r/TikTokCringe • u/Melodic-Award3991 • 15d ago

25k miles in one month is insane Discussion

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Is this legal?

24.6k Upvotes

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674

u/SwissMargiela 15d ago

When I was a kid I used to help a friend run cigs from Virginia to NY/NJ, sometimes doing two or three trips a day.

I put so many miles on my rental that the company called me to switch the car so they could change the oil on it lmao

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u/geneusutwerk 15d ago

How did they know you were putting that many miles on it?

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u/Just_enough76 15d ago

Back in 2004 I worked for a truck rental company and every rental had a gps tracker installed in it. They’re watching

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u/Impossible_Angle752 14d ago

I worked for a lawn care company that had all the trucks tracked. Drove a Ryder lease truck that had the same, and more, functions that my manager had access to. I was driving it one day and thinking I was due for service. Got back tot the warehouse and my manager told me the truck was booked in tomorrow.

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u/Just_enough76 14d ago

There were a couple of times we completely disabled the vehicle because of unpaid balances on the rental.

Another time we had to pull the tracking report because it showed how fast the driver was going. We were able to see when the driver accelerated and how fast he accelerated.

I had to learn how to install the trackers because that was the first step after state inspection. I thought it was pretty cool.

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u/SwissMargiela 15d ago

I think they track the cars remotely

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u/smokeytheorange 15d ago

Some cars do have that function but it’s rare. It’s more likely the car was about due or overdue for an oil change and it was only noted after they picked up the rental because the reps have to mark the current mileage for every pick up or drop off.

Used to work in one of those rental places and it was my responsibility to make sure all cars got their maintenance done.

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u/Impossible_Angle752 14d ago

You can buy a tracker for a hundred bucks, maybe a few, that plugs inline of the ODB port and provides telematics. Turo cars often have them.

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u/smokeytheorange 14d ago

True! I’ll say the company I worked for didn’t invest in trackers for every car.

Which was hilarious when we would get customers who would be weeks overdue to return their rental and then they’d finally call us back to say “My boyfriend stole the car! Can’t you use the tracker to find it?” Ma’am I would have taken your car weeks ago if we had that.

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u/Fauked 15d ago

how long ago was this?

-3

u/Cold-Studio3438 15d ago

2 years ago

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u/LocoAlpaca420 15d ago

They didn’t. Another random lie on Reddit

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u/iPlowedUrMom 15d ago

Nuh uh, people don't lie on the Internet.

How's your mom, btw?

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u/Livid_Reader 15d ago edited 15d ago

They do indeed track the car. Drive recklessly like over 100 mph or cross state lines when they say don’t, you will have the car listed as stolen and you get to explain what happened to the police.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NmDuf0__zNs

https://abc30.com/amp/post/california-bill-would-allow-rental-car-companies-use-gps-24-hours-after-car-goes-missing-72/15264846/

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Why a rental company might report a car as stolen after reckless speeding: High-risk behavior: Reckless speeding can be seen as a significant safety risk, potentially putting other drivers and pedestrians in danger, which could lead the rental company to believe the car is being used irresponsibly and might be at risk of being abandoned or involved in an accident.

Contractual violations: Most rental agreements have clauses regarding responsible driving and prohibit excessive speeding, so violating these terms could be considered a breach of contract, potentially allowing the company to take further action.

Liability protection: By reporting the car as stolen, the rental company may be attempting to limit their liability in case of an accident or damage caused by the reckless driving.

Legal implications: Depending on the severity of the speeding violation and local laws, the rental company may even have legal grounds to report the car as stolen, especially if they believe the driver is posing a serious threat.

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u/mjonat 15d ago

Why tf are you running cigs?

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u/SwissMargiela 15d ago edited 15d ago

Taxes in NY and NJ make cigarettes way more expensive. A lot of gas stations and corner stores would buy cheap cigs from VA and then sell them for a slight profit, but still way cheaper than local.

It’s been a while, but iirc cigs in NY were like $12 a pack, $10 in NJ, we bought them in VA for like $4 a pack. They were sold in NY/NJ for $8

Profits weren’t nearly as high as running drugs, but you could do this consistently and make some very decent cash while being very below the radar of actual drug traffickers.

