Just thought I'd close out the thread.
We managed to find a very nice low mileage, one owner, full service history Proton Persona 1.5i locally. I was quite surprised at how nice it was to drive and it's totally original. It also had a new MoT, new tyres all round and had just been serviced, including a new cam belt. The boy is very pleased and his old car is now on eBay and in the FF classifieds.