Car developed fault after agreeing trade in value

BrainDrained

Hope title not too confusing.

I am in the process of buying a replacement car, using my existing one as a trade in.  I'm reasonably happy with the trade in value offered, it's a 10 year old VW.

I'm due to collect the new vehicle on Saturday but my car has just developed a fault.  I'm told it is a faulty sensor on the Catalytic converter, which needs replacing.  The cat itself is ok.

I'd be happy to get this fixed before I collect the new car but it can't be done before Saturday.

If I turn up without it being fixed, I expect some sucking of teeth and a revised trade in offer.  Obviously they wouldn't accept my word that it's the sensor at fault and not the cat.

Anyone been in this position, and what did you do?

CliveOfIndia

If it were me, I'd give them a call and explain.  They may be happy to accept the car as is and give you the same trade-in allowance, or they may reduce the trade-in allowance slightly.  If they're going to reduce what they'll give you for it, then how much lower will their offer be?  If they're going to reduce their offer by £300 but the repair will cost you £100 then it's a no-brainer - just delay the transaction and get it fixed (though do check that they'll honour their original offer if you get it fixed).

I suspect probably that it'll be better for you to just trade it in as-is.  It'll likely cost them less to fix the issue than what it'll cost you to get it sorted.  But give them a call, be honest about the fault, and see what they say.