We started with a cheap kent or pacific (can't remember which). Neither of us rode on our own. We didn't realize how bad it was. Then we bought a viaggio. For double the price it was a significant improvement. Then we bought a used tandem for $1k. Again way better. Biggest thing was the viaggio sizing didn't work for us. We also bought a $300 used burley for our second home and it was way better than the $500 viaggio.
Are there going to be some older santana's I wouldn't want yes, but generally I think for the price a used bike is better than buying the viaggio, but we didn't know any better and still enjoyed it.