A & C
Please note that I wasn't PA38 bashing - simply suggesting that Joe "tries before he buys."
Talking to other pilots, it seems to me that some people love the PA38 and others hate it.
That doesn't make it a bad aeroplane, but I think that a forum such as this can help the new pilot by offering a balanced view and helping them to decide for themselves.
My own introduction to powered flying was on a PA38-112 at SECOAT [anyone remember them?]