You can finance a car. You can finance a house. You can finance a couch. But a down payment? That's the part you're supposed to show up with. A down payment is partly proof that you're ready and can make the financial commitment, and if you don’t have that it doesn’t instill much faith.
Getting into a car loan without a down payment means you’re starting underwater, and lenders know it. That’s what one salesman says recently happened to him.
Car salesman Shauon (@shauonsellscars) recounts the exchange with the kind of exhausted brevity that only comes from doing this long enough to know when a deal isn't going anywhere.
"Customer just asked me if she could finance her down payment. I said, ‘Have a nice day. You got it, champ,’” he recalls in a tikTok about the experience.
Shauon probably knew from experience that if someone needs to borrow their down payment, they might not be the best candidate for a car loan.
