Another TikTok “Auction Car” Deal: A $60,000 Hellcat for $4,999? Here We Go Again
Apparently TikTok has decided I need another car.
Actually, based on what keeps showing up in my feed, TikTok apparently thinks I need an entire dealership.
After documenting accounts advertising $4,000 Scat Packs, $7,000 Camrys, $10,000 BMW M3S, and other remarkably inexpensive vehicles, another account landed in my “For You” feed.
This one calls itself:
Auction Cars For Sale — @auctioncars35
And we've got another Hellcat.
According to the video:
2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody
Price: $4,999
Down payment: $499
Monthly payment: $299
Come get it right away!
Well, hold on.
🚩 A $4,999 Hellcat Redeye?
This isn't just an inexpensive used Dodge Charger.
The post specifically identifies it as a 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody.
Kelley Blue Book currently puts the Fair Purchase Price for that model around $60,500, with estimated private-party values ranging roughly from $52,000 to $60,000, depending on condition. KBB also notes that mileage, condition, location, and equipment can significantly affect an individual vehicle's value. Kelley Blue Book
The TikTok price?
$4,999
That's roughly 92% below KBB's $60,500 Fair Purchase Price.
Now, could an extraordinarily cheap Hellcat exist?
Absolutely.
It could have major damage. It could have mechanical problems. It could have a branded title. There could be circumstances we can't see from a TikTok video.
But if you're asking me to believe a vehicle worth tens of thousands of dollars is available for less than $5,000, I need an explanation.
And documentation.
Lots of documentation.
💰 $499 Down, $299 a Month... For How Long?
Then we have the financing.
Price: $4,999
Down payment: $499
Monthly payment: $299
Okay.
If $4,999 is truly the purchase price, subtracting the $499 down payment leaves $4,500.
At $299 per month, ignoring interest, taxes, and every other fee, that would pay off the remaining balance in only about 15 months.
But where are the complete financing terms?
What's the APR?
What's the loan term?
Who's the lender?
What are the taxes and fees?
What credit qualifications apply?
Is $4,999 actually the cash selling price?
Those details matter considerably more than the giant $499 DOWN floating across the TikTok video.
👀 Then I Looked at the Profile
The account had 809 followers and 12,600 likes when I took the screenshot.
Its profile says:
“Get your vehicles at auction prices”
“Clean title/paperwork ✅”
“Financing ✅”
And then:
WhatsApp: +1 (672)-285-4522
There's that familiar move to WhatsApp again.
WhatsApp itself isn't evidence of a scam. Legitimate businesses use it every day.
But if I'm buying a $60,000-class performance car, I want a little more than a TikTok profile and a WhatsApp number.
Where is the business?
What's the legal company name?
What's the physical address?
What's the dealer license number?
What auction is supplying these vehicles?
What's the VIN?
Who's providing the financing?
Can I see the title?
Can I have an independent mechanic inspect the car?
Those questions aren't unreasonable.
They're called buying a car.
😂 Apparently Hellcats Are Having a Clearance Sale
Then I looked at the rest of the profile.
This isn't a one-car phenomenon.
One pinned video appears to advertise a vehicle for:
$7,900 — $500 down
Another:
$10,000 — $600 down
And another pinned video says:
“2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat $7000”
Seven thousand dollars.
For another Hellcat.
Elsewhere, I can see vehicles advertised at:
$6,000 with $600 down
$9,800 with $700 down
$9,000 with $1,000 down
$5,000 with $500 down
Once again, we're seeing the same basic formula I've been documenting across multiple TikTok accounts:
Desirable vehicle.
Extraordinarily low advertised price.
Small down payment.
Financing.
WhatsApp.
Act now.
Different account.
Same questions.
📊 For Perspective: Even Ordinary Chargers Cost More
KBB's current national averages illustrate just how unusual these numbers are.
A regular 2021 Charger SXT has a Fair Purchase Price around $18,500. A Scat Pack is around $32,300, a Scat Pack Widebody around $38,000, and a Hellcat Redeye Widebody around $62,300 on KBB's broader 2021 Charger pricing page. Kelley Blue Book
So the $4,999 TikTok asking price isn't merely inexpensive compared with another Redeye.
It's dramatically below KBB's current Fair Purchase Price for even the least expensive 2021 Charger trim.
That doesn't independently prove anything about this particular vehicle.
It does give me an excellent reason to investigate before reaching for my wallet.
🏷️ But They're “Auction Cars”
That's presumably supposed to explain the prices.
Auctions absolutely can produce vehicles below retail value.
I've discussed the Manheim Market Report (MMR) in previous posts because wholesale value and retail value aren't the same thing.
Dealers buy at wholesale and try to sell at retail. Condition, mileage, title history, location, demand, and vehicle configuration all matter.
But “auction price” isn't a magic phrase that makes market economics disappear.
If a supposedly clean-title Hellcat has a retail value around $60,000 and someone is selling it for $4,999, I'd still like to know:
What did the seller pay for it?
Which auction did it come from?
What's the VIN?
What's the title status?
What's wrong with it?
Why is it being sold for a fraction of its market value?
A legitimate explanation can be checked.
