Thanks for the advice, everyone! I took the car to a Honda dealer, who told me that the car needed at least $1500 worth of non-hybrid related repairs: spark plugs, breaks, etc. The CEL and the IMA battery light were also on. I told the dealer who is selling the car this, and he said he would take it to a friend of his who works on Hondas. It's been over a week and I haven't heard from him. I don't think that's good news.

I still want to own a hybrid, but I don't think this particular one is going to be a good deal. Someday I'll be in a position to buy a new one...until then I'm going to look for a high-mpg gas engine.