Looking into getting new car, unsure what to do?

I'm a new driver looking into getting my first car. My dad has been helping me. I learned to drive on a 1998 ford f150. He has a friend looking to sell a 1999 F150, in very good condition. The pros of this is we know the driver and how they took care of the truck. It has upwards of 200,000 miles but pretty good shape. I have a limited budget. A few months ago he agreed to sell it to us for a reduced price when i had the money. I had the money and was about to buy it when the brakes needed to be replaced. A couple months later, the brakes aren't done. Just for kicks i looked on the internet for my dream car, a VW Beetle. I hoped what i would find in my price range would tell me i was making the right decision with the truck. Alas, it was not so. I found 2 pretty little bugs with everything i need to be happy. Both are in my price range and about 100,000 miles less than the truck. However, they are both stick shifts. Since I'm new to driving I would not be opposed to learning stick. Where I live is rural but the closest "city" (halfway between town and city if you ask me) can get pretty busy. So my dilemmas are as follows- is it hard to drive stick? Should I buy the truck from my dads friend or talk to him about backing out so he can sell the truck at a higher price (after all it will have new brakes)? Should I go for my dream car or should I get the slightly safer F150 and wait until later in life to get a beetle? I'm sorry for the long question, but I appreciate your time.

I learned to drive a manual shift vehicle when I was 5 years old. It shouldn't be hard for you to learn to drive a manual transmission.