Selling a car with engine light on!

Eugh

I need a new car!
The engine light is on (problem with drive train??) and after a day at the garage the mechanics have narrowed it down to a ‘couple of things’ but they need to keep the car in for a bit to fully diagnose it/fix it. This isn’t really an option due to the job I do and having no other access to a vehicle. They’ve also suggested that the issues that are suspecting it is are ‘substantial’.
Ive been looking for a new car for a while anyway (bad memories surrounding it!), but I’m just wondering what the best way to get rid of a car with the engine light on? It also has a large dent in one of the back doors.... Do dealers take damaged cars as part ex? Or would it be a private sale? 

Thansk

sweetsand

Eugh said:

I need a new car!
The engine light is on (problem with drive train??) and after a day at the garage the mechanics have narrowed it down to a ‘couple of things’ but they need to keep the car in for a bit to fully diagnose it/fix it. This isn’t really an option due to the job I do and having no other access to a vehicle. They’ve also suggested that the issues that are suspecting it is are ‘substantial’.
Ive been looking for a new car for a while anyway (bad memories surrounding it!), but I’m just wondering what the best way to get rid of a car with the engine light on? It also has a large dent in one of the back doors.... Do dealers take damaged cars as part ex? Or would it be a private sale? 

Thansk

Sell it on a web auction site may get you more than webuyanycar/etc?
Do you have an idea its worth without the damge and fault and what you want, then work it out from there.
webuyany car you can get you money the same day, we've done that you pay a few quid extra i think.

you may be able to get a better deal without p/x imo

ATB

sweetsand

btw, they will p/x your car but pay you next to nothing

Grumpy_chap

What make, model of car?  How old?  How much would it be worth if it did not have the engine light on?

I am just thinking, if the engine light came up on my car (2007 Focus with some dents) and the resolution was going to be expensive, I would put the car on ebay at £1 no reserve, describe it fully and correctly and sell for "spares or repairs".

Eugh

It’s a mini - without engine light/dents it would be worth about £5500 apparently. It’s in pretty crappy condition now. 

Grumpy_chap

At that valuation, it is worth understanding what the diagnostic is to fix and possibly fix and keep.

32Battalion

Rent a car for a few days.

AdrianC

Of course a dealer will give you a PX price against your car... but it'll be lousy.

They'll estimate what the damage will cost, and they'll make an allowance for the worst-case cause of the engine management light... and then they'll take a bit more off. And shove it in an auction with their fingers crossed.

It's five and a half grand of Mini - so, what, about 7-8yo? Hardly a scrapper.

Mercdriver

"you may be able to get a better deal without p/x"
That's why someone has so many cars.  Welcome Philip Schofield!  

treeroy

Let them keep diagnosing until they have found the issue and quoted you the price to fix.

No point in making a decision before you even know how cheap or expensive it will be to fix.

An engine management light being on could be a £50 fix or a £1500 fix, just let the garage do their job and then you can make an informed decision.

For what its worth, it will almost certainly be more economical to fix the issue, than sell it with the light on.
E.g. if you say its worth £5,000 normally. But say you get quoted £1,000 to fix it. You would not get even close to £4,000 if you're selling it as a broken car. 

If the dent is small, I wouldn't worry about it. Most old cars have some cosmetic faults. But if it's large enough that you think people won't want the car, then have a look into getting the door replaced. You can probably find a door in the right colour at a breakers for £100.

Ditzy_Mitzy

It might be nothing.  Years ago my 'check engine' light came on for no apparent reason, I took the car to my friendly mechanic and he ascertained it was nothing more than a sensor erroneously deciding there was a fault with something.  The read produced a fault code, turning on the light, but the fault itself did not exist.  The mechanic reset the computer and nothing further has ever come of it.  Total cost was the petrol to get to the garage and a few minutes of my time.  The mechanic, being good, didn't charge for not doing anything.  Get it checked, at least, it might be nothing or something so small that it's worth seeing to.  
As for the bodywork: that's up to you.  It doesn't cost that much to have a dent knocked out and probably isn't even that expensive to have the door re-skinned if you want it to look perfect.