Sometimes, one decides to sell their car before they’ve fully paid it off. This is a relatively common procedure, and as a result, one would think that every dealership has systems in place to ensure sales like these go off without a hitch.
As many internet users have proven, this is not always the case. Numerous drivers online have told stories of car sales gone awry—and when financing is involved, it feels like there are a million things that can go wrong.
Now, a TikTok user is alleging that he traded his car that was still being paid off into a dealership, and the dealership didn’t pay it off like they were supposed to.
A trade-in with no pay-off
In a video with over 329,000 views, TikTok user Bobo (@lamebobo2) shows a video taken on his phone in October 2022. The video shows a 2015 Mercedes C300.
“POV: you got finessed by a dealership I traded this car in 2 years ago and they didn’t pay it off,” he writes in the text overlaying the video.
He then reveals the specific dealership: City Mitsubishi Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida. The Daily Dot has reached out to the dealership via website contact form.
In the comments section, Bobo elaborated on some of the details of the trade.
According to the TikToker, he had contacted the dealership to resolve the issue, at which point, “they sent me a picture of a fake check that was suppose to go to my loan company but never made it.”
“My credit got messed up,” he wrote. “I’m currently [suing] them.”
Laws about this specific problem vary from state to state, but in general, most state laws would appear to benefit Bobo in similar cases.
Bobo is based in Georgia, but appears to have bought the car in Florida. The state of Georgia may offer some recourse, as noted on the website for the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, and in the state of Florida, “a dealership must fully pay off a lien on a trade in vehicle within 10 business days.”
“In the event they fail to do so, you may be entitled to actual damages, statutory damages, injunctive relief and your attorney’s fees,” writes Joshua Feygin, PLLC.
@lamebobo2 DONT BUY A CAR FROM CITY MITSUBISHI IN JACKSONVILLE FL @City Mitsubishi Jacksonville #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #cartok #scam #car ♬ sad SpongeBob music – michael
Commenters say it’s common
In the comments section, many users said that problems like these are unfortunately very common.
“When I sold my car to a dealer I called every day to both the dealer and the bank until it was payed off, they told me it would take a month,” wrote a user. “I told the bank what they said and bank said BS.”
“I work in auto loans and see this DAILY,” added another. “I tell people all the time to literally have who did the trade in and check information to make sure it’s sent to the lender for a payoff otherwise you’re still responsible.”
“That happened to a friend and they refused to fix it. They had an extra key so they waited till they closed amd went to grab the car since they were still paying,” recalled a third. “They got banned from the dealership.”
“This use to happen so much when I worked for Honda Finance,” stated a further TikToker. “The dealerships be acting mad shocked when we call them for the payment.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Bobo via Instagram direct message.
Internet culture 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. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
