A man specializing in buying repossessed cars in auctions marveled at some of the new cars available. He thinks it’s indicative of people getting cars they can’t afford.
“Y’all need to stop buying cars that you can’t afford,” said Virginia-based TikTok creator AlottaCars (@alottacars) at the start of a video posted on Saturday that’s generated more than 2.2 million views. “I mean, look at some of these repos that I found on auction today.”
He turns his attention to a BMW with temp tags still on, indicating a very new car that was taken away. He then marvels at what he finds once he looks inside.
“Dude didn’t even get to finish his drink and take his Walmart bag,” the creator observes. He then wants to know how many miles the car has on it, and laughs when he learns the answer: 218.
He moves to another BMW, an electric one, and surmises that it might have voluntarily been given up because it has two keys with it.
“Some people do, you know, realize they can’t afford the car so they take it to the dealer and tell them, ‘Hey, here’s the car. I can’t do this anymore,’” he says.
He then shows a third car, noting that the former owner “messed up on the front end,” before declaring, “Every day, there’s new BMW repos at the auction.”
The video generated some back-and-forth among commenters, with some faulting the people who bought the cars and others cautioning not to be so quick to judge.
“Never laugh at [another man’s] struggle!!!!” one exclaimed. “Especially not knowing the circumstances.”
To that, the creator said, “If someone is buying a 2024 and living paycheck to paycheck, that’s not struggling; that’s making bad decisions.”
The commenter, undaunted, replied, “You don’t know what his circumstances were… he might have been up then unfortunately hit the bottom. It happened to everyone it’s life!!!!”
@alottacars How do you only drive a car for 200 miles and realize you can’t afford it? #carsoftiktok #repo #auction #luxurycars #newcar #bmwm #bmwlovers #m4 #x6m #750 ♬ Never Lose Me – Flo Milli
Another alleged, “Also, the dealers are letting unqualified people drive off the lot in the car to meet their bonuses & then repoing the car after they meet their quota.”
One wondered, “How do you fall behind with 200 miles?”
The creator said, “Probably missed the second payment.”
One commenter contended, “The car had 218 miles on it. BMW, like other lenders, prolly push the first payment out 45-60 days. I doubt they’re being repo’d for 1 late payment. Y’all are not thinking critically.”
Another floated, “Most repos with temp tags are not passing underwriting, and instead of [those buyers] taking [the] vehicle back they continue to drive it without bank permission.”
And for one, the video brought back bad memories.
“I had a car repoed when I was 20,” one recalled. “It was devastating for me. All my fault too.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.
