Considering car, but ABS light stays on

[pelco]

This might not apply to this forum; if it doesn't I apologize. Currently I own a '92 Talon N/T and a '95 Chrysler LeBaron V6. My Talon is my summer car and I drive the LeBaron in the winter. I'm wanting to get rid of the LeBaron and I recently found a '95 Talon TSI FWD for $5000 at a local Chevy dealership. I took the car for a test drive today and the "Anti-Brake" or ABS light stayed lit the whole time. I asked the dealer about it and he said the ABS system worked fine and it might be a bad sensor. I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight into what the problem might be and some idea of how much it would cost to fix this. Now I have to mention that this car has bad rust on the front strut towers and the dealer is a little shady, so the chances of me buying the car are really slim. But I would like to get an idea on repair costs just because turbo DSMs are really hard to find in my area. Thanks.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Well, you don't necessarily have to repair the problem. You could just disable the light or the whole system.

I've had a few ABS issues. My light would come on occasionally and I had some trouble with the ABS, because an ABS plate wasn't seated correctly. I found it easiest just to pull the fuse.

If you slam on the brakes and can't lock the wheels than the abs is probably working. A wheel sensor may be out which would mean it won't sense if THAT wheel locks up. Not that big of a deal.

A new sensor at a shop will be a lot, but it might be something worth looking for at a junk yard and doing yourself. I'm not sure what the connections are like, but worst case scenario, you have to cut and solder a couple wires. Not too hard.

 

[Defiant]

It's not legal for them to sell to the public in that condition. It could be a simple case of re-bleeding since it got back from the body shop (figure on it), or a failed acutator. Current price on them is upward of $600.

 

[JiveMasterT]

Tell them to fix the ABS and you'll buy the car for $4500. You're the buyer, you make the terms.... it's amazing what you can get from a dealer. I got my dealer to replace the door panels, ash tray, clean the engine bay, give me two new rear tires, and a few other things.

 

[pelco]

Well, as I mentioned before there is significant rust on both of the front strut towers , and Defiant nailed it on the head about the body shop because there's over spray on the power steering reservoir. The guy I talked to said he slammed on the brakes several times and they didn't lock up. This guy's not very reputable though. The car's advertised all over the place for $4,995. After I test drove it he told me $6,200 which is book value in good condition. I told him it was advertised for less and I would buy it for $3,000 including tax and title plus my trade in. He said he would give it to me for $3,500 out the door plus the trade in. At first he told me $1,000 on the LeBaron, then I got him to offer $1,500. I wanted around $2,000 The rusted strut towers on the Talon really bother me though, and I don't trust the dealer.

 

[MrBoxx]

It's possible that the ABS module itself is not working, as is the case with my car. The ABS light has been on for over a year and a half. Cost of new ABS module=north of $1000, according to Mitsu. The car brakes just fine without ABS, and if I really miss it someday, I'll hit up a junkyard for the part and install it myself for a fraction of a fraction of the price it would be for the dealership to do it.

If having ABS is really important to you, pass up on the deal, especially if you don't trust the dealer. But $3500 doesn't sound like too bad of a price. If you really want it, don't let the ABS light stop you.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Honestly, unless it's low mile, I would look for another. $5K (counting the trade) seems fairly high. I would sell the Lebaron private party and drive your 92 until you find a good deal on a clean 2G.