Trade in / honesty!

Check what the problem is. They've given themsleves a buffer with your trade in value so I wouldn't be overy worried about it, the issue is if you ignore the light and do damage before you get the new car.

Tis the poor sod that the dealer passes it onto I'd be thinking more of.

Obviously depends on the dealer but I've seen a lot of cars over the years that looked like they got a spit and a polish and passed onto people not knowing any better and then landed with problems.

If the car is driving fine then say nothing and hand them the keys. Be honest and they will ride you again on the trade-in figure imo. An engine management light could mean anything and not necessarily a big issue if the car is still driving fine.

From what you describe it sounds like they gave the car a quick visual look over, noted the mileage and gave you a value. To me that sounds very much like they plan to pass it on to their list of smaller trade/dealer contacts or send it to auction rather than resell it themselves. If this is the case then their valuation will be a conservative price to take into account the car is less than perfect and the next seller will sort out any issues.

Caveat emptor

This is like the girl who started in my job and then announced she was pregnant. Hard for the company to have any goodwill towards her after that . Then she Took extended maternity leave and then then didn't come back.

Nonsense. It's nothing like the same thing. This is 2026, not the 1950's.

If it's a main dealer or large car supermarket they'll just be sending the car to auction and won't care about an engine light

They have looked at your car and gave a value of what they are willing to pay.

They are the professionals and have likely done this 1000s of times, all possibilities are built into their valuation.

It really is as simple as that.

Yes,exactly.

You're over thinking this.

Might be different in a private sale.

Anyway you look at it youre not hiding anything, theres literally a warning light on the dash highlighting an issue.

Dealers have massive margin on trade in, some 5-6 k so if the car is driving fine that money is set aside for fixing potential issues.

I would dare to say that dealers don’t bother test driving their cars and properly testing them before selling.

if the new owner finds issue and complains they will fix, if not and their warranty period passed then happy days for them, profit made.