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Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:10 am
by 91C02920
I won this car- https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/ot ... SSzA7ZeHJs

but it seems the check engine light is on with the traction and abs, I'm fearing a dod issue right out the blocks.
I'm thinking of just walking away from the deal. Any thoughts? Any chance its not dod?

Seems it needs a tow out either way.
Its starting to not seem like such a good deal at the price.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:27 am
by Ilikemtb999
If you can get it home, a dod delete is about $1500. Can be cheaper with a factory style cam. I’ve even seen some people run a stock ls3 cam on a stock tune with just the dod disabled.


When I looked at auction cars usually shipping is what killed the deal because they almost never seemed to be nearby.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:37 am
by 91C02920
This auction at least had no buyer's premium. And the front bumper isn't cut. But there are 1/2 dozen antenna on the hood lol. The car being all one color is another good thing tho. A tow home would be a bit much, I was hoping for a drive home :/

I'm not hearing anything outrageous in the vid they posted of it tick wise -https://media.sandhills.com/Videos/005/ ... 818551.mp4

Its the check engine with the traction/abs that concerns me.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:53 am
by Ilikemtb999
Check engine could literally be anything. There’s note of a “front axle” issue and that’s probably your abs light. A worn out wheel bearing will trigger that light. It’s also a simple parking lot job to replace with some hand tools.


That video doesn’t sound bad at all. Fly in, buy some basic tools and drive it back. I’d probably swap the wheel bearing for safety reasons. You could also get an oil change done for piece of mind and have the car scanned at a local auto parts store. It does not sound like a dod failure in that short video.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:17 pm
by 91C02920
Looking at uship quotes now, they are around $800 lol! its just over 400 miles from me.
Fly in price isn't bad, its about $100 from where I am.
If I had to setup a tow while down there, that would suck.
With the uship quotes, might be worth it to send it straight to a dealer to check out, even if they have to fix something, then fly down.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:21 pm
by Ilikemtb999
I guess it depends on the level of work you want to tackle yourself vs pay for. 400 miles isn’t that far.


I’m sure a dealer will have some sort of inspection service. Could for sure be worth the few hundred bucks.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:31 pm
by 91C02920
It comes down to time more than anything.
And if I have to stay an extra night, that could equal the cots of just getting it done.

I can't believe the quotes are so high for just 400 miles either.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 2:20 pm
by Ilikemtb999
That’s about the price I was getting for shipping from the east coast to Denver.

400 miles would be worth me driving down and towing back myself with my Tahoe and a rented trailer.

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:21 pm
by cerbomark
anyone else see the front wheel movement in that vid? Looks bad to me, maybe not even safe to drive long distance. Not sure if a bearing would look that does?

Re: Won a car at auction, but check engine light & abs traction are on, thinking of walking away

Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:24 pm
by Ilikemtb999
Yea wow didn’t even notice that. Probably a control arm ball joint or bushing blown out but without fixing that first, I wouldn’t drive it far at all.