Man Goes to Test Drive a Luxury Car. Then The Dealership Says He Can’t Until He Runs a Credit Check

A car salesman’s story about an unusual encounter with a would-be luxury car buyer has started a conversation about whether a credit check should be required to test drive a vehicle.

Keith Ron Powell (@keithronpowell) posted a video recounting the day a customer walked into his dealership determined to buy a $200,000 car but refused to undergo a credit check. He doesn’t specify when the incident took place or which dealership he works at, but he makes clear that the situation raised eyebrows from the start.

Powell says he first clocked the man pulling up in a Toyota Camry, which immediately made him skeptical of the customer’s grand ambitions. The man, he claims, was set on driving off the lot with a Bentley or another high-end car in the same price range while only putting down a small amount of cash.

What Happened?

Powell explains that the customer came in asking about a Bentley and made it clear he didn’t want to spend more than $500 to $600 a month, even though he was only offering $1,000 as a down payment.

“We used to get weird people like this all the time,” Powell says in the clip. To see if the buyer was serious, Powell told him a credit check was required before they went any further. But the man apparently refused and insisted on taking the car for a test drive first.

The standoff escalated when Powell pointed out the obvious gap between what the customer was driving and what he wanted.

“With all due respect, you just drove up in a Toyota Camry,” Powell recalls telling him. “I’d like to know what has changed in your life that can cause you to go from a Toyota Camry to this $200,000 car?”

The man purportedly countered that he had a 700 credit score and thought that should be enough. Powell then pulled out the numbers, showing what the payments would actually look like if the buyer financed the car over five years at 0% interest—around $3,400 a month. Even with a good rate, it wouldn’t be anywhere close to the figure the man wanted.

When Powell told him the $1,000 down payment wouldn’t make a dent in the overall cost, the two locked eyes.

“He looked at me and I looked at him,” Powell said. 

He ends the story there, leaving viewers to assume the customer didn’t leave with a Bentley that day.

Do You Need to Run Credit Checks Before a Test Drive?

You typically don’t have to go through a credit check to get behind the wheel for a test drive. Dealerships can only run one with your permission, and a valid driver’s license is usually all they need.

Some places try to push for a credit application before handing over the keys, often framing it as a formality. But unless you’re dealing with a rare or high-end car, that kind of pressure can be a red flag. What they’re really doing is trying to gauge whether you’re likely to buy, not whether you’re allowed to drive.

If a dealership wants to perform a hard inquiry into your credit, they need your written consent, according to Kelley Blue Book. Even when you do give permission, it says there’s a difference between what’s called a soft pull and a hard pull. A soft pull won’t affect your credit score. A hard pull will, and that only happens when you’re officially applying for a loan.

Some dealerships run credit checks because they don’t want to invest time in someone who can’t actually afford the car. But that doesn’t mean you have to agree. If you’re not ready to apply for anything, you can say no and walk away.

If someone insists on seeing your credit before letting you drive a car you haven’t even decided to buy, it’s usually a sign to be careful. You don’t owe them that information to take the car for a spin.

Viewers Can’t Believe Customer’s Audacity

Commenters who watched Powell’s video couldn’t get over the nerve it took for someone to walk in asking for a luxury car while putting almost nothing down and expecting to pay next to nothing each month.

“Math is math! These people and the ‘waiting on a settlement’ folks expect the world!” one viewer said.

“That’s crazy. Good luck getting a Camry for $500-$600 a month these days!” another chimed in.

“He had a dream, I have a lot of them,” a third added.

“Man if yoon get the hell up outchia!!!” a fourth exclaimed, dropping several facepalm emojis for emphasis.

Plenty of people didn’t even bother with words, opting to flood the comments with laughing emojis.

Some wondered if Powell had even heard the customer correctly.

“He said 5 years but meant 50,” one person joked. 

“You meant $10,000 down, right?” another shot back.

Motor1 has reached out to Powell via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this if he responds.