Deal Breaker?

[IanRogue]

Hi, I've got a question about a 98 SL2 I was thinking of buying. Really low miles, and Carfax shows no hidden issues.

Here's my story:

The current owner has had it about a month (wasn't strong enough for him after being used to 8-cylinders), and it passed smog the day before he bought it. 3 days later, the engine light came on, and he had it checked out by his mechanic. His first guess was that it was the sensor itself, since it had just passed smog with no trouble at all 3 days earlier. So he, as I'm told, reset the system to see if the light comes back on. Apparently it's only been driven about 30 miles or less since then. Anyway, the owner took the car to be smogged today (I was going to buy it tomorrow), and it didn't pass, because apparently the tester couldn't read the diagnostics system on it. does this sound plausible?

How many miles does it normally take for the system to start back up?


Now that it's failed a smog test, the DMV is notified of that, right? That in turn means the title can't be transferred? This has been the only snag in the transaction so far, the owner doesn't seem shady at all. He was completely surprised today when it didn't pass smog.

Any info would be greatly appreciated on what options there are.


Thanks in advance,
IanRogue





I don't know much about how the system works, so sorry if these questions are really obvious.

[Onimacus]

I think cars won't pass smog by default, if the check engine light is on. At least in California I think that's how it is.

I'm not sure what you mean by "How many miles does it normally take for the system to start back up?" I believe i read on a thread earlier this week that all you need to do to reset the computer is remove the positive cable for about 30 minutes.

You need to find out what the reasons were that the smog was actually failed. Like ask to see the paperwork or whatever.

If there is any way you can find out the specifics like the trouble code the car is giving with the check engine light, Autozone does this for free by the way. And the exact reason it didn't pass smog, I think that would be a bit more helpful.

I have a 98 SL2 and I love it to death. If it really has low miles and no major problems you have a great car to look foward to!

I am sure someone else will post with more knowledge on what to do. =)

[saturnspeed_12]

if you reset it, all you did was erase the stored codes. once you start it back up, no problems. check engine light may come right back on, may come on down the road, may come on 3 months from then.

did he happen to say what the code was?

[wrparks]

In NC, if you reset the system and then try to get a smog check you wil fail until you have put enough miles on it to show a history of running correctly. Let them keep driving it and see what happens, if the light comes back on then it won't pass and has to be fixed. Also, I'm wondering, why did he have the smog check done twice so soon. Here it's a once a year deal and either you pass or you gotta fix it.

[IanRogue]

I don't know what the exact code was, but he says it was regarding the HO2 sensor. He got it replaced, and the car still wouldn't pass.

He didn't realize that it didn't need to be smogged again, so that's why he took it in.

Anyway, it was turning into a bigger headache than I was looking for, so I called the deal off. May have been nothing serious wrong with the car, but I didn't want to take the gamble that it would come back to bite me.



P.S. Thanks for the replies, everyone