On April 20, by her own account, @cattastrophic777, who goes by Catt on TikTok, handed a car dealership “a big fat 30,000 dollar check” for a used Volkswagen she had test driven four days earlier. When she recorded a video on June 5, she said, “that vehicle is still not in my driveway.”

She tells it from her bathroom, hair still wet, working through her skincare while text on the screen reads, “i bought a vehicle 2 months ago and still don’t have it, am i crazy??” Everything below is her account. She does not name the dealership, and its side is not in the video.

“It’ll Be About a Week” Turned Into a Month of Phone Calls

Catt says she test drove the car on April 16, agreed to buy it, and that same day added it to her insurance and sent the dealership proof. The dealership told her the car needed “a little bit of work,” including a broken windshield, and had to go to Volkswagen for it. “I did not buy this vehicle from Volkswagen,” she says, calling that “the important part here.” The estimate she was given was about a week.

Midway through the following week she called for an update and says she was told Volkswagen had to order a part. Her answer: “No problem, keep me in the loop.”

A week later, with no call, she rang again: “It’s been two weeks. You told me it would be less than a week.” This time, she says, the explanation was that Volkswagen had ordered the wrong part and was waiting on another. She gave it one more week. By the one month mark, she says, the only updates she had received were the ones she had phoned to ask for.

What the Volkswagen Service Desk Told Her

So she drove to Volkswagen herself. An employee looked her up in the system and, according to Catt, said, “Your appointment is scheduled for next week.”

She repeated what she had been told about the part. She says he told her that was wrong: it was the busy season, and Volkswagen had told the dealership at the start that it could not get to the car for a month. “So you’re telling me they have known for a month that next week is when my appointment is,” she remembers asking. His reply: “Yes ma’am.”

She went straight to the dealership and asked for the manager. She says staff denied lying and told her, “We’re not in the business of tearing down other dealerships.” Her response: “At this point one of you is lying to me.”

With “sry if this is confusing lol” on the screen, she adds a step she had skipped. After that visit, she says, her original contact phoned to say he would collect the car that day, a Friday, and call her to come and get it. He did not call on Friday or on Monday. On Tuesday she rang and said she would only deal with the manager, who told her he would go to Volkswagen in person. Of him and the second employee who took over, she says, “They’ve been great.”

Four Days With the Car, Then a Loaner

The call to pick up the car came, and she says she left with one line for the staff: “I regret getting a warranty here because I never want to deal with you ever again.”

Then she drove it. According to her video, the alignment is off, there is “a squeaking and a clunking sound” when she brakes, and at a certain speed a vibration comes through her feet, her seat and the steering wheel. She says it is in worse condition than the car she traded in, which was eight years old with 200,000 kilometers on it.

After four days she went back. The answer she says she got: “Easy fix. We’ll give you a loaner for the day. You’ll be in and out in a day.” She dropped the car off and told them, “Based on my experience here, I don’t believe you.” Twenty four hours later, she says, the dealership called to say she would be driving the loaner “at least through the weekend.” Her last line: “I just want to be excited about my new car.”

If You Pay for a Car That Has to Go to Another Shop First

Ask for the appointment date before you hand over the check. In Catt’s account, a service employee found the date in seconds. If the seller says the car is going elsewhere for work, ask which shop, what work, and what date that shop has booked. Have the repairs and the promised delivery date written on the purchase paperwork.

Call the shop doing the work, not only the seller. One visit to the service desk told her what a month of calls had not. Ask three things: is the car physically there, when is the appointment, and is any part on order.

Put every phone promise in writing the same day. The one week estimate, the part on order and the Friday pickup were all said over the phone. A short text or email after each call (“Confirming you said the car will be ready Friday”) gives each promise a date.

Drive it before you sign for delivery. Each problem she lists shows up on a short drive. Brake firmly from low speed with the radio off and listen for squeaks or clunks. On a straight road, see whether the car pulls. At highway speed, feel for vibration in the wheel, the seat and the floor. Write anything wrong on the delivery paperwork before you leave.

Treat the loaner the same way. “In and out in a day” became the weekend within 24 hours. Get the expected return date in writing, and when your own car comes back, ask for the repair order showing what was found and what was done.