🚗 And Yes, That's a Real Car in the Video
We've encountered this issue repeatedly in this series.
A man sits inside a Charger.
We can see the interior.
There's another vehicle outside.
It looks like a real dealership or automotive environment.
That's visually persuasive.
But here's the line I'm going to keep repeating:
A real car doesn't automatically make the offer real.
A TikTok account showing footage of an actual automobile doesn't, by itself, establish that the account owns the vehicle, has authority to sell it, or can deliver it under the advertised terms.
Videos can be reposted.
Dealer footage can be reused.
Auction footage can be copied.
Customer-delivery videos can be repurposed.
I'm not saying that's necessarily what happened here. I haven't established where this particular footage originated.
I'm saying the video itself isn't proof of ownership.
🚩 Followers and Views Aren't Verification Either
One of this account's pinned videos shows more than 300,000 views.
Another has more than 100,000.
That creates powerful social proof.
If 300,000 people watched it, it may feel legitimate.
If hundreds of people liked it, it may feel legitimate.
If other people are commenting that they're interested, maybe it feels legitimate.
But we've learned this lesson already:
Followers aren't a dealer license.
Likes aren't a vehicle title.
Views aren't a VIN.
And 300,000 views don't transform a $60,000 vehicle into a $4,999 vehicle.
🧮 Show Me the Economics
This remains one of my favorite tests.
Forget TikTok for a moment.
Forget the music.
Forget the guy sitting inside the car.
Forget the giant $499 DOWN text.
Explain the transaction economically.
If a dealer can legitimately acquire a clean-title 2021 Hellcat Redeye Widebody cheaply enough to sell it for $4,999 and make money, I want to understand how.
Maybe there's an explanation.
Great.
Show me.
Give me the VIN.
Show me the title.
Tell me the auction.
Give me the physical location.
Show me the purchase agreement.
Let me independently verify the dealership.
Let me arrange an independent inspection.
Give me the financing disclosures.
Those things interest me far more than a TikTok follower count.
🚨 Don't Let the Deposit Become the Decision
This is where these advertisements concern me most.
The headline isn't:
“Please conduct a comprehensive examination of this vehicle's ownership, title history, and financing.”
It's:
$499 DOWN
That's a psychologically manageable number.
Someone who can't afford a $60,000 Hellcat might be able to find $499.
And once someone sends that first $499, the psychology changes.
They've committed.
That's why verification needs to happen before money changes hands.
The FTC has repeatedly warned consumers about online vehicle-related scams and emphasizes caution when someone online asks you to send money in transactions that can't be independently verified. Consumer Advice
🏡 Be a Good Neighbor
This is also why I keep posting these.
Someone looking at this advertisement might not see what I see.
They might see:
2021 Hellcat Redeye.
$4,999.
$499 down.
$299 a month.
And think:
“I can actually afford my dream car.”
Don't make fun of that person.
Help them.
Before they send $499, ask for 15 minutes.
Check the VIN.
Check KBB.
Check the title.
Find the business independently.
Verify the dealer license.
Call a telephone number obtained independently.
Ask for the physical address.
Arrange an inspection.
Read the financing agreement.
And if the seller starts creating urgency because somebody else is supposedly about to buy the car?
Let the other imaginary customer have it.
Different Account. Same Playbook?
That's what I'm trying to document.
I've now encountered multiple social-media accounts advertising remarkably inexpensive cars with tiny down payments.
The names change.
The cars change.
The phone numbers change.
The prices change.
But I keep seeing familiar ingredients.
Unusually cheap vehicles.
Tiny deposits.
Social-media storefronts.
Private messaging.
WhatsApp.
Financing claims.
Shipping or delivery.
And vehicles priced far below ordinary retail values.
Does that automatically prove this particular TikTok account is fraudulent?
No.
But $4,999 for a vehicle KBB values at around $60,000 is more than enough reason for me to start asking questions. Kelley Blue Book
And judging by my recent experiences, I seem to be getting pretty good at making TikTok car sellers uncomfortable with one particularly difficult question:
What's the address?
Follow the continuing investigation at NielFlamm.com/blog.
I Brought the Coffee. They Brought the Conversation.
As I’ve shared, my mother has had two strokes in three months. She’s now in a skilled nursing facility, with the goal of getting to assisted living and eventually becoming mobile enough to get to Thailand.
One step at a time. Literally.
Before heading to an afternoon recovery meeting, I stopped by and found her eating lunch in the day and activity room with several other residents.
I brought her Dunkin’ coffee because the world runs on it, and medical facility coffee usually makes me question whether running is still an option.
While I was there, I found myself thinking about my old call center training days.
In a previous life, I would role-play phone calls with my classes. I played the aggressive caller, the caller with an accent, the soft-spoken caller, and the caller who was older than me.
For that last role, I would talk. And talk. And talk. And talk.
I could turn a simple account question into a scenic tour with absolutely no estimated arrival time.
But I did it for a reason. I wanted my classes to understand that a phone call might be about more than whatever appeared on their computer screen. For someone who didn’t get many visitors or have many people to talk to, that call could be a welcome chance to connect.
