Yusuf Benallal is a YouTuber-turned-car dealer (@ridewithyusufb) in Georgia who produces content based on financial advice he gives to customers. Sometimes he’ll take calls from viewers to get advice on what they should do to get out of a bad loan, or a faulty car, or help them get into a more affordable car through his dealership.

Starting 2025 off with a bang, Benallal published a call with a viewer who called and texted him multiple times for advice. As an 18-year-old high school graduate making minimum wage, she ended up buying a 2019 BMW 430i Grand Coupe at $25,000 with little money down and signed on to pay $800 (including insurance and interest) a month for 72 months with an interest rate of 26%.

“I just graduated from high school about a year ago and my mom wanted to move to Florida, and then I started working,” she continued. “It was a mistake getting [the BMW] obviously because they played me, but I’m about $13,000 flipped.”

The teen blamed her aunt and the dealership for her lack of understanding

While she acknowledged her financial predicament, she didn’t feel like it was her fault.

“To be honest, the dealership probably didn’t play you because you had to have seen the interest rate and the payment amount, right? So, this is a lesson for you: you have to care what these things cost and not depend on everybody else.”

She immediately tried to defend herself and her lack of understanding of her financial stance.

“I brought my aunt to the dealership and she was supposed to help me with everything, but she ended up leaving me at the dealership,” she told Yusuf. “It’s not really my fault I didn’t understand what any of that really meant.”

Yusuf explained her BMW, including insurance, took up nearly 1/2 of her monthly income.

“I’m not telling you this to call you out, I’m telling you this so next time you can plan all this out, because this car is costing you almost $1,000 a month – which is almost half of your income,” he said. “You’re paying half off your income on an expensive car that’s already giving you issues.”

Six months after she bought the BMW, it started having issues

She explained to Yusuf that she got a new job in New Jersey. However, before she set out to her new apartment in the Garden State, she started having issues with the cooling system. Her “trusted” mechanic didn’t fix her car but charged her $700, and now she feels stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“He basically didn’t do anything, and now I’m in a predicament,” she said. “Like, where do I get this car fixed, it already has 72,000 miles, and I’m paying $730 a month. So, my only option is to trade it in for a Honda Prologue.”

The teen explained the lease incentives made it especially attractive – but there was the matter of negative equity and the fact that she’d be paying over $1,000 to account for it.

“To get into a new car, you’re going to have to roll that [negative equity] into the new car,” he said. “You’re going to go from one headache to another. You’re going to be working to pay for your rent and your car.”

She seemed dead set on the Honda Prologue

Yusuf told her she needed to get into a cheaper car, like a used Honda or Toyota to keep her monthly payments low enough to save for a future car. With a bit of an attitude, she said she “can’t get approved for a cheaper car” because she was approved for the Honda Prologue.

The loan for the Prologue would cost her $899 for the payment, plus insurance and the negative equity factor, which would be more expensive than her BMW payment.

“Here’s my thing: You texted me multiple times, saying, ‘Hey call me, call me, call me,’ and you want to go from this BMW which is $800 a month to a lease which is $900 a month, so you’d be paying $1,100 a month because you make limited income… But you made a really big mistake buying a really expensive car without fully understanding how it will affect you down the line.”

He finished the call by saying she’s an adult and can make her own decisions, but he strongly advised her against it.

“Go and buy a $12,000 or $15,000 car, you can get approved for it, or try and refinance the BMW until you figure something out,” he said.

Viewers think she’s going to ignore his advice

Yusuf didn’t look too hopeful at the end of the call – and exactly none of his viewers thought his advice stuck.

“No wonder her aunt left her at the dealership, she doesn’t listen,” wrote a viewer. “She’s going to do her own thing.”

Another said his videos help them feel better about their finances.

“You know, whenever I feel that my finances are in a bad state, this channel reminds me that I’m doing alright,” they wrote.

Someone else said he’ll likely from hearing her again.

“Great advice, but I bet she’ll ignore it,” they said. “She will be calling you next year saying, ‘I got this 2009 Mercedes with 350,000 miles and an engine knock and I owe $41,000 at 27%.”