buy an aircraft, think resale just like you would a Porsche. Think longterm. Will u use an aircraft for business or pleasure after you have got your private licence? Or will it be a hangar queen(think sunday driver) and not get used enough? I see countless number of aircraft sitting tied down and not being used. The problem is with a small aircraft is that you cannot fly all weather because small a/c do not have the deicing capability of more sophisticated a/c. Similarly for yourself, if you do not have an instrument rating, that means you fly VFR(visual flt. rules). If you want to get a twin engine rating, you need a twin engine a/c!
I think that you must decide on how much you want to spend on an a/c(if you insist on going that route). I myself rented 40 years ago and did not consider buying because I did not have the cash to do it. As I have I said before with renting, you walk away after you are finished with the a/c. Between the Cherokee and the C172 I would take the C172 hands down. It feels less sluggish. Try both. When I was learning, I really did not care which a/c I flew as I just wanted to get flying time. But definitely found that some a/c were way more pleasurable than others.If you buy and do not use the a/c enough then you will regret your purchase as you have annual inspection cost plus tie down/hangar fees, plus the inevitable failure of some parts, radios , transponder etc. These will result in Porsche like expense
If you do buy, get a PPI first just like a Porsche. If you get a high time engine, a rebuild is expensive, think Porsche. Good luck but buyer beware and thats why I like renting.