A woman recently purchased a brand-new Toyota Camry. Then she pulled a move that shocked onlookers: she had it towed home. Why? Nikki Suzuki (@nikkisuzuki) recently posted the 32-second video of the Camry being loaded onto the back of a flatbed tow truck at the dealership. She captions it, “Love new cars.” A text overlay reads, “This lady just bought this 2026 Toyota Camry XSE with 4 miles and getting it towed to her house. The things people do.” The clip has left hundreds of thousands of viewers puzzled, amused, and—in many cases—quietly taking notes. The post has drawn more than 307,000 views. Why Would Anyone Tow A Brand-New Car Home? The comments section spent less time mocking the buyer than reverse-engineering her decision. Several practical explanations rose to the top quickly. The simplest theory came from user Bud, who wrote, “One person can’t drive 2 cars home at the same time.” Many commenters agreed the most likely scenario was that she had driven her own car to the dealership, the trade-in hadn’t worked out, and she needed both vehicles back home. Leavemealoneok agreed, “She probably drove herself to the dealer in her old car that she kept and needed to get both cars home. Plus towing is free if she has roadside assistance.” E i r a m offered another explanation based on her own experience, writing, “I did this cause my insurance company wouldn’t cover me the day of. It would be the next day. I have triple AAA and I just had it towed to my mom’s driveway.” Tell us what you think! View Comments Georgiiii suggested it might be a gift, posting, “Maybe wanna surprise her daughter or husband with a 4 mile car … and not a 50 mile car.” Several commenters pointed out that dealerships routinely deliver cars by flatbed. SoCal Harlan wrote, “I bought my Mercedes. Came home and it was delivered the next day. Dealership was 70 miles away.” NoCallerId added, “I bought my car from a different state. Never went to the dealer. Car arrived with 7 miles.” How Much Does A Toyota Actually Depreciate? Whatever the buyer’s reasoning, the video resurfaced one of the oldest debates in car ownership: the “drive off the lot” depreciation hit. The short version is that the myth is real, but smaller than most people assume. Carfax data shows most new cars lose about 10% of their value in the first month of ownership. Over the first year, the drop averages around 20%, with another 15% lost in each of the following four years. Toyotas, though, tend to hold their value better than almost anything else in their segments. According to iSeeCars, the Toyota Camry has the best resale value in its class. CarEdge data shows a new Camry depreciates about 36% over five years, compared with roughly 39% for other midsize sedans and more than 41% for the average new vehicle. That’s part of why some commenters only half-joked about the logic of not driving the Camry XSE home. Stephani Fox wrote, “She took the ‘as soon as you drive it off the lot it depreciates’ and said Not Today!” Michael Peralta projected that thought into the future, writing, “20 years from now someone gonna find a 2026 Camry with 4 miles in a garage.” In practical terms, however, towing a car a few miles to keep the odometer at four instead of 20 doesn’t meaningfully affect its future resale value. As GoldDealer put it: “You know the difference on a 4 mile car and a 24 mile car? Absolutely nothing.” Not everyone in the comments was interested in debating the economics, however. Ray summed up a common view: “She bought a car. She is happy. Tow truck driver made some money. Everyone is happy. Don’t see a problem.” Precision_Engineer wrote, “The lady is doing what the lady wants to do. She’s not asking for donations, and she certainly isn’t affecting our lives.” One user who agreed that the woman was trying to avoid the ‘drive off the lot’ depreciation hit sarcastically pointed out that perhaps not everyone in the comments was qualified to chime in, writing, “I’m a marine biologist. I know cars.” Motor1 reached out to Nikki Suzuki via TikTok direct message for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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