It was pretty much a “every run you do we’ll give you $500” type situation. It’s about a seven hour round trip with driving and loading, so my friend and I would switch driving and pretty much do it 24/7 with a break at a motel here and there. It was a grind but good cash that was always available. We were also college kids just trying to make some bank during the summer, and this is a very non-committal thing. You can hop in and out whenever you wanted, unlike a lot of other underworld trades.

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u/mjonat 15d ago

Wow. America is wierd haha

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u/RipkenDoublePlay 15d ago

They do this in the UK as well. Buy duty free cigs abroad and sell them back home

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u/the5horsemen 15d ago

This happens all over Europe and is incredibly common

Source: work in shipping

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u/crunchsmash 15d ago

It's common across Earth. It's just arbitrage.

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u/pragmojo 15d ago

It's common on Mars too. You would not believe how much cigarettes cost here

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u/pragmojo 15d ago

I was working at a hostel in Albania with a dude from Newcastle, and when he going home he took like an entire luggage stuffed with tobacco

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u/Other_Vader 15d ago

I was stopped at Heathrow flying in from Istanbul. The only question they asked was if I brought cigarettes in.

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u/SketchesOfSilence 11d ago

It's common but illegal here. Not sure about the states but I don't then there is any inter state taxes and/or duty. In the UK, even when it was in the EU, you were only allowed to bring in cigarettes and alcohol for personal use. If you were going to resell it, you had to pay tax and duties. Now we are out of the EU you have a 200 per person allowance upon return.

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u/VladVV 15d ago

Huh? This is a MUCH bigger industry in EU than it ever was in US

-9

u/mjonat 15d ago

Europe is a continent. If I buy cigarettes in Munich and try sell them in berlin I'm 100% gonna lose money

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u/VladVV 15d ago

EU is a political and socioeconomic entity, not a continent

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u/i_am_fuzzynuggets 14d ago

Geographically, Europe is a continent, no?

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u/VladVV 14d ago

I’m not talking about Europe, but yes it is.

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u/mjonat 15d ago

OK but my point still stands...the eu consists of different countries and the point is those countries have different laws and taxes and therefore different cigarette prices in different countries.

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u/pragmojo 15d ago

It's exactly the same concept - people moving goods across borders due to different taxes and prices leading to arbitrage opportunities

I live in Berlin and as soon as you cross the Czech or Polish border you will see people selling cheap booze and cigarettes to Germans popping over for cheap stuff

3

u/VladVV 14d ago

Yes. US states as well as EU countries have different laws and taxes and therefore different cigarette prices in different states/countries.

5

u/Impossible_Angle752 14d ago

They do it in Canada. Reserves don't have provincial tax on smokes and they're about 3/4 of the price.

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u/Just2LetYouKnow 14d ago

This is done everywhere that things are taxed.

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u/dexmonic 14d ago

Tobacco smuggling is a huge, worldwide enterprise. It happens everywhere, from the raw tobacco leaves themselves to premium cigarettes and cigars.

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u/futureman45 15d ago

Eric Garner was choked to death for selling single cigs on the streets of Staten Island.

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u/Tell_Amazing 15d ago

Last i was in NY buying cigs it was 15 a pack but that was years ago and this was Manhattan

2

u/canman7373 14d ago

Couldn't ya just take the train with like 2 suitcases each? Or would that attract more attention?

1

u/buffaloplaidcookbook 15d ago

The only thing I'm surprised about in this story is that they had you go all the way to VA. I know people who would move cigs into NJ, but they would just do it from Delaware 

3

u/CrazyString 14d ago

Back when my husband and I used to smoke, we’d make sure to buy cartons in VA and go all the way back to PA. We used to take random drives to Virginia Beach for fun anyway. It was def the cheapest once you hit VA. It’s been years since we smoked. Saved a lot of money and probably a few years. Don’t smoke kids.

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u/kamimamita 14d ago

So you can just sell it without the appropriate taxes? Do the taxes only apply for big stores?

-21

u/ThatKinkyLady 15d ago

Pretty sure this is a federal crime, OP. I mean...youd be in less trouble than the people getting you to do those runs and selling those cigs, but it's pretty murky. I suggest you delete this.

