Oct 9, 2024
David traveled from San Antonio to Houston, Texas to sell his soul for a white BMW, or at least that’s how his car dealer described the transaction on TikTok.
After making a $1,000 down payment, David agreed to pay dealer Jo the Car Plug $590 per month for 27 years. In total, David will ultimately pay $191,000 for the vehicle.
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For context, according to the BMW of North America website, a brand new BMW 530i has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $58,000.
“You may as well be making a deal with the devil if you’re agreeing to pay for that long, but people know what they’re signing up for,” Jo the Car Plug told Moneywise in an exclusive interview.
The used BMW 530i David purchased already has 289,000 miles on it, even though most BMWs typically last between 200,000-250,000 miles. David’s Annual Percentage Rate (APR) — the yearly interest he’ll pay — is a staggering 67%, according to Jo the Car Plug.
While long-term car loans typically lasting up to 84 months (or seven years) are not uncommon, a 325-month loan is highly unusual. Here’s what car buyers need to know when choosing the right financing strategy.
Buyer beware
Even though the details of David’s purchase are eye-popping, he’s far from alone. Jo the Car Plug’s TikTok is full of buyers agreeing to decades-long repayments on used cars.
While 84 months is the longest term offered by most lenders, there is no specific legal limit on the maximum length of a car loan in Texas.
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Many people cannot afford the traditional financing for a car in 60 months or less. Longer loan periods allow for those with limited resources to purchase a car. Even better, low APR offers are still being provided to those with good or excellent credit.
Longer car loans spread the total amount owed over a longer period. It’s also an easier way to build credit. But, that lengthy period also allows for more interest to accrue. Additionally, the longer term means your car will likely depreciate before you pay it off, resulting in you paying more than it’s worth.
Finally, the other drawback is that there’s more opportunity for you to default on your loan, which could end up with your car being repossessed.
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Jo the Car Plug has no regrets
Jo the Car Plug posted a video of David on TikTok, in which he verbally confirmed the details of his purchase. The caption read “Mr. David came all the way from San Antonio and sold his soul for the BMW 530I #newcar #soul.”
“$1,000 down, Mr. Joseph hooked me up,” David can be heard on the social media post, referring to Jo the Car Plug. That video now has 1.5 million views. On September 25, a woman named Chayenne agreed to pay $389 per month for 22 years and three months for a 2021 Ford Escape, after putting down $1,000. That works out to Chayenne paying over $103,000 for a vehicle that has an MSRP of $26,000 to $37,000
“Ms. Chayenne got the 21 Ford Escape for a great deal,” Jo the Car Plug captioned the TikTok video, which now has 1.7 million views.
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When asked if Jo the Car Plug ever received complaints from customers or if he ever regretted making his customers sign up for such a long repayment period, Jo repeated that “people know what they’re signing up for”.
Commenters on the TikTok video speculated that a low credit score could be behind why David would sign up for such a long loan period with a high interest rate.
“He wanted the car badly,” Jo the Car Plug told Moneywise, describing how he convinced David to sign the deal.
Social media shock value
In a TikTok posted September 7, Jo the Car Plug posted his sale of a 2014 Challenger 392 to a young man named Devin. Unlike other videos, Jo the Car Plug did not reveal the details of Devin’s $450 per month loan.
When commenters speculated about the extraordinary length of Devin’s loan, the Houston dealer had a surprising response: “Don’t worry the car won’t last that (long). He’ll probably crash it in two months.”
Using phrases like “deal with the devil” and “sold his soul” are part of Jo’s social media strategy. “It’s shock value, right? People get shocked,” Jo the Car Plug told Moneywise.
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William Koblensky Varela is a Staff Reporter at Wise who has worked as a journalist for seven years covering finance, local news, politics, legal issues and the environment.
