In a world where the shiny tint on a new car often masks the fine print of deceit, charming meets cunning. As car-buying customers navigate the maze of misleading promises and hidden fees, they often find themselves succumbing to local car salesmen and their shady tactics.
Turning to TikTok to voice her frustrations on the matter, financial analyst Diam (@dimedoesit) took a seat in her car and aired out her most recent car-shopping experience. Gaining over 38,000 views and 2,574 likes since her post on Sept. 5, Diam proves that sometimes the front seat is the best place for a wake-up call.
“Car salesmen are finessers, never go to a dealership by yourself,” Diam starts off strong. “Especially if you’re a woman.”
“Let me get this a little closer, because we’re about to have a talk,” Diam begins.
Diam scoots closer to the camera and sits up in her seat. While doing so, she begins to reminisce on the first time she bought a car.
Mercedes woes
“I bought me a Mercedes Benz,” Diam says with pride.
However, she explains that she never went to the Mercedes Benz dealership to get the car. It was her local “whatever” dealership. Here Diam discovered a pre-owned certified Benz, one of which was both a 2021 model and had just 30,000 miles.
Thinking back, Diam remembers being thrown off by the amiability of the car salesman. But she brushed it off knowing that she was in line for a deal. She had a great credit score and understanding of financing, after all.
“They asked me if I wanted to put down money, [but] I’m not putting down no money, I’m supposed to be getting this car in my business name,” Diam says.
Diam walks viewers through her entire day at the dealership. From getting approved to calling banks to getting the final projected cost of her potential new car. This was around $38,000.
“I’m there all [expletive] day.”
A different Mercedes price on the dealership’s website
As the salesman continued to dive deeper into the process, Diam decided to do her own research.
“I go online and the same car I want is priced at $33,000, so that’s a $5,000 difference,” Diam says.
With all this supposed time on her hands, Diam decides to confront the salesmen about the irregularity.
“I cannot remember what the [expletive] he said,” Diam says.
And as Diams leans over to sign on the dotted line, the salesman begins to rush Diam, explaining that he was trying to go to the movies with his son. Feeling manipulated, frustration began to grow on Diams face, and seeing this, the salesman decided to question her.
“He’s like ‘What, what are you tripping about?’” Diam reenacts.
Diam then details how she explained to the man that she believed he was trying to up-sell the car to her for $38,000, especially after she found it online for $5,000 less. Diam explained to the man that rather than having his associates try and compliment her as she walks into the store, they should advertise the prices given on the dealership’s website.
“It’s the end of the month, I know y’all be really marking down prices at the end of the month to try and close out sales,” Diam says.
Infuriated by the salesman’s tactics, Diam left the dealership entirely and decided that she no longer needed to purchase from them.
“I [expletive] left, I left in my nice little paid off car. Yes a couple of years old, but it’s mine,” Diam says.
But her time at the dealership didn’t end here. Within 24 hours of the entire ordeal, the store’s manager gave Diam a call.
Dealership follows up
“The manager of finance called me and was like ‘Miss Grant, we’re trying to give you that car for $31,000,’” Diam says.
Because of her troubles, Diam was offered an extra $2,000 off what she had initially asked for. So, on her own terms, Diam went back to the dealership and purchased her Mercedes.
To summarize the occurrence, Diam informed viewers to never fall for those salesman manipulations, especially when it’s the end of the month. And because of her gender, Diam believes that she was more susceptible to these interactions simply because she was a woman.
And Diam’s not entirely wrong.
Are women really more at risk at the dealership?
Studies dating back to the early-to-mid ’90s actually proved that women shoppers were consistently quoted higher prices than men in a series of over 300 car dealerships. So, Diam isn’t the first to experience this.
Lets not forget, just last month, one shopper had to go to over three dealerships before she was quoted an accurate price for her new car.
Viewers of Diam’s story also came forward and shared their experiences. And self-described call salespeople used her video to weigh in. And offer help.
“I work at a dealership and yes please come with your own financing lord please,” one commenter shared.
How can a person dodge these misleading sales interactions?
There are a few options, and bringing in and understanding your own finances first is a great starting point.
From getting everything in writing to refusing to negotiate a monthly payment, the list goes on. Don’t be stuck there all day. Be careful with trade-ins. Maybe skip the dealership process entirely. But, the ultimate hack? Like Diam… walk away.
If you display your disapproval for a price by leaving, it’s not uncommon for a dealership to go back on their original price in desperation to get your sale. Because, like Diam mentioned, a majority, if not all, dealerships have monthly or quarterly quotas they need to meet. And most times, they’ll do anything to get there.
@dimedocs And go in there looking poor with awesome credit you will have your way
♬ original sound – Dimedoesit
So whether you’re in the market for a new car or have a friend who is, it’s always important to have this on the back of your mind before you shop. You never know what few swift moves could save you thousands.
The Daily Dot reached out to Diam (@dimedoesit) for comment via TikTok direct message.
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