A woman approached me a month ago asking for help about the Ford Escape her sister in law purchased from Ford Cainta. She was the one who applied for an auto financing on behalf of her sister in law but the vehicle would be paid for by her sister in law who is living and working in Australia.
She told me the agent suggested that she put in a big downpayment, P200,000 so she could be approved by the bank.
She got the loan and the vehicle but three months later, her sister in law incurred one month delays in sending her money to pay for the car’s monthly amortization. The deadline for payment is every 21st of the month but she is only able to send money on the 15th of the following month. So when she pays, it would be one month arrears already.
The vehicle was already three months overdue and more penalties, surcharges and interests were slapped by the bank. They were able to pool enough money for the 3 months amortization, but the bank didn’t want to accept their payments.
I had her financing records checked but unfortunately, we didn’t help her processes the auto loan. She went directly to her bank, and we were only issued a purchase order by the bank. We didn’t have any of her financing documents. We didn’t know the terms. We just processed the release of her vehicle.
Naawa ako sa kanya but I couldn’t help her. I advised her to sell the vehicle because they clearly couldn’t afford to pay for it. I told her it’s easy to buy another one when their finances get better. She started blaming the agent for convincing her to give a high down payment. I explained to her that the agent did nothing wrong. The P200,000 down went to the cost of the vehicle and the auto loan she is paying with the bank is net of that amount. She didn’t lose it. Hindi sya niloko.
Ford Escape and all other vehicles, have sales promo, once in a while. Uso ngayon sa lahat ng mga kotse, we see Low Down, Low Monthly. Most of this are bank promos, sometimes, manufacturer’s promo.
Before buying, it’s good to understand what you are paying for. Legitimate car dealers will not embark on a scheme to make buyers pay a higher down if it’s not necessary. Banks require a higher down payment from buyers who they think have a higher percentage of defaulting or those who have not been able to demonstrate capacity to pay.
