My comment about any unethical behavior on the part of the dealer was reading between the lines of what actually occured, because the original poster has left us without critical information. As in my case, I received such a good deal on my X5 at the time that I truly didn't mind if a couple repairs came up because I bought it well. If this is the same case as the OP, then the dealer may not have been unethical at all.

However, I was primarily basing my comment on the statement of the sales guy who said the CEL was on because of a "sensor". I know from first hand experience, as I'm sure anyone who's been to a used car lot, that sales people will tell you anything to try to get you to buy a car. If a mechanic never inspected the car before he made that comment, he would have no idea the extent of what the CEL could be. I think it is unethical for a dealer or sales person to make statements that they can't verify or know for certain what they're saying is accurate. However, it always the responsibility of the customer to verify what anyone tells them. Buying a car as-is based on the assurances of a sales person is flat dangerous - I think caveat emptor applies here.

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2001 X5 4.4i
2002 Honda S2000