A TikTok influencer who uses his account to post content about “flipping” used cars just did everyone a favor by naming and shaming one seller who happened to be pulling one of the oldest scams in the car world — turning back the odometer.
For the uninitiated, flippers are a sub-community of car enthusiasts who go around the country buying hidden gems for cheap, then resuscitate and resell them to new owners. It’s sort of like real estate — but just like in real estate, people in cars are prone to scams too.
In trav.haa’s TikTok post, which has since garnered more than 500K views, he can be seen calling out a couple of sellers in a black 2016 Camaro SS. He immediately tells his followers in Washington not to buy a car from them because they’re scammers.
Before he arrived at the location, the sellers had claimed that the car had only been driven for 60K miles. For that, considering it’s nine years old, the $20,350 asking price seemed reasonable. But trav.haa is obviously very seasoned in the car industry. He ran Carfax on the car and found out not only did it have almost twice the mileage — meaning these guys were lying — but this Camaro SS had also been involved in multiple accidents. That’s not just a red flag; that’s fraud.
The TikTok influencer ended his video with a plea to his followers, saying, “Always run Carfax, guys.” This especially goes for newer car buyers who are more excited about the prospect of owning a car than understanding the realities of maintenance. Carfax gives buyers a history of a car’s maintenance and service reports — think of it as the credit rating of a vehicle. It’s absolutely necessary to check before starting any negotiation.
In the comments, users shared that they’d also gone through similar ordeals when trying to buy cars — especially their first ones. One user said, “This happened to me. Bought an ’07 Honda Pilot with ‘60K miles,’ didn’t know anything about Carfaxing it until a month later and found out it had 150K with a salvaged title.” Another added, “I bought my Camaro without checking anything, and it has rolled-back miles and an oil leakage.” According to Motor1, over two million cars on U.S. roads have rolled-back odometers — so you always need to check.
The reality is that when you walk into a dealership, depending on how reliable and reputable the outlet is, their goal is simply to make a sale no matter what. And if that involves taking advantage of a buyer’s inexperience, some salespeople won’t hesitate. Others might warn you and look out for new buyers, but don’t count on it.
The saying goes: stay ready, and you’ll never need to get ready. When the TikTok influencer got to the meetup, he was already equipped to find answers. In a perfect world, we’d never need to doubt whether people are telling the truth — but we don’t live in that world. Luckily for us, however, it seems Carfax is from that very perfect world. So trust that before you trust any salesperson’s words.
