Buying a car can be a stressful experience. Shoppers who may be unfamiliar with pricing and terms can risk being ripped off by suspect salespeople—and those who want to have negotiating power in their deals often must sort through a complicated web of lingo and questions to which they may not immediately know the answer.
One user on TikTok recently documented the stress of modern-day car-buying in a TikTok with over 163,000 views as of Saturday.
According to TikTok user Stephanie (@stephaniiiieann), she went to a Toyota dealership with the intention of looking at a Camry or a Corolla. However, when it came time to discuss pricing, she left the dealership shocked.
“That was the most painful experience,” she says. After sharing some complaints about her salesman—”He was scrolling on TikTok right next to me on our test drive”—she explains that the financing offers she received were unreasonable.
“Guess what the APR is on these estimates?” she asks. “The Camry, the APR is 11.94%. The Corolla, the APR is 11.23%. What?”
While she notes that she did not provide them with the information that they would need to make a more personalized offer based on her income and credit, she says that even mentioning this high interest rate struck her as excessive.
“Even 7, 8, 9 percent is so high to me,” she says. In the caption, she adds, “They said the average APR for a new car is 5.9%%-6.9%. WHICH IS STILL HIGH.”
According to NerdWallet, the APR rates she quoted are not uncommon in today’s market.
“Consumer credit reporting company Experian releases average auto loan interest rates in its quarterly Automotive Finance Market report. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the overall average auto loan interest rate was 7.18% for new cars and 11.93% for used cars,” writes author Shannon Bradley.
In fact, the lowest average APR for a new car found in the article, the one given to those with “superprime” credit scores between 781 and 850, was 5.64%.
The reason for these high APRs, claims BankRate, is due to a knock-on effect of the Federal Reserve’s choice to repeatedly raise interest rates, as well as vehicles getting more expensive in general.
@stephaniiiieann They said the average APR for a new car is 5.9%%-6.9%. WHICH IS STILL HIGH. #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #cars #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Stephanie
Commenters offered their tips for getting better deals in this tough market.
“Never use a dealerships financing. Always go through a credit union,” a user said.
“I just bought a 2024 Camry XSE and financed through my credit union for 5 years, 4.4% APR,” shared another. “Still higher than I’d like, but I’ll tolerate it in this economy haha.”
That said, many simply revealed their own car-buying woes.
“Toyotas crazy. Went to look at a grand highlander, they tried to sell me a 9.5% apr with an 800+ credit score,” a commenter said. “I laughed and walked out.”
“We looked at a Toyota highlander when buying our 2nd car. The rates are insane!! &we have excellent credit and they told us the best rate they’ve seen was 7%,” detailed a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Stephanie via email.
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