The recent TikTok video posted by Big Brother 26 contestant Brooklyn Rivera, criticizing the $1,700 monthly lease fee for a 2026 Ford Expedition Platinum Max, went viral, raising questions about whether Americans can now afford to upgrade their cars.
According to Brooklyn’s video, she visited Ford dealerships to learn about the leasing fees for a new Ford Expedition Platinum Max over a 48-month term. Her reaction after hearing the salesman was quite shocking.
“Seventeen hundred dollars,” Brooklyn begins. “The same exact price that my four-bedroom, three-bath mortgage is, minus a couple of hundred dollars. What are they thinking?”
Brooklyn’s story states that when she worked for a dealership in her teens, she could easily negotiate car prices. However, the car’s current price left her frustrated.
“I said, ‘Sir Michael, I just want you to run some numbers ethically and tell me how much you can do it for,” says Brooklyns. Michael allegedly replied, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, no problem’ on a 48-month lease at $1,700. I laughed in the man’s face,” she continues.
Brooklyn feels as though she might have caught her off guard. “Maybe they didn’t think I could play ball,” she says. “You’re not gonna fool me once, fool me twice kind of thing. It’s just an absolute no for a Ford.”
Brooklyn adds that the price range for leasing the cars was $550 to $750 per month previously. She felt confident negotiating the deal, as she was capable.
“I’m a 35-year-old female who can walk into a dealership, test drive a vehicle, and ask for some lease numbers. How hard can it be?” She adds, “Boys do it, right?”
However, Brooklyns says that she may not have been right. “In this economy, maybe that is the going rate,” she continued. “I don’t know. I don’t know, man.” She says, “me and my 2018, that is paid off, we’re just not going anywhere.”
@mrsbrooklynrivera and baby, the credit is good! What do you meannnnnn $1700 a month!? #fyp #crashout #newcar
♬ original sound – Mrs Brooklyn Rivera
Based on industry data, Brooklyn might have been offered one of the higher quotes because, depending on the type of trim, the monthly lease for the same model starts at $1,100 to $1,300.
Higher MSRP prices driven by inflation, technological advancements, and high interest rates, coupled with adjusted residual values that have made leasing unattractive to customers, have led to price increases since 2019.