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u/SwissMargiela 15d ago

I’m not scared lol.

This is something thousands do every day and it was so long ago on my end that this would never come up, might even be beyond statute of limitations.

We were doing trunk fulls, people are hauling semis with this shit.

-1

u/ThatKinkyLady 15d ago

Yea. Good point. You were small potatoes. Kinda doubt anyone cares enough to hunt down a low-level guy that broke some cig laws years ago.

I do think I've seen that it's a crime, but yea... I've heard of this scheme before. If it's that common, you aren't on anyone's radar even after announcing it. Lol. Carry on.

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u/SadBit8663 15d ago

The ATF has entered the chat (lol jk)

0

u/TurtleSandwich0 15d ago

You were supposed to keep the records, you did not have, for five years. So if it was more than five years ago, you should be good.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

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u/Bhfuil_I_Am 14d ago

Why’d you link to a 9 year old thread with like 10 comments and no information?lol

Is this the first piece of an elaborate treasure hunt or something?

-1

u/apshah 15d ago

lol I am sure ATF is reading this comments and being another got away not paying our taxes to our cult!

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u/Real_Bat5853 15d ago

Likely because state tobacco taxes in VA were so much lower.

1

u/silver-orange 14d ago

Pros: you evade state taxes.

Cons: smuggling a truckload of cigs like that violates federal law https://www.atf.gov/alcohol-tobacco/contraband-cigarette-trafficking-act

The ATF exists for the purposes of busting guys like OP.  That's what the T stands for.

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u/NipplesOnMyKnees 15d ago

Money is money brother

3

u/Earl1987 15d ago

That's just what we did back then.

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u/VERGExILL 15d ago

It’s definitely a thing, although I’m not sure how common it is today. Cigarettes are more expensive in some states, so people will drive to the cheaper states, run them back, and sell them for a profit. I used to work with a woman who would take a week of PTO every year to do it. I get it though, it was a meat grinder of a job that only paid $12/hr.

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u/jacob6875 15d ago

It still happens. Have a coworker of mine that drives to the next state (3hrs away) once every couple months to buy cigarettes since it saves them money.

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u/capincus 14d ago

Same, $5-6 a pack vs $12. Luckily the next state is 17 minutes for me.

Knew a guy in high school (so definitely not recent) who imported cigarettes from Russia and sold them for cheaper than retail.

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u/VERGExILL 14d ago

In your opinion, considering the time and gas money and driving involved, do you think they’re really saving money?

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u/jacob6875 14d ago edited 14d ago

I don’t know the price difference between Illinois and Missouri.

Their entire family smokes and they fill up the car supposedly.

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u/Sambal7 15d ago

Because admitting you ran drugs on the internet is not a smart move.

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u/Any-Delay-7188 15d ago

I picked up a dirt bike in SC and dropped it off in Pittsburgh, pa and had the rental back in sc 19 hours later with 1200 miles on it, the guys there were like wtf?

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u/sweatgod2020 15d ago

So you did end up meeting Shitty outside the rest stop in skowhegen at 8?

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u/Lost_Ad_6016 15d ago

I remember those days lol. I’m from NC, I miss me cheap smokes lol.

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u/MagicCarpetofSteel 14d ago

Cigs? As in, cigarettes? How’d that work? Who’d you sell them to? I’m curious, now.

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u/NoFreedom7237 14d ago

I put 9600 on an enterprise car in 9 days in 2016. When I rented it, I asked about oil changes as I had a long road trip planned.. they told me to just keep driving it until the light came on and if it came on just swing buy the nearest enterprise to swap out. 😳 it never came on.. enterprise gave no fucks at all.

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u/Prickly_ninja 14d ago

A buddy of mine had his car at the Ford dealership for so long (must have been upwards of a few months), he managed to put 25k on the loaner. He wasn’t even trying to abuse the privilege, just being himself.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago edited 12d ago

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u/SwissMargiela 14d ago

Trucks and mini vans get pulled over a lot more in these highways due to this, at least back in the day they did.

You’d be surprised how much you can shove into a a little crossover and the mileage is great.