Falcons11, old buddy, what you need to check out is the maintenance....are the oleos properly balanced, is the engine dripping oil? Are the wings clean and free from bugs? Is the propeller nicked and scarred from stone damage? It needs to be clean as well, to be efficient.
AND IS THE CANOPY clean and clear? Its hard to do a good lookout with a dirty or foggy canopy. All this is not cosmetic, it is vital, and if the battery won't start the engine, go someplace else. The age of the aircraft is not the important thing; the classic trainers have been tried and tested, hopefully those defective in performance are no longer hanging about. (I never did trust a Tomahawk!) I am also suspicious of new designs....usually somebody's bright idea which has fetched up against the cost of development, with the consequence you are very very close to your instructor because the seating is to put it mildly, skimpy, and the whole airframe a bit insubstantial.
And why pay big bucks for an untested design that your students will only test to destruction with heavy landings, rough handling, and the occasional pitch down that causes the nosewheel to dance the shimmy shimmy. Where do you find the reliable engineers for the new untested types?