A viral TikTok video has reignited speculation that the U.S. car market is heading toward a crash.
Brandon (@the1mr_gratitude), who regularly shares financial and life advice with his 376,000 followers, claims dealership lots are overflowing with unsold cars, financing rates are unusually low, and buyers could score discounts as high as 40%.
But while his video quickly spread across TikTok and X, experts and everyday commenters remain divided, raising the question of whether these are real warning signs or just another case of viral financial fearmongering.
In his recent trending video, Brandon, who claims to “work with dealers nationwide”, told 460,000 viewers what he believes are the key signs that a car market crash is underway.
First, he explained that across the country, car dealership lots are becoming overfilled because cars aren’t selling, signalling the biggest decline in at least 5 years. “They’re sitting on lots an average of over 120 days and we have not seen that since pre-Covid,” he clarified.
Secondly, he went on to explain that manufacturers were offering 0 to 2% finance on cars right now—again, a record amount since COVID. He then urged his viewers to check car aggregate sites, such as Car Gurus and Car Edge, to see how long cars have been sitting unsold on lots, and use this to negotiate discounts as high as 40%.
“That way when you get to the dealership you can call them out on their BS,” he concluded.
Commenters were divided in their responses, with many expressing disbelief at Brandon’s takes.
“What crash? They’re asking 50 to 60 thousand for a Tacoma,” wrote EskimoinOhio.
“Might be overflowing but the prices are not going down,” added someone else.
Others expressed that costs of living were so high that even thinking about buying a more basic car was out of the question—and even those who could afford it would not do it on finance.
“Ppl can’t afford food and electricity, much less new cars,” said reddogforge.
The discourse continued over on X, where a repost of Brandon’s video from Sept. 24, 2025 received over 563K views. Here, people were equally unimpressed—calling into question the self-declared expert’s murky credentials.
“If there are so many cars on the lot how come they keep begging me to sell them my used car?” Bobby Made Birdie asked.
“He has no data. We are supposed to just believe a dude ranting in his car in a baseball hat?,” questioned someone else.
@ilpadrinopacino via X
This isn’t the first time Brandon has raised eyebrows over his car advice. In 2024, another of his videos went viral after he told viewers never to make a down payment when purchasing a vehicle—advice that the Daily Dot fact checked and found to be well-meaning but flawed. We also found no direct information linking him to a car dealership network.
We’ve done the same again regarding Brandon’s latest claims to provide accurate information for anyone contemplating buying a car in the current market.
Brandon’s take 1: Lots at car dealerships are becoming overfilled with unsold cars across the country at rates not seen since the pandemic. This is proof that the market is in decline. Brandon says the average amount of time cars are sitting unsold is 120 days.
Fact check 1: According to data from Black Book, via CarandDriver, models from premier brands like Lincoln, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz are sitting on dealers’ lots for an average of 110 days or longer— meaning there’s a good chance plenty are exceeding Brandon’s 120-day claim.
Black Book also says that sales are consistently down versus 2017-19 numbers. However, correlation isn’t necessarily causation. Cars can remain unsold for a multitude of reasons, from manufacturers dumping large inventories on dealerships to consumer behaviors.
For example, there may be a mismatch in demand for some cars in regions where they aren’t as popular, or consumers may want to wait for newer models to drop, causing a lag in sales of older cars.
Brandon’s take 2: Brandon claims that manufacturers are increasingly offering cars on 0-2% finance, signalling declining sales. Once again, he claims this hasn’t been since Covid.
Fact check 2: Car Edge does show that, as of Sept. 2025, some companies including GM, Jeep, and Nissan, are offering cars on 0% finance. However, these deals seem to be more common on electric vehicles than regular models.
When conducting our fact check, we found that in general, it was much more common for interest rates to sit at around 4-6%, though they do vary by lender. This is nowhere near as close to Covid levels, either, where terms were also longer—typically extending up to 84 months—whereas now most seem to sit at around 36 to 60 months.
So, although Brandon is right to some extent, his claims seem to be slightly sensationalized.
Brandon’s take 3: If you want to find out how long a car has been sitting in a lot, you can check a car aggregate site like Car Gurus or Car Edge. These sites provide information on how long cars have been at the dealership. You can then use this information to bargain for a better deal.
Fact check 3: Car aggregate sites do show approximate estimates, but with a caveat. On CarEdge, each listing displays a “Days on Market” number, detailing how long the car has been there. However, there is some confusion over when this number is calculated from, with an admin stating that sometimes it includes vehicle production and transit time, before it has even arrived on the lot. This could unfairly affect import models in particular, due to longer transit times.
Rich Barger via CarEdge
So feel free to use car aggregate sites to get a rough idea of timings, with the understanding that this might not be entirely precise. And as for whether this can be used to leverage, it will depend on the dealership, but always come prepared with as much information as possible to help your case.
As for whether Brandon was right about a broader market crash being underway, the data isn’t 100% clear yet. While things are certainly slowing down, 2025 was still one of the better years for car sales since 2019.
There are also other factors at play that Brandon doesn’t cover. For example, Kelley Blue Book points out a slowing in EV sales in particular, as early adoption reaches saturation, which could be impacting the overall trends. So while Brandon has the right idea, it’s worth remembering that the car market is complex, and can’t be reduced to just two or three factors.
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