A man describing himself as “some guy at a dealership” is amazed at what Carvana offered one customer for a Ford F-150 that had been around the block quite a few times.
The video comes from creator Tanner, who appears relatively new to TikTok with just five videos on his account, but has already gone more viral than most. For his Jan. 29 effort, he’s drawn more than 745,600 views and 26,700 likes for a ten-second video that tells what he claims is a true story.
The on-screen caption does most of the work here, reading, “POV: Watching my rent walk away b/c Carvana said their ’06 F-150 with 215k miles on it was worth $11,000.”
The video is augmented by the sound of a sputtering engine, and features him waving (presumably to the customer leaving, though it’s clearly a re-creation) and checking his watch.
According to Edmunds, the trade-in value on a 2006 Ford F-150 ranges from $1,672 to $2,433.
How do I trade-in with Carvana?
According to Carvana, “Trading in with Carvana is simple and may increase your buying power by covering part, or all of your down payment with your vehicle’s positive equity. Plus, in many states, customers may receive sales tax savings, which is only available when a trade-in vehicle is applied.”
The process just requires answering a few questions on the Carvana website, and then the company will return with a trade-in offer. “Once your offer is saved to your Carvana account, it will be valid for 7 days. You’ll also see the cost benefit of your trade-in as you shop for vehicles on our site.” It is also possible to sell a car to Carvana without using it for a trade-in.
Reddit has thoughts on Carvana
In a Reddit post on the r/Carvana forum last year, a poster revealed, “I have a 2020 Hyundai Kona SE AWD with 19,515 miles and Carvana offered me $1500 more than Vroom and CarMax. It feels too good; is it worth it?”
That led a few people to contribute.
“If you live in NY for example and your car is worth $10,000 on trade but Carvana is offering you $10,800, you’re better off trading it in,” one advised. “Often times than not you can simply present these offers and ask the dealer to match the offer. If it’s a clean trade they can retail they would rather pay you more for it than go to the auction.”
“CarMax is overpaying for certain brands and still able to sell,” another asserted. “Carvana hasn’t caught onto this yet. Just got 6k more from Carmax vs Caravana for an Infiniti I sold.”
“I sold my 2015 Chevy Sonic RS this past Monday,” relayed another. “I wanted to use CarMax, but they offered $8400 versus Carvana’s 10 grand. I chose Carvana. Despite having to reschedule the pickup, everything went smooth. They showed up, checked out the car and were gone about half an hour later. Easy peasy!”
@tanner12reed True story btw. #foryoupage #car #fypシ #carsales #help #jokes ♬ Old Car Don Deal – Don Deal
Commenters have their say
Commenters to Tanner’s video also shared their thoughts, which included skepticism about car dealerships.
“The same dealership will list it for 20 after paying 5,” one accused.
Another offered, “Why do y’all even exist lmao. Just let me buy from [the] manufacturer.”
“The manufacturer isn’t going to negotiate,” someone else challenged. “Going to a reputable dealer and paying MSRP+Tax, tags, and processing would be no different …”
That led the person wanting to buy direct to respond, “The only thing to negotiate is the insane markup from the dealer.”
Someone else, glomming on the “rent walking away” part of the message, sneered, “You’ll make it back when you sign an old person on with a 35% interest rate for a vehicle they can barely afford.”
“Carvana offered me 2k for my 2003 S10,” another shared. “Dealership offered me 1.5k. I sold it on Marketplace for 5k.”
Someone else claimed to use CarMax pricing in negotiation with the dealer. “Dealer offered 12k. Drove over to CarMax, waited 5 min for the print out, they offered 18k. Dealer magically gave me 18k.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Carvana via email.
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