A car salesman has gone viral after pulling a prank on someone who parked in their lot. But some viewers turned the joke back on him.
In a video with over 1.1 million views, TikTok user @_0nly_cars__ shows a car parked in the lot of a car dealership.
“This guy just came and parked at our dealer to go eat food over here, so I’m going to put a ‘For Sale’ sign on it,” says the TikToker.
The car salesman does just that, opting to list the car at $499, generously reduced from $500. The TikToker then lies in wait to see what the driver will do upon returning to the car.
After the man has finished at the restaurant, he goes into his car, initially seeming to not notice the label.
“He’s just driving away with it on there?” the TikToker asks.
After a minute, however, the man gets out and questions the price tag, eventually deciding to simply place the price tag on the window of the dealership.
“Please use their parking lot not ours,” the TikToker wrote in the caption.
In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, the creator says that people parking in their lot is relatively common, though he usually tries to “be professional” about it. This is the first time they’ve attempted such a prank in retaliation.
“We were closing up shop at Joe Ricci Auto and this guy came around,” explained the TikToker. “The [restaurant] has a huuuuge parking lot, and normally people will come in and ask how to get there or if they can park, but this guy just pulled up and hopped out. So, I look[ed] at Andrew, our porter, and ask[ed] him what we should do…and then the video was made.”
The TikToker also said that he has not seen the man since. Additionally, his store is currently going out of business and he is seeking opportunities elsewhere.
@_0nly_cars__ Please use their parking lot not ours #fyp #foryou #carsales #michigan #carsoftiktok #dealer #micarscene ♬ vengeance of she. – Ryutqc
In the comments section, many users offered ways that the TikToker could have escalated the prank.
“Should have Walked out and tried selling the car to him,” wrote a user.
“Should have thanked him,” added another. “He made it look like you had a customer.”
“You should of gone outside & asked him if he was interested & wanted to test drive it,” suggested a third.
Others claimed to have either done the same thing or personally experienced something similar.
“We did that to a driver that was retiring one time,” recalled a user. “Put his home phone number on it and it was a 30k car we listed for 2k.”
“My brother left his snap on hat on the counter at 7-11,” recounted a second. “Went back the next day, it was on their rack with a price tag.”
Pranks are a popular topic of discussion on TikTok. One user went viral after pranking someone who continually stole his delivery orders by filling a Chipotle bag with vegetables. Another claimed to prank their neighbor by connecting to their Bluetooth speaker and playing a song telling them that their “music sucks.”