A disgruntled former employee has accused a California car dealership of price-gouging, deceptive business practices, and a toxic work culture.
Garcia Gerardo says he worked at Dodge Jeep Chrysler Moss Bros. in Moreno Valley, California. In a TikTok that Gerardo (@ggrockz1) posted on Monday, he rants that dealerships are “fucking” customers over. On Friday, the video had over 2.6 million views.
“You guys want to see how badly we fuck customers over? Check this out,” he says in the TikTok.
@ggrockz1 don’t get in debt #ggrockz #tiktok #instagram #instagood #ggrockzz ♬ original sound – user78302238231
He walks toward a Dodge Charger, pointing out the manufacturer’s suggested retail price on the car’s window: $43,700.
“That’s how much we should be selling it for,” Gerardo continues. He then walks to the other side of the car to show the Moss Bros. markup. The dealership is charging $57,175, over $10,000 more than the MSRP.
He says that if customers are only thinking about the monthly payments, “We’re gonna fuck you very bad.”
Gerardo told the Daily Dot that he recorded the video because he knew the dealership was about to fire him for not meeting his sales goals.
People in the comments expressed their concerns about car dealership salespeople scamming them.
“Finally an honest salesman,” one commenter wrote.
“I hope manufacturers do what Tesla does and get rid of dealerships,” another said.
“Moss Bros literally was trying to scam the fuck outta me for a new Civic,” another commented.
“I used to work there! They really do fuck their customers over,” a former employee said.
In a follow-up video that Gerardo recorded while still employed at the California dealership, he says the car sales business is cutthroat.
@ggrockz1 dealerships will f you over 🤦🤦 if you’ve never bought a car before, take someone with you !! don’t, don’t go alone. we will pressure you to buy, with a high payment, and down payment.. #mrrockz #ggrockz1 #ggrockz #instagood #ggrockz #love #selfemployed ♬ original sound – user78302238231
“The people that stay working here are the people that could live with fucking people over,” he says.
He also says that on top of the increased prices, the salespeople encourage customers to purchase bogus “add-ons.”
Gerardo told the Daily Dot that if a customer doesn’t want the “add-ons,” employees would remove them from the bill—but the “add-ons” were already a part of the original vehicles.
“We don’t really install them,” he said. “They come pre-installed on the vehicle.”
“Moss Bros are the biggest scammers,” someone commented on Gerardo’s first TikTok. “My man told them to take off the alarm and everything because he wasn’t going to pay for them, and they discounted it.”
Gerardo also said he witnessed his former manager add $4,000 to a bill without telling the customer.
“Once I started working there, I was just mind blown how everything works at this dealership,” he said. “It’s crazy how much a salesperson will lie to a customer. Everything they say is just lies upon lies.”
He said his former co-worker told him to keep quiet about the actual value of a customer’s trade-in vehicle. Per Gerardo, the vehicle was worth around $8,000, and his co-workers gave the customer $500. And the customer possibly didn’t get that money, either.
“Every trade-in that you bring in, we say we’re gonna give them a certain amount of money for it, but they never see it,” Gerardo said.
Gerardo said customers are told their trade-in money will be applied to the cost of their new vehicle, but it normally never is. In the meantime, he said, Moss Bros. makes even more of a profit from new vehicle purchases and auctioning off the trade-in vehicles.
“I knew it wasn’t the place for me when this lady came in, she was 23 years old,” Gerardo said. “My co-worker was just telling her a bunch of lies.”
He said his co-worker told her that she had to pay a certain amount upfront, which wasn’t true.
“As soon as you try walking out, they’re gonna drop the price,” Gerardo continued. “Whenever the customer is not agreeing with the salesperson, the salesperson will walk out, grab a different face. Because if you couldn’t do it, someone else is going to do it better.”
Gerardo said that the salespeople are there to make a profit no matter what.
“Let’s just say you want a monthly payment of $500,” Gerardo said. “I was trying to get you at $800. I’m gonna end up just bumping up the interest rate and hope you don’t really take a look at it and just sign the papers.”
Gerardo’s moral qualms with working at Moss Bros. weren’t only about the financial corruption. He said his managers and co-workers encouraged him to drink and do cocaine on the job.
“They’re all doing cocaine,” Gerardo said. “I asked them, ‘Hey, the manager’s OK with you doing this?’”
Gerardo said his co-worker claimed that because he makes his bosses over $50,000 a month, he can do whatever he wants.
“I’m just shocked,” Gerardo said. “Like, this guy is doing lines on the desk in the showroom … And they [management] don’t care what you do. ‘Sell, sell, sell. Make that sale. The world revolves around money. If you don’t have it, then you’re nobody.’”
A manager for Chrysler Dodge Jeep Moss Bros. declined to comment when asked about Gerardo’s specific claims of price gouging and on-the-job alcohol and drug use. A human resources representative for Moss Bros. Auto Group did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
