Selling car - check engine light

[Grey9971]

Hi everyone, I'm really hoping for some advice...

I'm about to sell my first ever car (I reckon about 1,000-1,300 value based on what seems to be on the market at the moment)

Everything is in really great condition, with the exception of 2 things...

1 - some toerag decided it would be fun to key it at some point. So it's got a long, but shallow scratch down the side. To be honest, I don't plan to get tris repaired before I sell. I'm not convinced it's worth it on a 10 year old car at that kind of value (but shout if you disagree)

2 - for the past 18 months? my check engine lift has been on constantly. I've had diagnostics run a couple of times, and the fault code was something to do with the cam shaft. The garage has always advised me not to bother doing anything about it, as everything's running really well, and that it can be an early sign that a repair will be needed but doesn't mean it is now. Now obviously, I'm concerned as to what I should do in advance of selling the car. I could embark on a questionable repair quest, when it's difficult to know what the exact problem is, and spend a load of money on unnecessary work. On the other hand, seeing that thing lit up is going to put off potential buyers. Has anyone got any advice/ideas for what I should do?

Thanks in advance !

[MNBrennan]

Grey9971 said:

Hi everyone, I'm really hoping for some advice...

I'm about to sell my first ever car (I reckon about 1,000-1,300 value based on what seems to be on the market at the moment)

Everything is in really great condition, with the exception of 2 things...

1 - some toerag decided it would be fun to key it at some point. So it's got a long, but shallow scratch down the side. To be honest, I don't plan to get tris repaired before I sell. I'm not convinced it's worth it on a 10 year old car at that kind of value (but shout if you disagree)

2 - for the past 18 months? my check engine lift has been on constantly. I've had diagnostics run a couple of times, and the fault code was something to do with the cam shaft. The garage has always advised me not to bother doing anything about it, as everything's running really well, and that it can be an early sign that a repair will be needed but doesn't mean it is now. Now obviously, I'm concerned as to what I should do in advance of selling the car. I could embark on a questionable repair quest, when it's difficult to know what the exact problem is, and spend a load of money on unnecessary work. On the other hand, seeing that thing lit up is going to put off potential buyers. Has anyone got any advice/ideas for what I should do?

Thanks in advance !

Work out how much it *may* cost to repair based on problems from similar owners, and compare it to the potential reduction in price for having CEL illuminated. Can be difficult to do this, but cold hard maths always wins!

[paintman]

Neither will help, but the engine management light is the bigger worry for any potential buyer & I suspect you're either going to get no interest with it on, or scrap value.

[eddrevhen]

Just put a sticker over the light....

[r11co]

Engine warning light on will be an instant 'walk away' for anyone with even half a brain viewing the car, unless they intend to break it for parts.

Good luck with that.

[LeoSayer]

It's probably just a failed camshaft position sensor, which is pretty cheap to replace.

You could probably get a smart repair on the scratch for under 150.

A buyer with any sense would walk away from a car with a check engine light lit up unless it had a serious reduction in price.

[buzzer]

eddrevhen said:

Just put a sticker over the light....

where are your morals?

What car is it?

Just be honest... If the light is on, say so in the advert, same with the scratch. Put a picture of the scratch in the advert if you can.

[Urban Sports]

Is there anyway of removing the bulb or getting it temporarily switched off just to sell it?

I'd do that if it's possible.

[anonymous-user]

Unless it will cost mega-bucks to fix it then I'd get it sorted - as a buyer I wouldn't touch a car with the CEL illuminated.

[t400ble]

1k running well with engine managment light on?

Wouldn't worry me if I knew why it was one

[Jim AK]

Sounds like a cam sensor.

Had 1 recently on my Jag & 1 last year on my Astra shed.

Prob 100/150 or if you know it's that there are loads of vids on YouTube maybe your make is 1 of them & you can DIY?

Didn't do that myself as A I'm lazy & B Jag should really be done by a small child, no space for my tree trunk arms & sausage fingers!!

[SonicShadow]

t400ble said:

1k running well with engine managment light on?

Wouldn't worry me if I knew why it was one

And when you find out it's been on for the past 18 months most likely because of a failed sensor thats cheap and easy to replace, would that not raise concerns on how well the rest of the car has been maintained?

[Durzel]

When the CEL came on in my Type-R it ran like an absolute dog, would've rev past a certain point and ran really rich.

CEL lights usually trigger a limp home mode in all reasonably modern cars don't they?

[sandman77]

Urban Sports said:

Is there anyway of removing the bulb or getting it temporarily switched off just to sell it?

I'd do that if it's possible.

Haha, I have been around long enough now to know when someone is on the wind up.

[SonicShadow]

Durzel said:

When the CEL came on in my Type-R it ran like an absolute dog, would've rev past a certain point and ran really rich.

CEL lights usually trigger a limp home mode in all reasonably modern cars don't they?

No, it depends on what the problem actually is.

[B17NNS]

I'd stick it in e-bay with an honest and open description.

Either that or just run it into the ground.

[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

SonicShadow said:

No, it depends on what the problem actually is.

Our petrol E46 316 has had the CEL on for more than a year, 3 independents and BMW have all looked at it and been unable to correctly diagnose it. Reset the CEL, then 70 miles later it pops back on. Runs fine, performs fine, uses normal amounts of fuel and oil.

[daemon]

LeoSayer said:

It's probably just a failed camshaft position sensor, which is pretty cheap to replace.

You could probably get a smart repair on the scratch for under 150.

A buyer with any sense would walk away from a car with a check engine light lit up unless it had a serious reduction in price.

Depends on the car and the engine. There are some engines will throw on that light when the timing chain has stretched. Some nissans and some vauxhall petrols do that. It then becomes a really painful, expensive job to fix.

I suspect that could be why the garage is recommending not bothering, rather than turn down a simple cam sensor fix.

[daemon]

O/P - whats the car, year, engine size and is it petrol / diesel?