Should you hand your keys over to a dealership’s salesman when you come in for a trade-in? Or should you think twice before sliding them across their desk?
A viral video is giving used and new car buyers some pause when it comes to the idea. And while the TikTok is definitely going for laughs it has viewers asking, just what is that salesman doing with my keys before they give me a price on their used car?
Dalton T. Miller, (@daltmiller) a salesman at Indiana-based Bob Rohrman Toyota has been posting a series of send-up comedy videos. They’re based on his experiences. His hilarious TikToks often get to the point when it comes to the foibles of buying a vehicle.
One of his most recent videos addresses a topic many buyers don’t think about. Just what is that salesman doing with your trade-in vehicle keys after you turn them over?
His video went live to TikTok on June 25. It now has 480,800 views and counting.
The pushy car salesman
In the video, the camera shows Miller, playing the part of a fairly disingenuous salesman, across the desk from a potential buyer. A comedic series of events shows him doing his best to avoid turning the trade-in keys back to the potential buyers.
“Has this ever happened to you?” the video’s caption reads.
In an obvious parody of the situation, Miller is asked by his fictional buyer to go get the buyer’s keys.
Miller’s character dissembles several times and ends up telling the buyer his “manager” has left with the trade-in vehicle’s keys. This after being asked “Is this the best you can do fo my trade-in?”
After being told by the buyer to “go get my keys now” Miller’s character returns. He’s now saying his manager is “stuck in a drive-thru. ” He then seemingly goes outside and appears to throw the customer’s keys on top of the dealership’s building.
Why does the dealership try to take your keys during trade-in negotiations?
In short, it’s a sales tactic. They’ll say it’s to evaluate your car, but a Quora poster elaborates. “It’s an old fashioned pressure selling technique. They take your keys, this is done supposedly to evaluate the trade in value. They then refuse to give them back unless you buy a car.”
Miller’s video is obviously meant in fun. But that doesn’t keep some of his viewers from taking the scenario entirely seriously. And even threatening to call law enforcement if they were placed in a similar situation.
“Yeah….call police and report dealership for theft. call local news about the dealership stealing cars from clients,” Slett (@slet51815) wrote in the comments.
Another viewer states they have found themselves in the situation. “I have called local PD twice when dealerships have attempted this with me,” they write.
“I once went into a manager’s office and snatched my keys off his desk. I’m not playing the game.,” another person added.
“I had to call the police on the local dealership when they tried this on me,” another stated.
Do dealerships still take your keys as part of a sales push?
This doesn’t appear to be a common practice anymore. But one person, writing on the forums of Edmonds, an online resource for automotive inventory, recalled an incident in 2016.
“Having a trade-in, they obviously needed the keys to check it out. No problem. Then the business side of the transaction kicked in. After being the obligatory thousands of dollars apart, I asked the salesman to grab my keys as he went back to the sales manager,” bobthebike wrote.
“I asked the salesman to grab my keys as he went back to the sales manager. Of course, the sales manager came back, with the salesman, to explain his numbers (and vice-versa..). No keys. This time, I told the salesman I wanted my keys. Again, the suit came back with new numbers, but no keys. After the next stage of negotiation, the manager left. I followed him to back,”
– Bobthebike via Edmonds.com
@daltmiller Has this ever happened to you? #rotatorcuff #sales #carsales #fyp #funny #carsalesman @RohrmanToyota #indiana @Toyota ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger
“Seeing the keys on his desk, I ask the salesguy to grab them. Initially he wouldn’t do it, so I entered the office and firmly asked for the keys. Now completely annoyed, the salesguy chased me into the lot, ran back in, and then ran back telling me the deal was good. Too late. This basically happened to me again the next day at a different dealership. Note to self: Do not start any negotiations without keys!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Miller via email and TikTok messenger for further comment.
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