‘Looks like you have to now’: Florida dealership salesman reveals what happens when you return from test drive. Your trade-in is already gone

A car dealership in Florida has posted a TikTok video that shows a sneaky trick some salespeople use. Prestige Volkswagen in Melbourne made a short TikTok that now has more than 129,000 views. The video shows what could happen when you go to buy a car. Many people watching the video said this kind of thing worries them.

In the video, someone comes back after trying out a new car. They tell the salesman the test drive went really well. But then the salesman says something shocking. He tells the customer that the dealership already sold their old car. The person getting surprised says they were not even sure about buying a new car that day.

The salesman in the video says “Looks like you have to now” when the customer seems confused. This line shows how some dealers try to force people into buying cars. The dealership said later that they made this video to teach people. They want buyers to know what bad sales tricks look like so they can avoid them.

Your old car belongs to you until you sign

The video makes the situation look extreme, but real problems like this do happen. The truth is that no dealer can sell your old car without getting your OK first. You still own your car until you sign all the final papers. Just because you let someone look at your car does not mean they can sell it. You can always change your mind until you sign the last documents.

Some dealers use these scary tactics to make you feel stuck. They want you to think you have no choice but to buy from them. But if a dealer really did sell your car without asking, they would be breaking the law. They would be selling something that does not belong to them yet. Many buyers have learned to be careful when working with car shops and dealers because problems can happen quickly.

Some states have made laws to protect car buyers from these tricks. In Maryland, dealers cannot sell your trade-in car until everything is completely done. This means if your loan does not work out, you can get your old car back. Maryland made this rule in 2015. After the new law started, way fewer people complained about dealers pulling these stunts. The complaints dropped by more than half in just three years.

Lawyers who help customers say these problems still happen a lot across the country. Sometimes people sign papers to buy a car, but then the bank says no to their loan. When this happens, some dealers tell customers their old car is already gone. This puts buyers in a really bad spot. They might agree to pay more money or higher interest just to keep the new car. Smart shoppers always check all the numbers carefully before they sign anything at a dealership.