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Whilst your later post (thanks) indicates your friend will be doing uner normal circumstances sufficient daily and annual mileages to justifiy running a diesel, the money they have available to buy the new car isn't enough to buy a recent model (still in warranty) that would be needed to cover potential problems that might arise in the first year of ownership if it wasn't well run before.
As others have said, many diesel car owners unwisely buy them (complex modern cars, as SLO says) for use on primarily short journeys (below 10 miles) in urban areas and for low annual mileages, so that they cars don't marm up or burn off the accumulations of soot etc, leading to future problems with their cars' emissions regulation systems, which are VERY expensive to fix, and for someone spending only a maximum of £2.5k, that would be far more than they could afford. The problem also is that even for the previous gen cars, like your friend's, they are likely to be a step into the unknown given the likelihood of them knowing exactly how that car was driven and looked after throughout its life.
As such, my thoughts are for their options:
- Keep the existing Passat until it either dies or requires a major (very expensive) repair that isn't a standard 'wear and tear' item, such as a clutch, cam belt, tyres or brakes. Save up more money to afford a newer car in a few years time. This would be my preferred option.
- Go with the petrol Japanese cars others have spoken of and put up with the extra fuel costs, which are offset by the greater reliability (compared to the later gen of diesel-engined cars) and less repair costs. You'd need to go for one that had a proven full service history, preferably from main dealerships (so you could ask them for proof from their records - a 'stamped book' can be easily faked these days). Even so, its still more of a risk than a car that your friend has known for many years for the reasons I gave earlier, though not as much as buying a replacement diesel-engined car. BTW - does your friend really need a saloon? My Mazda3 (built in 2005) is one, and whilst it has a big boot (405-420 ltr I think) compared to the hatch (about 350 ltr), the boot opening is quite small and so large cube-shaped boxes cannot fit through. For a car that age, better to go for a larger one like the 6 but in hatchback form, which will still have decent space (more than the 3) and a decent boot access. Same goes for other makes and models, where they should also consider estate versions for the same reasons.
One thing I'm wondering is the comment you made about your friend using the car for work - is this commuting only, or including driving whilst on-the-job? If they do a lot of mileage on behalf of their employer, then they should either get a decent car allowance and mileage rate (which should be used to save up towards a much newer car), OR be eligable for a company car (which the firm looks after). If not, and they get just a mileage rate and they do a lot of workplace driving, then their employer isn't a very good one as your friend will be effectively subsidising their employer's costs. If its because they live a long way away from the office, that's more understandable in the recent economic climate, but much of my comments still stand.
If your friend works for themselves/owns the company, then given the low budget, daily commute and workplace driving, they really need to see why they can't afford a newer car, which could be related to how they run the firm (its viability).
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