“Listen, you’re in the Bronx,” the seller tells his buyer. “I know some dealership there will get you into whatever car you want.” Yusuf Benallal is a used car dealer and entrepreneur operating out of Miami, Florida. His customer wants to get into a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C300, but the numbers aren’t adding up. And it all started with the buyer saying he had a credit score of 670.

An interesting Mercedes C300 loan application

Before the call, the buyer filled out a credit application to finance the Mercedes sedan. He told Benallal that he carried a 670 score. So, the car dealer submitted the app to a range of companies, including Westlake, OneMain, Exeter, and others.

The thing is, after actually pulling the customer’s credit report, “You don’t have a 670 credit score. You have a 559,” he tells the client.

To add to the picture, the caller said he has just $1,000 cash to put down.

The banks aren’t happy

With a credit score below 600, a low down payment, and a luxury Mercedes on the line, the loan companies served up a reality check.

Sure, they all came back offering financing. It’s just that the interest is set between 29 and 30%.

This is what’s so confusing

The car dealer doesn’t understand how the client’s credit score is so much lower than what they insist.

See, the caller says he’s never financed a car before. Therefore, no late car payments or repossessions. So, are there any other types of late payments on his record?

No, the client claims.

Hm.

What could be going on, then? MotorBiscuit reached out to Benallal for comment. He said that some drivers might check one credit score source, and it won’t actually match another when they’re applying for vehicle financing.

“Your credit score isn’t always the same when looking at Credit Karma versus your bank application,” he explained. “There are different tiers and different scores for different types of loans.”

In the end, Benallal can’t quite identify the reason for the customer’s credit discrepancy over the phone.

Instead of making the sale, he tells the buyer that one thing’s for sure: he isn’t going to sell the customer this Mercedes today

The truth is, the salesman explains, the caller doesn’t have enough cash down. It’ll take $6,500 to drive it home.

And anyway, the payment alone would cap at around $900 a month. Next, the buyer lives in the Bronx, where car insurance is considered astronomical. Benallal estimates the caller would end up with a $1,200 monthly expense.

That doesn’t even include fuel, maintenance, and unexpected repairs on the Mercedes.

While the dealer tells the customer that he’s sure someone would do a deal just like this with him, the guy’s better off settling on a less expensive, more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Thankfully, the caller agrees. And he’s in luck, because…

The salesman is also a car loan educator and financial literacy advocate

The caller explains that he’s not totally set on the Mercedes, which the car dealer reiterated to MotorBiscuit.

“The main problem was this person needed to have reliable transportation to drive from New York City to upstate New York and wanted a luxury vehicle,” he wrote in a statement. “Which, in most cases, is understandable. We all want nice things, but if the budget and credit score don’t allow, we have to reduce our expectations.”

In other words, he encourages customers who show up without a strong financial profile to choose something they can “for sure count on” while they rebuild their credit score. We’re looking at you, Toyota Camry.

Benallal also said that first-time buyers, like the one interested in the Mercedes, or people with little credit usually get stuck with high interest rates.

For the record, in 2025, a rate under 7% is considered “average” for a new car loan, per Experian. It’s more like 12% on used cards.

Again, the caller above was slapped with a near-30% rate proposal.

The car dealer told MotorBiscuit that folks can lower car loan rates by getting preapproved through a credit union or using a cosigner. Before shopping, they should review their finances. Luxury cars require a steady, high income. For better reliability and fewer problems, a cheap, efficient car is the smarter move.

“We all want nice cars. We all want luxury cars, but it comes at a price, and that price is only paid when people have strong financial grounding, he said. “So if you can afford it, then get it. But if you have to question yourself or have to try to borrow from Peter to pay Paul, then it is best to get into a tier below and work your way up.”