Man Goes To The Dealership To Buy A New Car. Then He Asks To Have His Own Mechanic Check It Out: 'Aggressive Or Pushy?'

A used-car dealership owner stirred some controversy by venting about a customer who got pre-approved on a truck, drove it to his own mechanic for an inspection, came back to negotiate, and then walked away to “sleep on it.”

The dealer’s question for other people in the industry was whether he should have pushed harder to close.

The buyer in this case offered a near-textbook example of how a consumer should buy a used car, and it’s notable that the dealer in the video lets it happen without a fight.

The 1-minute, 46-second video was posted last week by Autobahn Prestige Motors (@autobahn_prestige_motors), a small used-car dealership in Bangor, Pennsylvania whose channel posts short workday vignettes from the owner.

The caption asked, “Aggressive or pushy?”

The Deal That Walked

“I had this one gentleman, he stopped by and he looked at one of the trucks that we had out on the parking lot and he said I want to see if I get approved for that,” the dealership owner says. The buyer was pre-approved on a $20,000 truck at $390 a month with $5,000 down, a figure the dealer confirmed in a reply to a commenter.

“He says all right I want to take it for a test drive but I also want to take it to my mechanic to have him look at it. I said absolutely, take it to your mechanic. His mechanic is right down the road from us. He took it. He came back. Everything is good to go,” he recalls.

The dealer goes back inside, runs the numbers again, brings the buyer to the payment he wants. Then: “He says to me I think I’m gonna have to sleep on this.” The dealer lets him go. The video is the dealer asking other industry people if he should’ve been more aggressive to close the sale.

Can You Bring Your Own Mechanic?

The minimum requirement for any used-car sale at a dealership in the US is the Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule, which since 1985 has required dealers selling more than five used cars a year to post a “Buyers Guide” window sticker disclosing whether the vehicle is sold with a warranty or “as is.”

The Used Car Rule applies in every state except Maine and Wisconsin, which have their own equivalent regulations. The Buyers Guide also explicitly tells buyers to “have any pre-purchase inspection done by your mechanic.”

Consumer guides agree. Edmunds’ pre-purchase inspection guide tells buyers to take any used car to a trusted independent mechanic before signing anything, and treats a dealer who refuses to allow that as a red flag. J.D. Power takes the same position. Reputable dealers, the piece says, “should understand if you want an independent mechanic to examine the car,” and a refusal is reason to walk.

This is what the Autobahn customer did in practice: ask for a pre-purchase inspection at a shop of his choosing, drive the car there during business hours, and walk back to the negotiating table once the report is in. 

While some mechanics may do this for free, such as if you’re a friend or longtime customer, most charge for these inspections. The cost typically runs between $100 and $250 at an independent shop, with specialist work on European or hybrid vehicles trending higher.

The Dealer’s View

The replies to the video, mostly from other dealership employees, were less sympathetic to the customer than they were to the seller. Most argued the dealer had done everything right.

“If a customer is taking his car to his mechanic and everything looks good, the price looks good for them, etc. And he STILL doesn’t wanna go through with the purchase, he’s just not a serious buyer,” wrote abidraufi. “You can smell a serious buyer from a mile away compared to a non serious buyer.”

Several dealer accounts pushed back on the “be more aggressive” instinct. “I don’t chase, pursue, or push anyone. You wanna buy then buy, you don’t wanna buy then bye,” wrote Limited Edition Motorcars. Gearheads Motors NJ added, “Don’t be pushy, makes you desperate. If someone wants it they will take it.”

Basil Shoman, who said he had led a dealership for 10 years, replied with the simplest version: “Don’t be pushy brother, be the person you are inside and you will be successful.”

A minority took the other side. Auto Exchange Marble Falls offered a closing script that runs through a 1-to-10 buying scale and a question about what is keeping the buyer from a 10. EJ FOZ said he tells buyers, “This deal is only valid today, so if u come tomorrow i might not have same deal for you.”

Autobahn replied to several of these, acknowledging the technique but conceding that his hunch was that the customer simply did not have the down payment.

Motor1 reached out to Autobahn Prestige Motors via the contact form on its website for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if they respond.