“I plugged it back in and it just started right up.”
A man paid $900 for a car that wouldn’t start. He signed the paperwork, drove two blocks, reconnected a plug that had come loose, and it was fixed.
Running Low (@runninglow12), whose channel follows his used and aftermarket car parts business, told the story in a video that has so far drawn more than 389,000 views.
The seller asked him for an update. “He’s like, yeah, make sure you send me a video when you get it running,” he says.
What the seller apparently had not spotted was that a simple fix would bring the car back to life. “I noticed one of the EKP fuel pump sensors was unplugged while I was there, and I was like, yeah, I got you man,” he says.
“I literally drove down the street, maybe like two blocks up, this is a gas station, to get some gas, and I plugged it back in and it just started right up,” he says.
Then he did what the seller had asked him to do. “I sent him the video, and then he started calling me like, wait, bring it back, I’ll go give you $1,500 for it,” he says. “I was like, nah man, I need $3,000 for it, and he’s like, that’s not right.”
His answer closes the video. “I didn’t force you to sell the car, dude. You put it up for sale because you couldn’t figure it out. Sucks to suck.”
A Plug, Not A Fuel Pump
The part in question is BMW’s fuel pump control electronics, the EKPS, which regulates the pump in the tank when told to by the engine computer. When it stops doing its job it’s easy to mistake the fault for something more expensive. A bulletin carried by Vehicle Service Pros describes the symptoms of an EKPS fault as an engine that “stalls right after starting (when stationary), and/or the engine cannot be started.”
Cranking without firing could point to a dead pump, a dead module, or a loose connector. What the creator knew was that the last of those possible issues costs nothing to fix. Several people in the comments had encountered the same pattern. “Got a work van for $1,200 he wanted $3,000 for but said needed new engine, runs rough,” wrote lovearist0tle. “Got there and seen the O2 sensor was out, so it was running horrible. Plugged it in and drove right off.”
Did He Have To Say Anything?
The thread argued about the ethics, but this kind of deal is covered by basic contract law. In the 1817 case Laidlaw v. Organ, a tobacco buyer knew the War of 1812 had ended, knew prices were about to jump, and bought the tobacco without mentioning the looming truce. Chief Justice John Marshall held that “he was not bound to communicate it,” since it “would be difficult to circumscribe the contrary doctrine within proper limits, where the means of intelligence are equally accessible to both parties.”
Marshall attached one condition that still does the work in cases like this: “each party must take care not to say or do any thing tending to impose upon the other.” Spotting a defect and staying quiet is not the same as lying about one.
Federal consumer law is mostly aimed at dealers, not buyers or private sellers. The Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule obliges “car dealers who sell, or offer for sale, more than five used vehicles in a 12-month period” to post a Buyers Guide, as the agency’s guidance sets out. A private individual selling one car is not covered. Either way, the law doesn’t protect them from making a bad deal.
“Don’t Hate The Player”
Many commenters took a cold-blooded, transactional view. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” wrote rose.wtff. That_loud_tundra put it in three words: “Knowledge is power.”
Some, however, thought that the buyer was gloating. “No obligation to sell it back, but should have skipped the sending the video an hour later part,” wrote the.enward. Landyprints agreed: “I would have done the same, but at least give it a week before sending the video.” Running Low was unrepentant, writing, “He said send a video over once I got it running. Not my fault I work quick, fast and in a hurry.”
One commenter pressed him on the $3,000 buyback price. “No obligation to sell the car back, but really messed up to tell him double of what he’s willing to pay you back for,” wrote pleaseshowmeluv. Running Low answered, “Vehicle was worth what I bought it for in its current condition, which was non-running. Then I sent a video to him like he asked once I got it running, and now that’s how much it’s worth running, around 3G.”
Pleaseshowmeluv was one of a few commenters who expressed moral outrage. “You did a BS fix bro wasn’t mechanically inclined enough to know about,” they wrote. “Help people instead of making life harder for everyone else in your community.”
Motor1 reached out to Running Low via TikTok direct message for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
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