Thanks for the help! I'll see if the seller is willing to fix the car before selling it. I suspect he won't be - he really just wants to get rid of it fast! Maybe we can just agree on a price, and then I tell him to fix the car and I will pay our agreed price plus the cost of the repair (up to a maximum of $300).

Are there any other common problems on this model/year that I should keep a close watch for?

Thanks again!