“I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”
A car dealer says one customer may have cost himself the exact vehicle he wanted by trying to shop the deal after another dealership had already agreed to send the one he wanted over.
Jason Vuerich (@the_bearded_gsm), a self-described “car guy” and general sales manager at a dealership, shared what he says happened during a “dealer trade,” when one dealership sources a vehicle from another store.
Vuerich says his dealership offered the customer $5,000 more for his trade-in than two competing stores and found the “exact Navigator” he wanted at another dealership within about 800 miles. The other store agreed to release it, Vuerich says, and the customer asked for the VIN so he could get his insurance paperwork handled ahead of time.
Then things changed.
Vuerich says the other dealership texted to say it could no longer release the Lincoln Navigator because someone else was interested.
“Guess what happened?” Vuerich says.
According to Vuerich, that interested buyer was his own customer, who had contacted the other dealership to see if it would beat the deal.
Vuerich says he asked the customer to send over the other store’s worksheet.
“Guess what? We were beating them by almost $6,000,” Vuerich says of the other dealer.
He says his dealership was also offering a rebate the other store wasn’t. “But now I can’t get that car; that store is not releasing it.”
“Moral of the story is don’t reach out to another store if you’re working a deal because you could potentially screw the pooch,” Vuerich adds.
His point: once the dealership holding the vehicle knew a buyer was interested in that exact Navigator, it had little reason to send it elsewhere.
How Dealer Trades Work—And Why They Can Fall Apart
A dealer trade, sometimes called a dealer swap, happens when a dealership doesn’t have the exact vehicle a customer wants and arranges to get it from another store, Edmunds reports. That can mean swapping vehicles between the two dealerships. Edmunds describes the process as a way for dealers to find a specific color, trim level, drivetrain, or option package without making the customer wait for one from the factory.
The catch is that the vehicle still belongs to the dealership holding it until the trade is completed, and there’s no guarantee they’ll pursue the trade.
J.D. Power suggests that dealer trades are voluntary arrangements between separate businesses. The dealership with the vehicle doesn’t have to release it just because another store asks.
That’s just one reason why a deal can unravel even after a salesperson tells a customer they’ve located the right car.
If the holding dealership suddenly has its own buyer for the same vehicle, keeping the car can become more attractive than sending it to a competitor. Edmunds notes that dealer trades can come with complications precisely because another dealership controls the inventory the customer wants.
There can also be added costs and logistics. Depending on the arrangement, the requesting dealership may ask that the customer pay a fee to transport the car from the other store, according to LegalClarity.
So Vuerich’s warning isn’t that shoppers should never compare prices—it’s more a warning that once one dealership is actively negotiating to obtain a specific VIN from another store, contacting the dealership yourself can shake things up and potentially cause the second dealer to not want to give up the car.
“Had It Happen To Me”
Several viewers said they knew where Vuerich’s story was headed as soon as he mentioned handing over the VIN.
“As soon as you said VIN #, I knew what was coming. Have had it happen to me & that sucks so bad too!” one person wrote.
Another put the blame on the customer.
“I do NOT understand WHY a customer would even do this,” they said. “They just screwed their own self over.”
One commenter said the dealership should never have given the customer the VIN in the first place.
“Never give the customer the VIN of the vehicle you’re trying to source,” they advised. “You tell them where the car is; guarantees they will reach out to the other store. Most times you lose the deal.”
Not everyone thought Vuerich’s dealership had made the right call, either.
“Sounds like you were overpaying for the trade anyway and going 800 miles to get the vehicle. Doesn’t sound like it was worth it,” one person wrote.
One viewer offered the opposite perspective: they said reaching out to the other dealership worked out very well for them.
“I reached out to the other store. Local was $10K over MSRP; the other store sold it to me for $17K under! Only had 2 miles on it when I initially got in it. Only took a 4-hour drive.”
Motor1 has contacted Vuerich via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
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