"But we all have to start somewhere when upgrading to better cameras, don't we?"

As a complete novice my opinions should certainly be taken with a grain of salt, but when I bought my Rebel it was with the knowledge that it wasn't the "best" camera on the market but would be a platform for me to learn.  Those manual and simi-manual features allow me to learn at a pace that I'm comfortable with.

I would say, get one and do what YOU want with it.

Manning