Many drivers decide to trade in their car before paying it off. Often, the dealership doing the trade will have systems in place to ensure the trade-in value gets to the lien holder. However, there are many cases where they don’t. This happened to one Georiga man when he traded in his 2015 Mercedes C300. The dealership promised they would, in turn, pay off his auto loan. 

Deciding to trade in a car you’re still paying for can be risky

According to Daily Dot, a Georgia man recently shared his experience on TikTok after having done a trade-in for his car. The user, who posts under Bobo (@lamebobo2), says he traded in his 2015 Mercedes C300 in 2022. His video is from October of that year when he did the trade-in. The caption reads, “POV: you got finessed by a dealership I traded this car in 2 years ago, and they didn’t pay it off.”

He goes on to explain that he contacted the Jacksonville, Florida dealership regarding the trade-in for his car. After reaching them, they sent a picture of a check that they claim to have sent to the lien holder. However, he knows the check is fake, and he states that the dealership scamming him has negatively impacted his credit. The man goes on to say he’s currently suing the dealership. 

Luckily, the former 2015 Mercedes C300 owner seems to have a path towards victory. Both Florida, where he bought the car, and Georiga have measures to ensure things like this don’t go unpunished. He may be entitled to damages and legal fees for the dealer’s non-compliance with protocol for his car trade-in.