What kind of vehicle to buy to start getting used to shifting

None, Cars transmissions are synchronized won't help you at all.

 

Better off saving your money and learning at school,as you will have less bad habits to break..at least thats what they tell you at school.
The instructors will tell you what to do,and when.
Big truck manual transmissions are not sinchronized,like a passenger car.A passenger car will go into any gear at anytime.
Not possible with a big truck.

 

They will tell you it is actually better to not have driven a standard/stick.

 

Yes driving a stick does help. The coordination and rev matching. Get an old sentra or another japonese car. That's what I learned and it helped. In a truck you don't normally need to give throttle to start up in first, just ease out the clutch. In a little engine car you do.

 

The shifting patterns, rpms, everything is different in a truck compared to a car. Shifting a car, you pick up bad habits that you'll have to break anyway.

 

How about that you'd be wasting your money?

 

LOL.

Seriously can't you find something else to spend money on?
Shifting isn't really that hard.

 

Not to mention that anything he thinks he'll be teaching himself will be wrong. We aren't being mean or trying to discourage the guy, but save money and stress later.