2013 Ford Escape SE 2.0 turbo Won't drive after start?

Bought it from auction. Replaced starter so it would start. Worked perfectly. Guy who owned it before pulled the shifter cover to put into neutral to tow. Now that it starts and runs fine, when I put it into drive it doesn't respond. Possible cause?

Is anything disconnected from the trans?

Here's part of the clue - "Guy who owned it before pulled the shifter cover to put into neutral to tow"… Why would anyone do that?

your 1st mistake was buying an auction vehicle, where you have NO idea of the mechanical history

2nd mistake is seeing that a previous owner screwed w/the trans

3rd mistake was not having a mobile mechanic do an inspection BEFORE you threw away the $$$ you did

now if you are smart, you will contact a mechanic to look at the vehicle and tell you what's wrong and how much more $$ you will need to spend on that "bargain"… Learn a lesson from this experience

An automatic should NEVER be towed more than at most a 1/2 mile! Why? When engine is running it keep lubrication pump to gear box function. If we tow with no input shaft rotation( engine not running) teh lack of lubrication/oil pressure. Is guaranteed to cause gearbox failure.
first. Rule on any auto is .never tow more than few hundred yards'.
sadly seem as though we may.need gearbox tranny exchanged. This will not be cheap. If guy had disconnected drive shafts? Then we may have had a different result. We can see why it went to auction.

How far was it towed? Most owners manual of auto transmission cars will tell you that the preferred towing method is on a flat bed. The fluid pump is likely shot. Check the fluid and check codes with a scan tool. Check if the drive axles are installed!

Auction cars are not for the faint hearted. They end up being money pits.

Hi so time to get a dealer to look at it.

Transmission bad 100% sure. Those things are garbage. I had a 2010 with a bad Transmission that I sold to a su cker like you at the auction. Then I bought a 2015 from the auction and it had nothing but problems with it. I sold it and brought a Lexus truck.