“This is why car dealers have terrible reputations…”
A man says a Ford dealer offered him 12% financing on a new F-150 even though his credit score is 700. He walked out, secured 4.9% financing at his credit union the next day, came back to close the deal that evening, and still left without the truck.
Mateo (@mateocpr) recently shared his experience on TikTok. As of this writing, it has been viewed more than 34,000 times. “This is why car dealers have terrible reputations…” reads the text on screen.
He went in for “a brand new truck, 2026 Ford F-150 Lobo edition,” he says. He normally finances through State Employees’ Credit Union, but “that night I was like ready to get the truck, so I went through with their financing.” The finance manager, he says, “was trying to play me like I got bad credit, mind you I got a 700, and so he’s trying to give me 12% interest.”
He told the manager that his credit union “has between four to seven. If you can make that happen, let me know. If not, give me a bill of sale.” Instead, “the dude comes back with my credit report,” Mateo says, and went through it line by line to explain why he couldn’t match the rate. Mateo asked for his keys back.
The next day, Mateo says, the credit union approved him at a 4.9% interest rate. He spent the afternoon waiting for the dealership to send the bill of sale, then drove over to collect it himself. On the way home he remembered he could close that night through the credit union’s 1-800 line, so he picked up his trade-in and was back at the dealership by 7:30.
The response from the dealership, he says, was: “You know it’s 7:30, we close at 8.” Then the employee checked the computer. “He’s like, oh yeah, there’s a recall on it,” Mateo says, so the truck couldn’t go home that night anyway. As Mateo headed out, the employee asked, “So what time can I see you tomorrow?”
“You won’t, bro,” Mateo told him. “Two days in a row I’ve had to do more of the work than y’all trying to put in to sell me this truck.” He says the dealership is “still calling me,” and that “I’m not coming back to buy that truck.”
When a commenter asked him to name the store, Mateo replied that “it was Town and Country Ford,” and in another reply specified “Town and Country Ford in NC.” Town & Country Ford on East Independence Boulevard in Charlotte describes itself as a Sonic Automotive company.
Sonic Automotive did not respond to an email seeking comment.
On the FICO scale, 670 to 739 counts as “good,” a score that “most lenders consider” good, according to myFICO. Experian’s figures for the second quarter of 2026 put the average new-car APR at 6.15% for prime borrowers, with scores from 661 to 780, and 13.52% for subprime borrowers, from 501 to 600. Experian’s tiers use VantageScore rather than FICO, but a 12% offer to a 700 borrower sits much closer to the subprime average.
When a dealer arranges the loan, the lender quotes the dealer a “buy rate,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains, and “the actual interest rate offered to you may be higher to compensate the dealer.” Its advice is to line up financing “directly with a bank or credit union” before shopping, which is what Mateo usually does.
The recall is harder to argue with. Federal law says a dealer holding a new vehicle under a safety recall may sell it “only if” the defect “is remedied” before delivery. The National Traffic Safety Administration lists seven recalls covering the 2026 F-150, six of them filed since Aug. 25. Mateo didn’t say which one applied to his truck, and wrote in the comments that his complaint was the timing: the recall “wasn’t mentioned” when he collected the bill of sale.
People had some ideas about why the dealership treated Mateo the way he claims.
“They wanted you to have a LOAN, not a truck,” wrote tina113535. “That tells you how much money they make off of in-house financing,” added grinch9283. Mateo agreed, adding that “there’s people that will take the high rate just to get the truck, but it’s a want, not a need.”
morenostark, who said they are a finance manager at a Ford dealership, wrote, “Ford has 1.9 for 60, 2.9 for 72, and 3.49 for 84,” apparently referring to the length of the loan. Mateo replied that the dealership told him those rates didn’t stack with rebates.
Not everyone took his side. “700 is not good, lol, it’s OK,” wrote davidgomez0878. “700 is good, not great, definitely good enough to get 4.9% through my credit union,” Mateo shot back. chrispbacon803, who said they’ve been a general sales manager for 15 years, accused him of lying about his credit score and wrote that “the advertised rate doesn’t mean you will get the rate.”
Some salespeople said they’d have kept the store open. “As a car salesman, I’m staying all night, making you coffee, popping some popcorn,” wrote brianj6756.
thebonee7 thought he’d been too patient: “Not gonna lie, you gave them too much grace.”
Motor1 reached out to Mateo via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
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