HELP! Dilema!!!
 

need help asap. What the story is my dealer finally got my RX-8 in today and they are going through inspection. They told me I have 24hrs to come up with the money or they will sell to someone else...my question is... how much do I need to put down in order to drive off with the rx-8 ? is it dependent on my credit score? I am financing a co-sign with my father so financing is not a problem, only problem is coming up with enough money to get the car by tomorrow! I have a $31,238 msrp. with tax, license, its $34438.

any suggestions or tell me what you did?! thanks!

I'm not sure how to answer this but to say that there might be a minimum down payment; however, if this is the case, I'm not sure how much it would be - maybe a few thousand.

From the way you worded it, it sounded like they wanted ALL of the $$ -sort of like they are shaking you down.

I don't understand why they are giving you an ultimatium if you're a pre-oder cust and already have a deposit down on the car.

Um.....they have all of your data. Shouldn't they be telling you how much they require for down payment? They shouldn't be making you guess. If you're not financing through the dealer then they have nothing to worry about because you'll be purchasing from them as if it's a cash sale since your finance company will issue you a check. In addition, since your dad is co-signing the loan, his credit record should be a factor in how easy it'd be for you to get financing.

Basically, without the whole story, something sounds shady with this dealer.

Congrats (I hope). Are you buying from Irvine Mazda?

I think you can put down anything you want. Generally speaking the less you put down the more money the financiers make through extra interest payments, so they shouldn't object to a small down payment. I don't see a requirement for a minimum down payment, especially if your dad has good credit and a house, cause they'll just go after him if you don't pay.

I was going to make a big down payment, but my credit union was giving me 2.9% financing, which is almost like giving the money away, so I changed plans and went with a small down payment (~$5000). When I arranged the deal with my credit union they never asked me how much I was going to pay down, so I think I could have financed the whole thing with no or almost no down payment. Maybe the dealer will operate the same way.

As far as the finance rate the dealer will give you, it is based (I believe) on your credit rating. Since your dad is cosigner, maybe his credit rating will have a greater influence than yours...I'm not sure how that works.

You could also look into financing the car through your dad's bank or credit union...at least know what his bank can do and use that to bargain with the dealer. If the dealer makes a better offer than your or your dad's bank, call the bank and see if they can do better than their first offer. Play them off each other, just don't be a jerk with them...if you're honest with them they should treat you equally (or am I being naive?). When I picked up my car I told the dealer's finance rep what my credit union's rate was and they said there was no way they could match that...they dind't try to be coy or bs me they just said "wow, we can't beat that, here's what you need to drive away."

You don't need the bank's paper work on the day you pick up the car, but you have to tell the dealer's finance dept whether you're going to go with their plan or use someone else. If you use someone else you have to get that paperwork to the dealer within 5 days (at least that's the way my deal with Irvine was). I brought my credit union's paperwork in three days after I picked up the car.

Sounds like the dealer is trying to light a fire under you. They are paying interest on the vehicle as it sits there. They probably don't understand why you haven't already arranged financing if you preordered the vehicle. If you are young and haven't established a credit score on your own that would qualify you for a $30,000 loan and they haven't talked to your father about financing yet, that would give any dealer concern about delivering a vehicle. For example, a few years ago, we had a young man come in that was going to UT and said his father was cosigning for him so he could buy a Miata. He had all his dad's credit info etc, so we signed him up and Fed Ex'd the paperwork to his dad. Dad said he didn't know anything about it and wasn't about to buy a car for his deadbeat son. So, a month and 3000 miles later, we finally get the car back. Stupidity on our part, but it taught us a lesson.