A used car salesman is taking to TikTok to share an unusual experience with a customer who was unhappy about a car sitting on his lot, posting the video under the handle @jpmotorbrothers. It wasn’t the car’s price or even its make or model that had the dad fired up, though.
Instead, it was the car’s surprising odor. According to the father, who appeared to be shopping for a new vehicle for his teen, the car had a distinct cigarette smell that he thought warranted a hefty discount.
However, the salesman had previously told the dad he’d cut the price by a few hundred dollars so that he could have it professionally detailed once he took it off the lot. The two men got into a heated argument about it when the dad came to check it out.
Fortunately, the salesman had his camera rolling, and the entire exchange was captured on video. After the video was shared on TikTok, people had a lot to say about how both men handled the situation, including the need to manage expectations when shopping for a used vehicle.
The Dad Already Knew About the Smell When He Got to the Car Lot
@jpmotorbrothers Couldn’t believe it at first but he ended up leaving a deposit #flippingcars#carflipping#viral#carsales#interaction ♬ original sound – jpmotorbrothers
The video began with the father getting out of the car as the salesman walked up. The dad said the car smelled bad as he got out, saying, “Here’s the deal, man, the smoke smells bad.” The salesman agreed with him, saying he offered him the best price he could when they texted before, immediately flashing a screenshot of their previous text conversation about the car over the video.
In it, the salesman offered to drop the price from $5,900 to $5,600, saying, “That will cover enough for you to get an ozone machine from Amazon and a nice professional detail.”
But the dad stopped the salesman and said, “I didn’t ask for a discount; I asked for the smell to come out.”
An Agreement Couldn’t Be Reached
The two men went back and forth about the smell, with the salesman telling the dad that he’d smelled worse before. That seemed to frustrate the dad, who pointed to the number of air fresheners hanging in the car to cover the smell.
After a bit more conversation, the salesman revealed why he didn’t want to detail the car before the sale: if it wasn’t up to the dad’s expectations, he would be the one to take the blame.
There Was a Stalemate
In the end, the salesman said he wasn’t 100 percent sure he could get the smell out, and based on the way the dad was talking to him, he didn’t think they could come to an agreement.
In the final moments of the clip, the salesman reminded the dad that they were talking about used vehicles and that smells and other things left by previous owners might not sit right with the next person to own the car.
Commenters Had Mixed Feelings About the Exchange
People seemed divided on who was in the wrong during the exchange. “Trying to buy a used car and being picky is crazy,” one person wrote.
“If he worried about a smell, he [needs to] go to a big dealership,” another person agreed.
“Dude, then that’s not the car for you. Move on,” a third person wrote.
However, almost as many people were on the dad’s side. “I smelled worse was dumb to say, though,” someone wrote.
“[Not going to lie], you are wrong,” a person wrote. “Could’ve made $5,000 cash, but now you’re going to have to reduce your price about five times just to sell it on marketplace.”
Surprisingly, the TikToker added a caption saying the dad ultimately left a deposit for the vehicle, suggesting the two may have reached some kind of understanding after all.