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Americans are paying too much for their cars — but one veteran dealer highlights three ways they can get costs down.
The average new car now costs a staggering $49,000, pushing monthly payments well over $700.
And according to Russell Richardson — the former salesman behind the viral RussFlipsWhips account — buyers are making it worse by walking blindly into bad deals.
‘You signed the paperwork and agreed to the payments,’ he said to Daily Mail when asked about customers with sky-high car notes.
‘Anybody who buys a car and regrets it, you can blame everybody. But at the end of the day, it was your fault.’
Richardson knows the game well. He started washing cars at 15 at a Lincoln dealership in Pennsylvania, and by his early 20s, he was selling them on the showroom floor.
In a conversation with Daily Mail, Richardson laid out three costly mistakes most shoppers make — stretching loan terms too far, blindly adding extras and skipping critical research before getting to the lot.
And he explains how to avoid them. Failing to do those things can mean spending $5,000 to $15,000 more than you need to.
Russell Richardson, a veteran car salesman turned TikTok phenom, told DailyMail.com that car pricing is partially a consumer-driven problem
He’s spun his content into a business, where he helps nationwide dealerships find their social media voices.
Today, he’s one of the most visible automotive creators online, with more than 700,000 TikTok followers drawn to his dealership skits and sharp-edged advice.
His refreshing mix of hard truths and humor has helped some drivers save thousands — and sparked backlash from others.
Still, Richardson didn’t hold back in his conversation with DailyMail.com.
‘Everybody is partaking in creating the problem,’ he said. ‘No car dealership in recent history has ever knocked you out, signed your paperwork, and threw you the car.’
He laid out three common consumer mistakes that, he argues, are helping fuel America’s broken car market:
Financing past 60 months
Richardson says one of the worst moves buyers make is stretching their loans beyond five years.
‘You can’t afford it,’ he said.
Car prices across the US have bloated over $49,000 in 2025 – the average American spends over $700 a month on new vehicles
Richardson quit his job at a dealership to teach other salesmen how to use social media for their car sales
Longer loan terms will typically slash monthly payments by a couple hundred dollars.
A 60-month loan term for a $50,000 car will typically cost around $755 per month, while a 72-month loan will clash the monthly rate to $644.
But the extended, smaller payments are often a tool used for customers who are stretching their budgets too thin.
In the long term, customers will pay an additional $1,500 on interest payments alone.
While the contracts initially look like they’re saving consumers each month, Richardson says that six and seven year contracts are short-sighted.
Customers often do not know what vehicle needs they will have seven years in the future.
He used the example of a recent buyer: a 20-year-old who drove off the lot in a Ford Mustang.
While the two-door coupe with a cramped back seat might look cool to the new owner’s peers, Richardson warned the seven-year contract might be prohibitive if they eventually need a family hauler at 27.
Still, he acknowledges that ultra-low APR deals and interest rates from manufacturers can change the math.
‘It’s the consumer’s fault for committing to it, it’s the banks fault for offering it, and the car company’s fault for building it,’ he said.
Consider the base model
Forget the panoramic roof, the quilted leather seats, and the twenty-speaker audio system.
Richardson says many buyers are hypnotized by extras — and it’s blowing up their budgets.
Richardson said drivers should consider base trims and forgo luxury options like power seats, sunroofs, and heads-up displays
Richardson says his bare bones Ford Maverick pickup truck doesn’t have many bells and whistles
‘People say they want these cheap, stripped-down, basic commuter cars,’ he said. ‘But nobody goes and actually buys them.’
Richardson owns a Ford Maverick pickup truck, the cheapest in the company’s lineup. He claimed his car has manual cloth seats and no sunroof.
‘It only has Apple CarPlay,’ he said.
Richardson calls it a symbol of financial discipline. He said he could afford to pay it off ten times over without financing.
Base Maverick trucks cost just under $30,000, but higher level trims with bigger wheels, increased power, more paint colors, and power windows can fetch $44,000.
Do your research
In America, there is a car for nearly every driver, including gas, hybrid, plug-in, and electric powertrains.
Almost every vehicle has a good argument for buyers (though Richardson couldn’t resist a jab at EVs, citing their steeper depreciation.)
He said shoppers should do their homework before reaching dealership lots, including knowing a vehicle’s trim levels, feature packages, and competitors.
Still, he believes one principle should always hold: control.
‘You made that decision, whether you felt pressure to or not,’ he said. ‘You have the right to walk away and say no.’
