Hi ozbargainers! I need your help!
I bought a used 2013 Mazda 6 from a private sale 2 days ago. The car had just been serviced (I have the receipt), had passed a RWC and also had a pre-purchase inspection which didn't find any problems. Today the "engine inspection required" warning light came on.
I've already reached out to the seller but what options/advice has anyone got from a legal, mechanic or any other perspective?
Thanks
The warning sign only came up today. So strange. Thought I’d done everything possible before purchase.
Will take to a mechanic tomorrow either way
http://www.capomazda.com/blog/reasons-why-mazda-check-engine…
You can have a laugh if you come back to us and confirm you failed to tighten the fuel cap ;-)
If all the easy stuff fails, perhaps try a manual reset before taking it in?
https://itstillruns.com/reset-mazda-6-engine-light-7342441.h…
This!
Try this first before taking it to the mechanics.
Happened to me, might have to disconnect, wait 5 mins while pumping the brake, then reconnect battery to reset the ECU.
Why they use the Check Engine Light for loose fuel caps, I’ll never know.
If I were the seller I would say that that’s bad luck, but that the seller has no further responsibility. It was a private sale, so sold with no warranty.
In addition, the car had had a pre purchase inspection.
On the positive side, dirty or old fuel can transiently cause the engine management light to come on.
Does the car idle smoothly and drive OK? Any loss of power?
Try a different petrol source. I find BP very good.
Who did the pre purchase inspection? Mechanic or RACV/Q etc
Car yards by law give you 3 month statutory warranty on cars @ $10K and over.
Unfortunately it is now your word against his/hers now. That is the risk that you take buying second hand.
Get it checked like the above poster.
It may be a simple fix/sensor.
What did the seller say when you approached them with the problem?
Good luck
I would post it on ozbargain and hope I get the solution. Taking it to a mechanic is so 2017
The only thing missing is a selfie with the car in the background and a bunch of pointless hashtags.
Sarcasm. The lowest form of wit.
Let me google it for you http://lmgtfy.com/?iie=1&q=%22mazda+6%22+%22engine+inspectio…
Forget about contacting the previous owner anymore.. It’s just a regular service light that comes on. You can probably google how to clear it yourself or contact the recently servicing mechanic to clear it with a scan tool.
private sale
no comeback
fix it or not, your choice
seller has no responsibility to fix anything
Not the seller's issue now in a 2nd hand sale, sounds like they did more than they had to anyhow.
Take it to a workshop and they'll tell you whats wrong.
Welcome to car ownership.
RTFM
Contact the company/person who did the pre-purchase inspection. Even if they are technically not liable for anything, they will likely still have a look and try to do the right thing.
They might read the error code but they won't do anything else for free.
Inspect the engine
I've already reached out to the seller but what options/advice has anyone got from a legal, mechanic or any other perspective?
You have no legal options. Private sales are as is.
I’d take it to a mechanic and find out what exactly is wrong and go from there.
The pre purchase inspection can only get so much
buy an obd scanner. find out the issue and get it fixed.
The pre purchase inspection mechanic was a local one close to where I bought the car which is 50km from where I am now. Even if I had the time to get there for them to check it out I’m worried as to what potential damage it might do the car to drive that far if there is an engine issue
The engine light may result from a large number of different faults. Lots of them are not dangerous to the engine. If it sounds fine, the. Driving it to a mechanic shouldn’t cause any issues. If you are lucky turning off the ignition and back on may reset the fault and it might never occur again, in which case the mechanic will be able to tell you nothing.
Does the car start and the engine runs per normal regardless of seeing an Engine light on the dash?
If that is the case, then IMO it would be OK to drive to the same mechanic that conducted the pre-inspection.
At least if you see the same mechanic, he/she will feel some level of responsibility of passing the car of pre-checks considering it now flags issues.
If a new fault is found, the mechanic may give you a better deal/price to fix and look after you.
Having said this, drive the car on a road in a 80 Kph zone at and see how it behaves. It may go on limp home mode and only run on 2nd gear. Regardless, it is designed to get you home/mechanic.
I had an Engine light on the dash and it was only a dirty throttle body. I got it cleaned and that fixed the issue.
Usually Engine light is caused by a dirty/inoperable sensor and nothing mechanically major.
Edit: Actually it is recommended that you go to the mechanic with the light on. That way, he/she can slap this on an OBD2 diagnostics reader and can pick up the fault.
Cheers
Some Supercheap Auto stores offer a cheap diagnostic service for $14 ($20 for more detailed) Check to see if there is one near you
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/services/in-store/diagnosti…
Basically they will plug in a diagnostic tool and give you a print out of which codes the computer is throwing.
Of course you can do the same with a cheap ebay OBD2 plug, but this may be quicker and easier.
Visit a mechanic and find out what actually needs to be fixed and how did you miss that fact?