Man Returns Brand-New Acura To The Dealership. Then The Salesman Gaslights Him: 'That's Bare Metal'

A mobile mechanic says a dealership’s inspection missed brake problems he believes should have been obvious before the car was sold.

The TikToker behind the Can’t Stop Mobile account (@cantstopmobile), a mobile mechanic based in Dayton, Ohio, documented the dispute in a recent video.

“Well, I think we just got scammed by the dealership,” the TikToker said.

Can’t Stop Mobile said a friend had just bought an Acura from a dealership when the car started “making noise.” He said he inspected the vehicle in the parking lot before she finalized the purchase and noticed the brakes looked rough.

The TikToker said the rotors were “pretty crusty,” while the calipers also appeared to be in poor condition.

“I wouldn’t trust this thing to make it very much longer,” Can’t Stop Mobile says of the car’s brakes.

According to him, the salesman insisted the brakes were fine and said the vehicle had passed the dealership’s multi-point inspection.

But when Can’t Stop Mobile removed a wheel and checked more closely, he said the rear brakes were at “0%.”

“That’s bare metal right there,” he says. “The caliper’s probably seizing.”

Can’t Stop Mobile said the service department appeared not to have inspected the brakes at all.

“Whoever checked the brakes didn’t actually check the brakes at all,” Can’t Stop Mobile says.

He also says someone at the dealership told him “the oil will keep the rust away,” a comment that immediately raised another red flag for him.

“In case you guys want to know: oil doesn’t go on the rotor surface at all. The brake surface needs to be clean and dry,” Can’t Stop Mobile explains.

At first, he says, he did not tell the salesman he was a mechanic. He pointed out that the car needed brake work and said the salesman pushed back.

Eventually, Can’t Stop Mobile revealed that he owns a mobile mechanic business and works on brakes professionally. He says that did not change the dealership’s response.

“You can tell the brakes are completely smoked,” Can’t Stop Mobile says.

He said the buyer was contacting dealership management in hopes of being reimbursed for the parts and labor needed to fix the brakes.

As of this writing, the video has more than 251,600 views.

Gallery: 2025 Acura Models

10

Source: Acura

What Should A Brake Inspection Cover?

Can’t Stop Mobile’s biggest complaint isn’t just that the brakes looked rusty—but that the rear pads were apparently worn down to bare metal after the dealership claimed the car had passed inspection.

Surface rust can form on brake rotors and mean nothing at all, according to PowerStop. But worn pads are a different issue and need more immediate fixing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns that driving with worn brake pads can reduce braking ability and raise the risk of a crash. In one 2023 recall notice, the agency specifically cited that risk when discussing vehicles that lacked a proper way to measure rear brake pad wear.

Acura’s own service guidance also treats brake wear as something that should be checked during a multi-point inspection. Its Accelerated Service checklist includes inspecting brake components and measuring brake lining wear.

Of course, that does not prove this specific dealership skipped the inspection. The video does not show the dealership’s paperwork or the actual pad measurements, or whether the vehicle was sold as Acura Certified Pre-Owned.

If it was certified, Acura’s website says qualifying vehicles must pass a “stringent” multi-point inspection to factory standards. 

Still, Can’t Stop Mobile is also right about one basic point: Oil does not belong on the braking surface of a rotor. PowerStop reports that pads depend on friction against a clean rotor to slow the car. 

The video still leaves some unanswered questions, though, including how worn the pads actually were and whether the caliper was seized, as Can’t Stop Mobile suspected.

But if the rear pads really were at “0%,” that is not the kind of condition a buyer should expect.

‘Why Did You Even Buy It?’

Many commenters had the same question for Can’t Stop Mobile: If the brakes looked that bad before the sale, why did his friend buy the car in the first place?

“So why did you even buy it?” one person wrote.

“Why on earth [buy] the car if you knew of these problems and they refuse to fix?” another asked.

A third commenter echoed that sentiment: “I’m confused as you knew the condition of the brakes but still took the car!?”

Others focused on the condition of the brakes themselves.

“I’m not even a mechanic, and I could tell just from the grinding when you spun it that was metal on metal,” one viewer wrote.

Some viewers wondered whether the car had other issues. One asked, “U sure it ain’t a water car,” while another suggested it may have spent time in a state where road salt is commonly used and said the underbody should have been inspected.

Another commenter speculated that the vehicle “probably never went thru the shop.” There is nothing in the video confirming that claim.

Other viewers were more interested in how the dealership responded after the buyer complained.

“Part 2 asap! We need to know what the manager said!” one person wrote.

Can’t Stop Mobile said an update was coming.

“I talked to him today. Stay tuned. I’ll have a video coming soon,” he replied.

Motor1 contacted Can’t Stop Mobile via TikTok direct message and Acura through email. We’ll be sure to update this if they respond.