bentheswift

I test drove a 2005 that I'm thinking about buying. It has a CEL (do Honda owners call it CEL or MIL?), so I took it to a shop and they read codes P0108 (MAP sensor) and P0497 (low evap flow). I test drove it for about an hour and I could not find a fault with the car. It pulled hard all the way to redline and did not misfire or stumble at any point, the idle was strong, there was no fuel residue around the tailpipes, it didn't smoke at all, and the engine bay and the end of the cam under the oil fill cap both look nice and clean. I would not have been able to tell if there was a problem if not for the CEL. I did some searching and found that neither of these indicate a serious problem, and that resetting the ECU may even get rid of them if the car drives fine.

It is on consignment and they have no further information for me. The seller is not reachable to answer any of my questions. Obviously if I make an offer it will be low, since the owner will not/can not pay to have the car fixed. I have a set budget and what I would like to offer is well within my budget range. Obviously the CEL has been turning off other buyers since it is not inflated like most S2ks in this area.

It has about 100k miles, but from what I read these cars are still generally reliable past that point. After test driving both an AP1 and an AP2, I think I'd prefer to start with a higher-mileage AP2 than a low-mileage AP1...or at least I can't find a decent AP1 at a reasonable price in my area. The car is stock and the car is in otherwise decent condition. If these CELs are not a big deal, I would very much like to make a total steal on this car! But I just want to get some input from other owners before I make an offer on it. I am mechanically inclined and able to diag and fix most problems (I have owned/maintained 1980s Toyotas for basically all my life) but I'm certainly not looking for a project. Thanks for any input.