You've got bad credit and dealer after dealer is wanting money down. To buy a car with bad credit, with no money down, you need to know a few things.

First, there are only two reasons that a dealer would want a down payment...

The most common reason is because it adds profit to the sale. The other less common reason is because it's needed to lower the total amount financed for approval by the lender.  Trying to figure out which is the real motivation to pressuring you for cash is a little difficult so long as, you are depending on the dealer to get you approved.

Most people think that if they have bad credit, they have to use the financing offered through the car dealership. After all, the local bank won't give you a loan right? This is a common mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars in outrageous finance charges.

Let me fill you in on a little BIG secret...

Car dealerships mark up the price of the car. Everyone knows that. Did you know that they ALSO mark up the interest rate? Yes, they do. They submit your credit application to lenders. The lender responds with an offer. Let's say that they approve you for a rate of 9%. Guess what? The dealer, knowing that you know you have bad credit will try to convince you that you are approved at 12%. The 3% difference becomes nothing more than profit that the finance manager gets paid a commission on. Guess you pays for it... you. Your payments go up 10, 20, 30, 50 or even $100.00 per month simply because the dealership marked up the interest rate.

The truth is this. You can buy a car with bad credit with no down payment and also with lower interest rates by simply avoiding the dealer finance department altogether. If you know where to look and prearrange your financing (yes it's done everyday), then you can have the confidence to walk into a dealership, pick out the car of your choice based on the amount the finance company preapproves you for and had the dealer a check. This puts the power of negotiating price in your favor.