I understood when I accepted this job that I would be selling used cars in an "underserved area" in a "subprime market sector." What I didn't understand was exactly what that meant. I was warned, as I was getting hot in my interviews, that my dealership was the exception, even among The Company nationwide. The Company has taken great pride in being a groundbreaker in the industry, being the first to pioneer online sales and make the application and info gathering process seamless. (You may have heard about a certain new-age car dealership that The Company pioneered before it went public. It rhymes with Shawarma.) Turns out, very few of our customers take advantage. Most of our apps-to-sales pipeline is people who walk in off the street and say "I want a car."
Those who have purchased a vehicle, especially with financing provided by the dealer, know that the process is archaic, shadowy, and contingent on the financing provider (in my case, the entity I will henceforth refer to as "The Corporation" that owns The Company). I have learned that buying a used car is a matter of proving one's purchasing power. The Company cares about selling cars. The Corporation cares that the loans it provides to allow those purchases turn profit. I am not selling to people who show up with $20,000 cash in hand, almost no one has more than $500 for a down payment. Even fewer have the provable income to get that down payment offer. It turns out, a difference of just a few hundred dollars income per month can make the difference between no down payment and a $2000 down payment. That's how it goes in the world of the working poor. More up front, as security.
Two things stand out to me right out of the gate, though: how many people "just started a job" and how many people have alternative income. I'd thought the first could be explained by covid recovery; all those temporary unemployed, returning to work, looking to buy a cheap car! Wonderful! The truth, however, is not that simple. Many are people who work a series of jobs through temp agencies, never getting hired on, moving on and moving around every three months when the contracts are up. I don't mean this as a judgement on the people trying to buy a car from me. I don't know their stories beyond what I can glean from paystubs and bank statements. Keeping a job these days is hard with the death of the career.
It's a hard moral quandary when I have to turn away a single mother who comes in with her child and the grandmother, hoping a cosigner will be enough. But even with a $16/hr home care job and grandma's SSI, it's not enough to get below a $1000 down payment, even being on the hook for another $500 a month for 6 years. It feels predatory, but at least we have the gumption to say "you can't afford this." Our only alternative is to send them off to the less ethical dealership down the block, who will sell with no down payment at a 30% APR for eight years.
Good luck.