Can I Sell with my CEL on?

[Ynot]

California

My car will be up for smog in October 2016. Right now the registration's valid, but the check engine light (CEL) is on, which may make it fail now that laws are even stricter since the last time I had it smogged. Can I sell my car as long as I state AS-IS in a receipt and also state it to the buyer? I haven't a clue what the problem is nor can any mechanic figure it out. Not that it matters, but it runs great otherwise.

Thx

 

[Zigner]

California

My car will be up for smog in October 2016. Right now the registration's valid, but the check engine light (CEL) is on, which may make it fail now that laws are even stricter since the last time I had it smogged. Can I sell my car as long as I state AS-IS in a receipt and also state it to the buyer? I haven't a clue what the problem is nor can any mechanic figure it out. Not that it matters, but it runs great otherwise.

Thx

You (as the seller) are required to provide a valid SMOG check certificate that is no more than 90 days old. Yes, you *can* sell it, but the buyer won't be able to complete the transfer of ownership until it passes the SMOG check.

For what it's worth - the check-engine light being on has been an automatic fail for a long, long, LONG time.

 

[FlyingRon]

You (as the seller) are required to provide a valid SMOG check certificate that is no more than 90 days old. Yes, you *can* sell it, but the buyer won't be able to complete the transfer of ownership until it passes the SMOG check.

For what it's worth - the check-engine light being on has been an automatic fail for a long, long, LONG time.

This is 100% correct. You should take the car to a shop. The CHECK ENGINE indication could be something incredibly innocuous. In fact, some cars will light it at 60K miles just to make sure you have someone look at the ODB and verify the O2 sensor still works.