While car prices are cooling off, the cost of buying a car today—whether new or used—is still substantial.
Not only is the price of a car high, but other costs that come with a car, such as repairs, are also reaching new heights—and this isn’t even mentioning the various security issues noted by new car owners. These may be some of the reasons why a few experts suggest waiting to buy a car if possible.
Regardless, some are still choosing to go out and get new or used vehicles—and finding some surprising deals in the process.
A trade-in with $30K cash back
In a video with over 56,000 views as of Sunday, TikTok user Ash (@ashxautos) says that a customer came in to look at a 2018 Chevrolet Suburban “with about 96,000 miles on it.” Rather than ask to drive it, the customer wanted the deal done immediately.
It was at this point that Ash realized she was dealing with a trade-in—and the car that was being traded in surprised her.
“A 2023 GMC Yukon…and it’s only got 27,000 miles,” she states.
“Once I saw her current car, we naturally made conversation on why she was looking to make a switch—and naturally, it wasn’t size, because both these vehicles were huge,” Ash continues. “She bought the Yukon cash, so she never had a loan on it. So, naturally, she was trading in a vehicle that was worth more than the vehicle that she was looking to buy.”
After a bit of negotiation, Ash and the customer came to a deal in which they would take her trade and give her $30,000 in cash.
@ashxautos 2023 Yukon to a 2018 Suburban. Would you make the switch? 🧐 #carsales #carsaleswoman #salestok #dealership #dealershiptiktok #carsalesman #yukon #suburban #trucksoftiktok #carsoftiktok #storytime #tradein #usedcar #newcar ♬ Moonlite Love – Abir’yah
Viewers are suspicious
In the comments section, users speculated as to why the buyer would perform such a trade.
“Because the newer ones are having big issues and she’s prob trying to be smart financially and has some stuff to pay down,” declared a user.
“Girl this is money laundering… whats new?” questioned another.
“She was down sizing same size vehicle 30k in her pocket,” offered a third. “Vehicles depreciate take the money and car and run.”
Ash later posted a follow-up in which she provided more information about the sale.
@ashxautos Replying to @Ash | your fave car sales girl #carsales #carsaleswoman #dealership #dealershiptiktok #dealershiptiktok #storytime #tradein #usedcar #newcar ♬ original sound – Ash | your fave car sales girl
The buyer regrets their decision
In this follow-up, Ash reveals that the buyer has already had second thoughts about their decision.
“So she took delivery of this car on Sunday, and by Tuesday, she was texting me asking me to take the car back,” Ash explains. “We’re not going to do that. That’s the last thing. That’s not going to happen. We told her that if you’re unhappy with the car, you have to give us the opportunity to fix it or make it right.”
As for why the customer was unhappy, Ash had some theories.
“One, she didn’t want to test drive the car, which I always tell people, if you’re looking at a pre-owned car, please test drive it,” she details. “And number two, she was going from a car that was only one year old to a car that was six years old with, again, 100,000 miles. Naturally, they’re going to feel a little bit different.”
In response to the theories laid out by commenters, Ash said the issue likely wasn’t “that deep.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ash via email.
Update 11:25am CT, May 26, 2024:
In an email to the Daily Dot, Ash revealed why this transaction took place.
“So [the] reason she said that she was getting out of the car originally was [because] her daughter was started to drive and didn’t wanna ‘pass’ down such an expensive car,” Ash explained. “She wanted to move quickly, did not want to test drive car and then after delivery she said she didn’t like the way the car drove and felt like it wasn’t detailed well.”
“She came back with her husband to buy the car back from us was very nice and almost apologetic for how everything went down. I didn’t dive into why’s [because] I thought it was invasive,” she continued. “She raved about me to managers and expressed how none of this was my fault. Happy despite the weird situation.”
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
