There’s nothing worse for a car shopper than burning a full day on the road and arriving to find the deal has changed. That is exactly what happened to classic car dealer Bob Evans when a seller jacked up the price on a red Mustang by $11,000 after Evans had already driven nearly five hours to pick it up. Evans (@bobevansclassics) posted the confrontation as a YouTube Short on Aug. 9, 2025, and the clip has since racked up 4.1 million views. A text overlay reads, “Chasing Classic Cars. Seller Raised Price by $11,000 after driving 4+ hours.” ‘My Only Issue’ In the video, Evans explains that he had spoken to a man named Mike on the phone, agreed on a starting price, and had been told the seller was negotiable. With that understanding, he made the long drive. When he arrived, the price was $11,000 higher than what he had been quoted. “I drove five hours almost. I talked to this man, Mike. He gave me a price on the phone on this car and said you’re negotiable on it. I get here, it’s 11,000 more than what I anticipated the starting price was going to be,” Evans says in the video. The seller, who appears to be the car’s owner, nods along but offers no apology. “I get it. I totally get it,” he says, before pivoting to the cost of building the car. “If you’ve been in this business long enough, you know what it costs to build that.” Evans pushes back. “That’s not what I’m saying, though. I’m saying your man here told me a price, right, you’re negotiable with. If I knew that, I wouldn’t waste the four or five-hour drive. Obviously, I can’t make money on what you’re asking for this.” The Phone, The Price, And The Red Flags Throughout the whole exchange, the seller barely looks up from his phone. His employee, the Mike who apparently quoted the original price, stands silently nearby. Neither offers an apology on camera. The video’s comments section was flooded with viewers calling out the seller’s body language. “Him not putting his phone down would really piss me off,” wrote @mikecross4350. User @vladtheimpala5532 agreed, posting “He doesn’t even have the decency to look the guy in the eye after wasting his time.” User @julias.4980 wrote, “One [uses his phone] as a shield to avoid eye contact and full engagement, and the other to make a record of the interaction while fully engaged. Seller was completely in the wrong yet he poured salt in the wound by also being disrespectful and unapologetic.” Bait And Switch, Or Honest Mistake? Some commenters suspected an old trick. “The ole bait and switcharoo,” wrote @ChrisSmith-fp1gg. Others pointed out that Evans may have been dealing with a miscommunication between the employee and the owner. User @nathanscherf417 wrote, “There’s no bait and switch. He was told wrong price by someone else. Simple mistake.” But @eddietide2129 was not buying that. “He had 5 hours to prep that car for pickup and call him before he arrived. So full of it,” he wrote. User @user-agreement-disengaged put the gap in perspective: “$11,000 difference is outrageous! That’s much more than a simple error.” A Lesson In Leverage Several viewers noted that Evans may have weakened his bargaining position by revealing how far he had driven. User @jonathanmetherell3200 wrote, “Don’t tell the guy you are driving 4.5 hours to buy it. Puts you in a tough bargaining position.” User @scottbott8525 agreed, writing, “Don’t tell them you drove from far. They have you by the [expletive].” It is a well-documented negotiating principle. Harvard’s Program on Negotiation notes that a car buyer’s leverage depends on maintaining credible alternatives—and appearing locked in to a single deal erodes that leverage. Automotive buying guides go further, arguing that being physically present with time already invested is itself a disadvantage, because sellers know that buyers who have sunk hours into a deal are psychologically primed to close. Some commenters believed the seller was counting on exactly that. “He thought that because you drove all that way, you would not go home empty handed,” wrote @Jason-nt5gr. User @srhatfield wrote, “He just needed to get the guy to drive that far so that he would negotiate up instead of down.” The Flipper Debate Evans’s comment that he “can’t make money” at the new asking price revealed that he was buying the Mustang to resell, and some viewers felt that changed the equation. User @vladtheimpala5532 added, “Everyone is buying these cars to flip them and make money instead of to have a classic car to enjoy. That drives prices up for people who love cars and want to keep and to drive them.” Others pushed back, arguing that the seller’s integrity was the real issue regardless of the buyer’s intentions. “What does the buyer’s occupation have to do with the guy being a piece of trash with no ethics?” wrote @DaleCarterDrives. You Are Not Alone Dozens of commenters shared their own stories of long drives that ended in broken promises. “I drove 3 hours once with a trailer, and told the person not to sell the truck I was buying it sight unseen and on the way. I called 2 times while on the way confirming. I pulled up and she said she had just sold it to another guy that was standing there,” wrote @jamesb2291. User @billlloyd4354 described a handshake deal that fell apart. “Went to get the car, the guy claims he had another offer, and if I beat that offer it was mine. I told him I wouldn’t give him another five dollars for the car, a handshake should be binding.” Walk Away Many commenters advised him to walk away. “May be a blessing in disguise. If it’s too good to be true, beware,” wrote @rbd104. User @johnnyrocket9372 wrote, “If that seller has no integrity on the price, I’m willing to bet he also plays games with the quality of the parts and quality of the labor.” User @michaelsapoznik5984 offered some consolation: “A better car, with a better price, sold by good people, is waiting for you to find. And you will.” Motor1 reached out to Bob Evans Classics via email for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if they respond. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team