Yeah, I'd like to see him in a Civic or Corolla definitly. The only thing is the older Civic/Corolla are a fair amount smaller than the Neon IIRC. I don't know how much of a hang up this'll be with him. I really need to see how much he drives per week and use the cash savings of a higher mileage car to leverage his decision.
Diesel is too expensive. I couldn't find anything reasonable for $6k.