Check all controls, stable hover, all modes.....you can do that in 25 minutes. If the seller of a second hand one won't let you fly it for a full battery then look elsewhere as they know there is a problem with it. If it's a DJI then also try it with DJI software (android and ios versions available free).
I know little about cheaper new ones but as with most things these days there are plenty of bulletin boards dedicated to the genre. People on those will have far more extensive knowledge of the wide variety of kit.
manners cost nothing.
