A man's gotta know his limitations...so you (or the potential purchasers) should hire a broker or consultant who does know exactly what to look for. Without an expert who knows what they're doing, this could become a VERY expensive proposition that results in whoever flies the thing becoming unemployed VERY quickly.

A VLJ is a poor choice for Florida - California trips, especially carrying a sizable payload (passengers). You're looking at one, quite likely two fuel stops each way, especially if the cabin is full, with rather limited baggage capacity. That said, if you're only looking at one pilot and two passengers, and they don't mind tech stops, it may not be too bad.

The only VLJs currently available in the market are the Phenom 100, Mustang and Eclipse. The P100 is HUGE compared to the Eclipse, but it also costs a fair bit more (percentage basis) to operate; the Mustang falls between the two but closer to the Mustang. Prices range in the $1-3M range, depending on aircraft, age and hours. Mason Holland has turned Eclipse around and is actually supporting the aircraft these days so its viable IMO where it wasn't really 2-3 years ago, but Embraer & especially Cessna will likely have much better support.