A Wisconsin car dealership has fired a salesman who ran an ironic TikTok account about his career. The specific video in question was a “brag” about overcharging a single mom. It didn’t sit well with some viewers and made it to the non-sarcastic side of the algorithm. After all, this is when the car-buying experience is already fraught with record-breaking prices, lingering pandemic-era skepticism, and a general lack of humor about dealerships.

The video, posted by a user who goes by @kennysellsss, used the trending “you look happier” meme and added the caption: “Thanks I just sold a single mom a car $10,000 over sticker.” The internet noticed.

I’ll share a stitch (aka response TikTok) to the original video here, posted by @namelessghoul703 :

The dealership, Zeigler Honda of Racine, responded swiftly, cutting ties and saying the video misrepresented their sales practices

The Honda seller insisted his actions didn’t reflect the company’s values.

That might be true, but the damage was done.

The original video racked up hundreds of thousands of views

Many viewers didn’t care that it was supposed to be satire. Some said they contacted the dealership.

“What’s crazy is he could have just said “I sold a car for $10k over sticker” and probably most people wouldn’t have batted an eye, but he really couldn’t stop his misogyny from showing,” one responded.

“My salesman and finance person did this and I had no idea. I reported them to the BBB and DMV for my state and the attorney general with proof of marking up without my knowledge. They got huge fines and I got my money back,” someone shared.

“You just know his child support is OVERDUE,” another posted.

“It’s not even the fact that there’s a chance that it’s real, it’s the fact that 100% tied into misogyny,” someone added.

In an apology video, the now-former salesman admitted the joke was insensitive

He said his content was never based on true events and that he’s a single parent himself.

Some commenters on the apology video accepted that it was a joke and even found it funny:

“I’m a single mom and I think it’s hilarious. People need to stop being so sensitive.”

Another added a life lesson of sorts:

“Kudos to you for taking accountability for your actions. I know we like to keep things entertaining in the car business but we also have to remember that as professionals we don’t only represent ourselves, but our dealership staff, owner, car brand and other professionals in our field of expertise. One careless post can reflect badly on an entire industry and make things harder for everyone to make a living and take care of their families. We need to know where to draw the line between entertainment and professionalism. Social media is a powerful tool that can elevate people to immense popularity but it also comes with intense scrutiny and you can go from the top to the bottom in a matter of minutes.”

Buying a car right now isn’t a lighthearted experience

In 2025, dealerships aren’t exactly America’s favorite institutions.

Post-Covid, many buyers still carry frustration over markups, limited inventory, and long waits for delivery. The chip shortage may have eased, but trust hasn’t fully recovered.

And according to CarEdge, the average price of a new vehicle is hovering around $48,000. 

Even used cars aren’t much better. Edmunds says prices average more than $30,000 in Q2 2025.

Monthly payments reflect that. Experian data from Q2 shows the average new car payment now tops $760, while used car payments average over $570.

All of this singes the nostrils quite a bit, no?

In that context, a joke about fleecing a single mom for $10,000 over MSRP is less “ha ha” and more “How dare you?”

Especially when it comes from someone who claims to know the financial strain firsthand.

The irony is hard to miss. A single dad jokes about exploiting single moms, while millions of drivers scrape together down payments and sign six-year loans just to get to work. No wonder some folks didn’t laugh.

As for @kennysellsss, he says he’s learned his lesson…still, he pinned a video almost berating his audience for not understanding his jokes. “You guys should know,” he starts, that he is “the physical embodiment of everything that you hate from car salespeople.”

The dealership’s made it clear they’ve learned something too: Viral content might get lots of eyeballs, but not all attention is positive.