Car dealership tries to pull one over on young woman buying a car, she schools them instead and they end up having to buy her a brand new engine: '[They] tried to worm their way out of it, but I knew'

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Mar 1, 2025 7:00 AM EST

It's 2025, why do car dealerships still think women know nothing about cars? It's like they forget that Google exist. Even if you know nothing about cars, you can do some basic research before going car shopping and know more than car dealerships think you know if you're a girl. What is up with that? Is it part of their job training? Like, "take them seriously if they've got a mustache, if not, take advantage!" Like, pardon? 

 

In this case, the stereotype worked to this woman's advantage—love it when that happens! They tried to pull one over on this woman because she looked like a "young dumb white chick," thinking she wouldn't know anything about how an engine works. Little did they know, she actually knows a lot. In fact, she not only knows that you just sold her a lemon car, she also knows the laws around that. Which means she not only got her car for cheaper, she also now gets a brand new engine from the dealership! She says even four years later the engine is still "singing." They assumed she didn't know that the car would need so much oil and that she wouldn't know that the amount of oil it needed to run was illegal for the roads…

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    But, oh yes, she did know. She knew very well. And it seemed like she was actually excited about it because she was now able to take advantage of the law and instead of getting a used engine for a good price, she got a brand new engine for free!! If you're going to play dirty games, you have to also be prepared to get dirty results. That's just the way the cookie crumbles! And, hey, car dealerships! Do better. 

  • this happened a few years back now, i was looking for a car and saw my local motorbike dealership was selling a little car, was their runabout, they said they had 2 and didnt need both of them, seemed legit, i trusted them to be trusty so asked
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
  • almost no questions, im a young dumb lookin white chick and they were hasty to sell it to me. they informed my it used a little oil, but thats pretty normal for an older car.
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
  • little did they know, i understand engines very well, and i drove it a lot, quickly i identified something was very off, even thouh it seemed normal.
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
  • they had tried to mask an engine that was about to blow, and i knew my rights. i took it back, fluttered my big dumb eyelashes and said it seems to be using a little more oil than the legal perameters for it to be sold as a road worthy vehicle, and because i spotted it in under 4 weeks, theyre liable for its replacement.
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
  • they were pretty shocked to say the least, tried to worm their way out of it, but i knew, i knew they knew. one shiny replacement upgraded engine at their cost later, my car will just go and go forever!
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
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  • im over the moon with my car, 4 years later and that new engine is singing hahaha
    via Leaf-Warrior1187
  • Dioscouri I once bought a 10 year old work truck from a dealership. The speedometer was mechanical and didn't have a 100,000 digit so it just rolled over to 0 everytime it hit that mark. When I was looking at it it read 67,000. During the test drive I was taking it up a steep hill, listening to a knock and trying to decide if it was a valve tap or wrist pin knock. It was
    via Dioscouri
  • at this point that the salesman decided to tell me that the truck only had 67,000 original miles on it. I was about to laugh in his face and say yes, 367,000 when it dawned on me that he was telling me a lie that would give me a service contract. So I bought a brand new truck for $6,500 and laughed pretty hard all the way home. I got a new engine, transmission, and steering. The only original item was the rear-end.
    via Dioscouri
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  • Much-Performer1190 Love it when the stereotype works against a scumbag. Well done.
    via Much-Performer1190
  • sheikhyerbouti I had an ex-girlfriend who looked every bit like the naive blonde stereotype - but she grew up in farm country and knew quite a bit about engines. Her favorite moment of petty revenge was pulling into an auto parts store to buy a new starter for her car. The cashier kept saying that it was a tricky job but for a small surcharge, the shop would do it for her. She declined, bought the part, and changed it out in their parking lot.
    via sheikhyerbouti
  • emiistarrchilld This was my fear buying my first car so I told the dealership, one scam or scummy behaviour and I'm out. They went BEYOND what they needed to do to prove to me they were good people. Right down to when I picked the car (used dealship) they asked me if I wanted to get a full diagnosis of the computer right then and there in front of me, etc. and they even found and gave my son a little toy car that looked like my new car.
    via emiistarrchilld
  • They were awesome. Even doing warrenty sh and i couldnt afford the full warrenty price. I know. nothing about cars so they could have swindled me no problem but I'm so lucky. Props to you for having the know how and calling it out! Having the confidence you do dealing with that situation is an asset, especially when the scum is harder to spot these days. Well done.
    via emiistarrchilld
  • Kiltemdead I hate car shopping with my wife. No matter how many times I tell the salesman that it's her money and her car that we're looking for, they always insist on talking to me. We were looking at a specific make and model and found one listed at a dealership in town. We wanted to check it out, so we went over. Asked to take a test drive, go over specifics, etc. The guy kept trying to talk me into nicer and newer cars or bigger SUVs and trucks because I'm a guy, and that's what I
    via Kiltemdead
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  • would want. I told him I needed to discuss things with my wife first. This was after her and I had been trying to get him to realize who was actually in charge here. We decided to get him to talk me through all the cars on the lot he thought I'd like, and eventually we settled on an over the top muscle car I had absolutely no desire for. Got him to go grab the paperwork and everything to get things moving.
    via Kiltemdead
  • While I did that, my wife was looking up other dealerships a town over, and found a better listing for the car she wanted in the first place. She called them to hold the vehicle for us to look at tomorrow, and when the guy came back we asked if we could speak to his manager first to praise him for finding me the perfect car. Once he came back with the manager in tow, she let them both know that we found the same car we came looking for at another dealership at a better price. They offered to mat
    via Kiltemdead
  • offered to match it, but we were p ed by that point and we let them know why. It's the same with taking the cars in for any work to be done on them. Just be sure she doesn't have a between her legs, they think she knows nothing about a car or how it works.
    via Kiltemdead
  • djtracon Why do these people just assume that women have no idea about cars? The 1950's called and want their stereotype back. I took my boyfriend (now husband and former auto mechanic) with me, really just coming along for the ride; I had done all of the research and knew what my trade in was worth and what their car was worth. All of the sales people kept trying to deal with him vs. me. Gem of a man sat there and said "it's her car, I'm here as a mechanic". Every sales person was deflated so I
    via djtracon

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