I assume he means electronic, not electric, if he doesn't want to deal with a decades-old, used typewriter. There are plenty of sources for electronic typewriters, and as an example he could pick up a Royal Scriptor from Staples. I'm not sure if he'll consider the $180 to be an astronomical price, but considering he could potentially use it for a lot more than just index cards it's not a lot of money for a modern-day gadget.

There are many, many electronic typewriters like the Royal Scriptor out there, for really dirt cheap -- $20 and under. I have a Smith-Corona that someone gave me, for instance. He could check Craigslist in the area near where he is in the US to see. He definitely should check the machine out first, though, to be sure it works -- and make sure it comes with an instruction manual since sometimes the controls aren't intuitive!

Your friend might be better off with a 'vintage mechanical thing' in the long run.  Many modern electronic typewriters cannot cope with record cards.  One particular Brother electronic model used to break off the plastic paper pan mountings when a postcard was fed through.  I have had to repair several like that.  Also, a spooled ribbon will not suddenly run out at a critical moment like a disposable carbon ribbon cartridge does.  He would be best off with something like an Adler Gabrielle or Olympia Monica/SM8/SM9 which has proper cardholders and a large diameter platen.  A good manual typewriter can type on anything from just thicker than tissue paper right through to medioum card.  An electroic cannot.  Final word !  Tell him to steer clear of the 'new' Chinese-made Nakajima clones.  He would be better off with a ball point pen