We hate to say it, but car salespeople have a notoriously bad rap for being pushy, manipulative, and sometimes dishonest. Usually, it’s because they prioritize their own commission over giving a fair deal.
That seems to be what made this car deal, which included a trade-in, turn sour real quick.
When it comes to trading in a car, the tried and true advice is to wait until the end of the negotiation process on the new (or new to you) car before mentioning the trade-in.
That’s for a few reasons that ultimately boil down to getting the best offer. See, not letting the salesperson know about the trade-in right away gives you better leverage to negotiate on the car you’re buying, simplifies the negotiation, and gives you a better chance at a fair price.
If they know you’re doing a trade-in from the start, they’ll likely add the trade-in value into the negotiation mix and finesse it so that you ultimately end up paying more than necessary and/or get a low-ball trade-in value.
The viral video, which has more than 3.4 million views, was posted by @loading.ny. This account reposts a lot of car-related content, but the clip was originally shared on YouTube by C.W Lemoine in 2020. In the thirty-minute saga, Lemoine details his attempts to buy a car and trade in his current vehicle at Chris Meyers Buick-GMC dealership in Daphne, Alabama. He says he eventually walked away from the trade.
In the minute-long clip shared to TikTok, the customer pulls up to the car dealership, expecting the papers for the deal to be already drawn up and ready to sign. But they’re not. Instead, he’s told Luke (referred to as the “big boss”) is out test-driving the trade-in.
“We already agreed on the trade-in, so where’s the paperwork?” Lemoine asks. “…We got a purchase agreement, so let’s get the paperwork rolling. Get outta here.”
When Luke comes back from the drive, he hits Lemoine with unexpected news that is definitely going to impact the dollar amount of the deal.
The boss claims that Lemoine lied about the car being in perfect condition and insisted that the condition of the truck tires weren’t what he expected. Tires cost a pretty penny, and if the boss is implying they need to be replaced, then that’s money that would come out of the customer’s trade-in value.
But the customer had receipts proving he never said the car or its tires were perfect. In a screenshot of a text with the car salesperson, the customer refers to the tire condition as an 8.5 and lets them know about a small chip on the windshield.
“Are we doing this deal or not?” Lemoine asks, annoyed.
“Not at 44,” the boss responds, seemingly referring to the original price.
Just a few seconds later, Lemoine sits up and walks out of the dealership.
“They get you in the dealership just to try to bs you. Smh,” the TikTok caption read.
@loading.ny They get you in the dealership just to try to bs you. Smh #catsoftiktok #dealership #scammer ♬ original sound – Loading
The video has more than 3,300 comments, mainly of people being frustrated with the car dealership experience.
“Snake dealership, I can’t wait until the dealership scam is over,” a top comment read.
“Dealerships always on their bs, glad you walked out,” a person said.
“Walked out of 3 dealers to get my last car. Got it at MSRP in the 4th dealership. People need to stop settling,” another shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to @loading.ny, Chris Meyers Buick-GMC, and Lemoine via email.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