I wanted them to hear the person, even when the conversation took the long way around.
Today, I was reminded of that lesson.
I met a woman who told me she had lived in Pensacola, Florida. I learned that her favorite burger was from McDonald’s and that the best sweet tea came from Bojangles. And that was just part of the conversation.
I arrived with coffee and left with restaurant recommendations. A productive visit by any reasonable standard.
I don’t know how often she gets visitors. I don’t know whether she had already shared those stories that morning or had been waiting for someone to tell.
I just know she wanted to talk, and I had the chance to listen.
It made me think about how often I can get caught up in the purpose of a visit—the updates, the next steps, the things that need to get done—and forget to leave room for an ordinary conversation.
My mother’s recovery has plenty of goals attached to it right now. Skilled nursing. Assisted living. Mobility. Thailand.
But there’s also today. Lunch in the activity room. A decent cup of coffee. A conversation about burgers and sweet tea.
I’m sharing this as a reminder to myself as much as anyone else: if I have time to scroll through my phone, I probably have time to use it to call someone.
And if there’s someone older in your life, I hope you’ll make that call or stop by for a visit, too.
I don’t need a perfect thing to say. I can bring some coffee, pull up a chair, and listen.
Apparently, I can also plan my next meal.
Day 100: Triple Digits. And Still Waiting.
Day 100.
I almost can't believe I'm typing that.
For 100 days, I've been asking Nextdoor for the detailed Insights data its own published material said readers could request.
I'm a shareholder. I asked for something the company advertised as available.
One hundred days later, I'm still waiting.
Meanwhile, NXDR Has Been Moving
Yesterday, NXDR traded as high as $2.64, very close to its 2026 closing high of $2.68 on August 10 and $2.66 close on August 11. As I write this, I'm seeing approximately $2.54. ChartExchange
Yesterday I wrote about something else I've been thinking about: a stock isn't evaluated solely on revenue, EBITDA and what's sitting on the balance sheet.
Leadership confidence and corporate reputation can matter too.
But I want to be careful here.
I have no evidence that today's movement has anything to do with my post, Nirav Tolia, my 100-day campaign—or anything else I've written.
Maybe short-term traders took profits. Maybe investors reacted to something entirely unrelated. That's the market.
What interests me is the longer-term question.
What Does Day 100 Cost?
Not in dollars.
In credibility.
A company can publish mission statements, announce AI initiatives, appear on podcasts and talk about connecting communities.
But sometimes reputation is built in much smaller moments:
Someone asks a question. Does anyone answer it?
Someone requests something you publicly said was available. Does anyone provide it—or simply explain why they can't?
That's what makes Day 100 remarkable to me.
The original request was tiny.
The case study it created is now enormous.
I'm still a shareholder. I still want NXDR to succeed.
And I'm still asking the same remarkably simple question I asked 100 days ago:
Can someone at Nextdoor provide the detailed Insights studies—or tell me why they can't?
Welcome to triple digits.
I really didn't think we'd get here.
👉 Follow the continuing case study at NielFlamm.com/blog
When Guilt Feels Real: Recovery, Delusion, and Making Amends
The Down a Hole podcast is back.
In this episode, Fish and I explore a complicated question: If someone feels guilt over events experienced during psychosis—even when those events never actually happened—does making amends still have a place in recovery?
We discuss sobriety, mental health, accountability, vulnerability, and the importance of seeking guidance instead of facing difficult thoughts alone.
Watch the full podcast at NielFlamm.com/blog.
Wait… Coke Zero Is Health Food Now?
I recently came across a Facebook video with what might be the best medical advice I’ve ever heard.
The video says one way to help with constipation from GLP-1 medications is to drink Coke Zero, and the nutritionist attributes the effect to phosphorus.
My immediate reaction:
FANTASTIC!
Finally, something I’ve been training for my entire life.
Coke Zero is already one of my staple foods. I take Ozempic, and constipation can be one of the side effects.
So when somebody tells me my Coke Zero habit might actually have a purpose, naturally I'm thinking:
Doctor, should I increase my prescription from Large to Extra Large?
And somewhere at Coca-Cola headquarters, an executive just felt a disturbance in the Force.
There Is One Tiny Problem…
I couldn't independently verify the video's claim that the phosphorus in Coke Zero is an established treatment for GLP-1 constipation.
So, sadly, I'm not declaring Coke Zero a medication.
I'm merely saying that if future scientific research concludes that it is...
I was an early adopter.
And yes, before anyone reminds me about phosphorus and kidney disease—thank you for the reminder.
With my kidney situation, I already have to pay attention to phosphorus. I use a phosphate binder to hopefully help keep my phosphorus levels in line.
So this is definitely not me recommending that anyone start pounding Coke Zero as a medical treatment.
This is me discovering a video that seemingly gave my existing Coke Zero habit a scientific-sounding excuse and thinking:
FINALLY. MY MOMENT HAS ARRIVED.
Until then, I'll continue enjoying Coke Zero for the same reason I always have:
I just really like Coke Zero.
And if my consumption happens to help The Coca-Cola Company stock along the way?
You're welcome, shareholders.
I'm doing my part. One bottle at a time. 😂🥤