California woman who won car on The Price Is Right says she had to make dealership decision when it came to claiming her prize
Published on Feb 21, 2026 at 6:12 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Feb 19, 2026 at 9:01 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
A California woman who won a car on The Price Is Right has revealed that she had to make a call at the dealership when it came to claiming her prize.
Tami Lewis’ daughter appeared on the Middle School edition of the show back in 2020, securing a trip to London and a Mazda 3.
After the show aired, the family was contacted by a dealership in North Hollywood.
The family now had a decision to make about what car they wanted.
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What happened when this family won a car on The Price Is Right?
Over on Quora, someone asked about The Price Is Right, which has been on TV since 1972.
They wrote: “In the TV game show, The Price is Right, if a car is the prize & the winner does not want that particular model, can the winner choose the model that she wants from the dealership?”
One woman, Tami C. Lewis, came forward with an answer.
Tami’s daughter appeared on the Middle School edition of the iconic TV show back in January 2020, winning a trip to London and a Mazda 3.
If you’d watched the show on TV, you may have assumed they received their prize right after the camera stopped rolling – but it wasn’t that straightforward.
After the show aired on TV, a dealership in North Hollywood reached out to the family to clarify what they wanted regarding the vehicle.
The family was told they could have anything on the lot that was the equivalent price to the Mazda 3 – so around $23,000.
If they wanted to upgrade, they would have to pay the difference.
Tami revealed that they paid taxes on the car upfront, which came to less than $2,000.
Ultimately, the car they opted for was a white Mazda 3, so on a slight deviation from the black one that she’d won on the show.
However, Tami’s daughter has had to wait a long while before she can drive it.
“She won it when she was 13. She still can’t even drive it. It’s sitting in our garage. She’ll be 16 this year,” Tami revealed.
Given that this post was written in 2023, Tami’s daughter will be around 18 or 19 years old now.
Hopefully, she’s enjoying the Mazda 3 that she worked hard for.
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Behind the veil of TV’s most iconic shows
When you spend so many years watching TV shows, you’ll undoubtedly be curious about how some things work behind the scenes.
Take Pimp My Ride as a classic example of that.
In recent years, more and more people have come forward to share their experiences of their time on the show – whether they be a production staffer, a contestant, or the host.
And there’s The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran between 1986 and 2011.
This show was a hub of life advice and celebrity exclusives, but let’s face it – the most memorable moment is probably when Winfrey gave away free cars to her entire audience.
But that wasn’t all that it seemed on TV either, as the winners of the cars found out for themselves.
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Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
