That very well could have been the case... When I looked up the CarFax before I bought it, It had failed emissions several times with one of the previous owners when they tried to transfer it from Georgia to Tennessee... They had a bunch of work done to it, including a couple of new sensors. So, one of the previous owners probably put the penny in there to 'fix' the problem... When it was sold to a new owner in a county that requires emissions checks, they had to get the 'real' fix done.

As for the fire- Luckily, that's not MY Jeep- It's a friends. They bought it from some kid who had done a lot of his own wiring, including a new stereo... It was parked outside their house one night and it caught fire. Luckily, they had left it outside the garage that night! It was a total loss- They had only paid $800 for it, but it was a shame, she was in GREAT shape other than the electrical issues brought on by the previous owner's attempt to 'improve' things...

-Andrew