Close friend has negotiated a good sign and drive lease on a full size Range Rover. Dealership is now apparently being told by Chase that because it is his first vehicle, he must put a huge down payment (~20k). Everyone agrees his credit score is excellent, significant assets and income, etc. but he is being told that Chase simply will not allow a first time car buyer to do a sign and drive on “such an expensive vehicle.”
Has anyone heard of this before? Seems silly.
He has nonexistent vehicle credit history. Isn’t surprising.
It’s not entirely unheard of. I would imagine in the case of a Range Rover that Chase/Land Rover probably does something like that to weed out potential foreign exporters as well.
Yes. He’s driving around in 50-100k of THEIR collateral with no prior auto history.
That probably wouldn’t matter because they couldn’t export it without buying the car out and clearing the title. But not out of the question.
Leasing is more risky for the lender and therefore they require well established automotive credit history and income in order to be willing to take that risk. Not surprising at all, especially on a high dollar vehicle.
I’m sure he’d have no problem if this were lower priced vehicle.
Thanks everyone for the quick reply. Obviously the bank can ask for whatever it wants but it seems very arbitrary - they told him they are OK with a sign and drive up to a 100k vehicle . . .
Finance manager says he tried to argue with Chase that it made no sense (do they want to sell Velars or full sizes lol), but ultimately there’s little he can do . . .
Issue with a large down payment is he will be SOL if there’s a total loss on a lease.
Goin from ghost level credit profile in msrp to big boy, you’re going to need it. Not happening elsewise.
I wouldn’t say it’s arbitrary, I would say it’s completely individualized based on their risk tolerance for whom they want to rent their property to. If they have never financed or leased anything, and the first thing they want is $100,000 range rover, unfortunately it’s pay to play. I’ve had three different Chase leases for two different brands, and they seem to be one of the more particular captive lenders.
I believe US Bank also does some range rover leases, not necessarily at every dealer. They may have different stipulations than Chase if your friend is set on that car, but now it’s a lending scavenger hunt.
Just like Chase, he needs to do a risk assessment, if he wants to drive a 100k+ vehicle…then is he open to assume that risk
Look, Ed Bolian, former sales manager at Lamborghini Motor cars Atlanta put it best.
Risk can be offset by large downpay (loan or lease), co-signer with better profile and history, or higher apr / them not buying it.
Take your friend, no credit, first time buyer, could make 7 figures afaik, and 750 credit, but hasn’t been trusted with 100k assets other than a house (which is a different story, these don’t depreciate or get stolen).
You can work your way up, buying a 50k car, few months of payments, then paying it off is one example to allow you to expand your automotive specific profile, the increasing jumps each bank allows differs. Orrrr just pay the downpay, or buy a different car with different bank.
The “my friend wants an RR” threads have really become extra now.
It started with deal checks for people who weren’t motivated enough to save money to lift a single finger.
Now this.
Yep, pretty much this.
If he has such significant assets and income, I assume the 20k will be no big deal, right? What better way to start building your auto-credit history than with a 100k+ car.
Does Chase/Land Rover offer security deposits? Is it possible for them to accept them as a portion of, if not all of the amount they are requesting? At least then some of the upfront costs would be protected.
No. Chase does not do MSDs for any brand they are the captive. And the particular callback is not about payment risk, it’s about collateral risk.
What @jeisensc said, if he can’t get approved with one dealer, it’s not the dealer or writer, I’m saying it’s him.