A car salesman is going viral after his brand-new Lexus picked the worst possible moment to refuse to start—an unfortunately timed fail he won’t be living down anytime soon.
Joseph Rodriguez (@jrodsellscars) said he recently bought the Lexus in all cash and was, understandably, hyped about it. Within days, he’d taken care of everything: New tags, title in his name, the works.
Then he tried to be extra responsible and get it inspected in his home state of New Jersey. That’s when everything went sideways. As of Wednesday, Rodriguez’s video recounting the ordeal had racked up more than 52,700 views.
What happened at the car inspection?
Rodriguez said that in New Jersey, there are inspection lanes where drivers pull through to get their cars checked. Nothing seemed wrong with his Lexus when he pulled in—but once the test began, the car started glitching.
As part of the process, inspectors turn the engine off and back on. That’s when the trouble started.
“Tell me how, when they tried to turn my car back on, that [expletive] was not turning on,” he said.
Rodriguez said the inspectors tried several times to restart it, but no luck. Each attempt was met with the same frustrating result: A clicking noise.
“Every single time,” he said. “I was getting pissed.”
While it’s still unclear what caused the malfunction, Rodriguez said his car had to be pushed out of the inspection line. He said he had to call an Uber to a nearby AutoZone, buy a new battery, then head back and replace the old one himself.
“This is all within the first 72 hours of me having this car,” Rodriguez said, clearly frustrated. In the caption of his video, he added that the experience left him feeling “hot.”
Why would a new car battery suddenly stop working?
Rodriguez hasn’t posted a follow-up since the incident with the inspectors, so it’s unclear what caused his car to suddenly fail.
In general, car batteries can die for a number of reasons—leaving the lights on, extreme temperatures, or a faulty alternator. The alternator is responsible for recharging the battery while the car is running, so a malfunctioning alternator can lead to a dead battery. (This is a fairly easy DIY repair that requires a cheap AutoZone part.)
That said, some Lexus owners have complained about the reliability of newer models. In October, another content creator shared that his 2024 RX350 “randomly” gave out after just two weeks of ownership.
“Randomly. Brand new, 2024 RX350,” the frustrated customer said in his video. When he tried to start the car, he heard the same clicking sound Rodriguez described. What’s worse, every time he turned the key, he was met with buzzing and erratic lights on the dashboard.
Viewers roast salesman for buying a faulty Lexus
In the comment section of Rodriguez’s video, some viewers were quick to question how a self-proclaimed car salesman could end up with a vehicle that conked out so soon—temporary or not.
“Unc we thought u were a pro,” one viewer said, followed by a broken heart emoji.
“How you work for a dealership and didn’t have the car checked by a mechanic?” another asked.
“Bro, why didn’t you just get a certified pre-owned vehicle,” a third person wrote. “Especially as a car salesman.”
Others joked that Rodriguez’s biggest mistake was paying for the car in cash, claiming they’d never make that error to avoid his misfortune (as if the two were connected).
“This why I don’t wanna cash car,” one TikToker commented.
“You explained it all when you said cash Lexus,” another quipped.
Of course, some commenters expressed sympathy for Rodriguez, hoping the battery issues with his car were just a temporary glitch—and ideally, an inexpensive fix.
“Battery no big deal,” one user said.
“Y’all are hilarious a battery is literally nothing,” another echoed.
“Buying a battery is better than having a car payment,” a third viewer wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Rodriguez via TikTok comment and to Lexus through email.
@jrodsellscars Ngl I was hot #jrodsellscars #carsalesman #approved #dealership #carbuyingtips ♬ original sound – Joseph Rodriguez
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