Mike made a good point. Not all planes make good trainers. My buddy picked up a Pacer on straight skis to learn with. Great starter plane, however it did not have brakes on the right side. Instructors were more than happy to fly with him until the skis came off. Then no one would go with him. He ended up selling it and got a Cessna 150 to finish his training. That is when a good IA will come in and keep you from buying a plane not fit for the mission.
DENNY

mtv wrote:Trust me, good instructors don’t grow on trees, especially ones who are willing/able to take you through the full PPL. route.

MTV

That's for sure. At this point in your training, finding a good instructor matters a lot more than buying an airplane. There are plenty of resources for this. For example, https://rodmachado.com/blogs/learning-to-fly/17963979-how-to-find-a-good-flight-instructor Sad to say, but there are duds out there who will take you for a ride, in more ways than one. They can cost you a lot of money and time. https://rodmachado.com/blogs/learning-to-fly/79485318-bad-instructors-how-they-behave-and-why-you-should-know

Denny,

I trained both primary and commercial crop duster students in a Luscombe with no brakes on the right side. The primary students were much less scary because they only knew the apparent brisk walk rate of closure approach until solo. Getting commercial pilots to slow down is difficult because they think slowing on short final is dangerous. Also going fast on takeoff.

Brakes are an attractive nuisance in training.

Jim

mtv wrote:Trust me, good instructors don’t grow on trees, especially ones who are willing/able to take you through the full PPL. route.

A good instructor will make all the difference in the world. It saved me lots of time and money getting a good instructor.

I started flight training as teen at a part 61 school, put in a dozen hours of Dual over a couple summers took a couple years off and then went to a 141 school. My first instructor wasn't bad, but she wasn't great, cancelled a lot and was just building time to get into the airlines (high demand for low time regional pilot ear of the late 1990s) I was extremely fortunate that after I got a new instructor he let me solo after just a flight or 2 and then took me from 1st solo to getting my ticket in 4 Months! (There were other students that took much longer to get their PP due to less than stellar CFIs) Our particular 141 program required all maneuvers be held to the commercial standards so by the time my check ride came along it was easy to pass. He pretty much broke all the rules to ensure I wouldn't kill myself once I got my ticket; let me land on gravel fields, did spin training and do some actual IMC vs. just the hood. He was also a career instructor not someone just building time to get to the airlines.

I would suggest looking into a 141 school. There are 2 week schools and for a well prepared adult, I could be the fastest way to earn your ticket. A good option in my opinion for a motivated working stiff. Personally I would go into the program with the Written already taken and passed and try to fly the whole curriculum/syllabus at home on the Flight Sim first, that way you're maximizing your time in the aircraft.