‘The guilt would haunt me’: Person buys Volkswagen off Marketplace from old person for $1,000 because it won’t start. The key just needed a battery

Abdallah (@.a.b.a.z) may have just stumbled on a top-tier used-car find. He shared his find in a TikTok that’s accrued 7.5 million views. However, several other folks on the platform said they’d feel too guilty to buy the Volkswagen at the $1,000 price point he enjoyed.

That’s because the Volkswagen was clearly worth way more. The only reason he was able to get it for so cheap was that its previous, senior citizen-aged owner thought it wouldn’t start. As it turns out, all it needed was a simple fix.

“POV: You bought this car off an old lady for $1000 because she said the car doesn’t start.” Abdallah writes in the text overlay of the TikTok. He indicates in a hashtag he found the car on Facebook Marketplace.

One would assume that because of the car’s low price, it requires a ton of work to get moving again.

In the second portion of the on-screen caption, Abdallah reveals that this wasn’t the case. He just needed to purchase a small battery (probably like this $4 one off of Amazon).

After that, all he needed to do was follow a quick and easy DIY video on the battery-changing process. The car seemed like it was fully operational after those steps were taken.

As he writes in his overlay: “But the key just needed a battery.”

He followed the text up with a crying emoji.

@.a.b.a.z 🤷‍♂️ #foryoupage #trend #viral #blowup #foryou #marketplace #car #tiktok #funny #real #relatable ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design

Senior citizens make for good car owners

There are plenty of folks online who recommend used car shoppers try and hit up senior citizen drivers first. Redditors on this r/lifeprotips post discussed this. “If you are buying a used car, try and find one that is being sold by elderly folks,” the post’s title reads.

They explained their reasoning as being sound financial advice. “Old folks are a lot more cautious with their possessions. They will generally take better care of their vehicles and don’t drive their cars as hard. You’ll save money in the future on repairs and maintenance from reduced wear-and-tear,” they shared.

All of these aforementioned factors are what folks hope for when buying a used vehicle.

Redditors agreed and pointed out that, from their experience, those cars also don’t have a ton of miles on them.

“Whole heartedly agree with this. I lived in Florida and the old people cars had low mileage and less beating,” one Redditor said in response.

Another replied, “This! Got a car that looks new, drives new 60k miles, but is 10 years old. And they smoked. Like the smoke smell is the worst part.”

Would you feel guilty?

One viewer of Abdallah’s video shared, “May this energy find me I need a new car.”

However, others said they would have felt too guilty to keep the car.

“The guilt would haunt me,” one said.

“Unfortunately I would return the car guilt has me on a leash,” another echoed.

Another said Abdallah’s video is an example of a great moral quandary. “Oh this is a great ethical question of the day,” they wrote.

Another shared how they would have mentally reconciled with the low-cost purchase price. “Ok if she didn’t know she just had to replace a key she probably shouldn’t be on the road anyway so i think it’s ok,” they added.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Abdallah via TikTok comment for further information.

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