Complete Newby: Advice on Purchase Options

[Gusto]

I looked at a '72 1.7 the other day.

The body looks to be in very good shape, the only rust is a small spot on the drivers floor pan (under the pedal box) and the battery tray (but underneath is clean).

I don't have any auto repair/maintenance experience (except changing light bulbs and some little things here and there). However, I want to learn.

The problems I noticed on the car:
1) Very sloppy shifting. First time driving a 914 and it was really difficult getting into the correct gear...kept going to 4th instead of 2nd, etc.
2) Trouble getting into first gear. You practically had to jam the gearshift into your thigh to get it to stick.
3) Idle was pretty low, but the car didn't stall while idling.
4) While driving, the car would stall at a light as I tried to get into 1st.

The car seems like a pretty good deal from my perusing the classifieds here and on ebay.

That being said...do you think someone with my inexperience should purchase a car with these types of problems? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.