Baz,
You can certainly learn to fly in a brand new plane if you want. It might cost a bit more, but that's reasonable, considering the cost of insuring a more expensive new plane, particularly for training pilots. I learned on an older Volkswagen, and so did my 3 kids. My brand new VW was off limits, 'till they got some experience - and appreciated it!
Both of my planes were built before I was licensed - 1977. So I don't really think that they are old, and certainly not crappy. Nor was the 1978 Cessna 207 I used to fly, which had 19,200 hours, nor the 1958 182, which was a delight, nor the 1944 DC-3 I work on regularly, which operates reliably for a research organization, nor the 1937 Tiger Moth I test flew recently, following 8 years of sitting. These aircraft do not shake my confidence. They are about as noisy as the brand new planes I have flown. If fuel gauges or parking brakes don't work, They should be reported, and repaired, not complained about on a forum.
On the other hand, I have had "issues" with a few newer planes I have flown, which still had a few bugs to work out...
Perhaps, as you might like to join, and blend well into the community of pilots, you can relax, and adopt the confidence that we have in the aircraft we fly - newer, or older....