In recent months, videos from a TikTok user called Jo the Car Plug (@jothecarplug) have been going viral on TikTok and other social media.
Every video goes the same way: a person stands excitedly in front of their new car. Then, someone from behind the camera asks them how much they put in as a down payment; the answer is usually zero dollars. From there, he asks about their monthly payment, which is typically a couple hundred dollars.
Where the videos take a turn, however, is the terms of the loan. Numerous videos show people claiming that they have loan terms lasting several years, with one video including a man claiming that he’s going to be paying $399 per month for the rest of his life.
Recently, another one of these videos went viral, raising eyebrows in the process. Is there really a Houston car dealership that’s offering such poor deals?
Is this woman really paying $599 per month for 35 years?
In a video with over 1.2 million views, Jo talks to a woman standing in front of a Toyota Camry.
“Ms. Nae, how much did you put down?” he asks.
“Zero down,” she responds with a smile on her face.
“How much is your monthly payment?” he questions.
“$599,” she states.
When she reveals how long the long term is, the answer is shocking: 427 months, which equals over 35 years.
If this is true, this means that Nae would pay over $255,000 for her Camry. According to Kelley Blue Book, the list price for a new 2025 Toyota Camry is just under $30,000.
Commenters were, naturally, shocked.
“Finessed not financed,” said a user.
“Quarter milion for a camry is crazy,” added another.
@jothecarplug Nae came and got the toyota camry an hour after it arrived‼️#toyota #dreamcar ♬ Pretty Girls Walk – Big Boss Vette
The numbers don’t add up
However, there are many reasons to be skeptical of the videos made on the Jo the Car Plug page.
Even though the page has previously advertised that it caters to clients with bad credit, that still does not explain how they would be managing to make such ludicrous deals.
The page itself has admitted that its own statements don’t add up. In a comment under one video, the page owner claims that “We got competitive rates were a #1 dealership with capital one,” later adding, “You can’t even get a car loan for 10 years unless it’s a lambo.”
It’s true that payment plans of this nature are basically unheard of. A typical car payment lasts between 60 and 72 months, and while longer plans are possible, according to Capital One, the bank with which the account appears to claim it works for financing, the longest car payment available is usually 96 months.
Other comments made by the account show that the statements made in their videos aren’t to be believed. For example, in one comment, the account claimed that someone buying a car was paying “like $1500 for 140 months,” claiming that there was an interest rate of 38%. NerdWallet notes that the average interest rate for a used car to a deep subprime buyer (credit score between 300 and 500) is 21.55%.
However, in another comment under that same video, the account writes that the person in the video was only paying “in the $300s.” In another video, the account admits that at least one of the other videos on the account was simply a joke.
So what are these videos?
It’s unclear what the goal of these videos are, but one theory is that they are designed to advertise a specific auto dealership: Strawberry Road Auto Sales in Pasadena, Texas.
Reviews for the dealership are mixed, with Google Reviews showing a score of 4.0 out of 5 stars, but Yelp reporting 2 out of 5 stars.
No reviews mention the long loan terms featured in the videos. However, when one reviewer questioned whether the dealership was linked to the Jo the Car Plug account, the dealership confirmed that they were the same account, but that “all online videos for social media are strictly for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. We do not share our customers personal information.”
In short, it’s possible that these videos are simply designed to draw attention—which, judging by commenters’ negative reactions, they clearly did.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jo the Car Plug via Instagram DM and email, and Strawberry Road Auto Sales via website contact form.
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