'Fastest No I’ve Ever Seen': Salesman Shows Man A Used Honda. Then The Customer Decides In 4.2 Seconds

It looked like a done deal. The prospective buyer seemed seriously interested in a used Honda. But then the sale fell apart in seconds.

TikTok creator Greg Got Cars (@greggotcars) says it was the “fastest no I’ve ever seen.”

Now people say the man was right to refuse to buy the Honda. The video starts with the customer approaching the vehicle. Greg told him to check it out and that he'd be right back. 

But the customer didn't think he’d need that much time. “Give me one second,” the man replied. “Only one second.”

Can You Make A Car Buying Decision That Fast?

Some might assume it was a figure of speech, but it wasn’t. As the customer pulled open the hood with the engine running, Greg started a stopwatch. After 4.2 seconds, the customer dropped the hood and thanked Greg for his time.

Greg clarified, “That’s it? No good?” The customer confirmed it’s no deal. “I don’t like,” he said.

What else could Greg say but, “OK, not a problem, sir.”

In the caption, Greg wrote, “Probably the fastest ‘no’ I’ve ever gotten in my life. What do you think he saw?”

What Was Wrong With The Honda?

In the comments section of the video, viewers attempted to answer Greg’s question about what the customer could’ve possibly noticed was wrong with the Honda in just over four seconds.

One viewer speculated that Greg should’ve expected this result. “He didn’t argue with [the customer], meaning he knows it’s not good,” they wrote.

“Nobody hears the knocking sound?” a second viewer asked.

“The engine was running rough,” a third viewer agreed. “He knows his stuff.”

“Transmission leak and lower belt cover leak,” another said. “No good. I wouldn’t buy it.”

A leaking lower belt cover, also known as the timing belt cover, means that one of the gaskets in the engine is leaking oil.

Repairpal reports that the cost to fix a timing belt cover on a Honda Civic can run upwards of $800. Elsewhere online, people report paying thousands for the fix.

But a leaking lower belt cover could just be the beginning of Honda's problems. Carparts.com notes that you can delay this repair by watching oil levels. But ignoring it can cause the engine to run dry and damage internal components. This would make for a much more costly fix—and may be what the man suspected.

Should You Buy A Car With A Knocking Engine?

According to CarParts.com, a knocking sound coming from a vehicle’s engine could be attributed to several different issues. While the vehicle may just need a bit of oil, the knocking sound could also indicate a serious, potentially expensive issue.

Those issues could include engine bearing failure, excessive crankshaft end play, or even torque converter and flexplate problems. 

That’s why several people on a Reddit thread said it’s important for the buyer to do exactly what the customer in Greg’s video did: run away if you even suspect that it is not mechanically sound.

"Caveat emptor," one wrote. "The risk you take with a secondhand car, unfortunately. Always important to do a pre-purchase mechanical inspection but even that's not foolproof."

Motor1 contacted Greg via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Honda via email for comment.