[Banshee]

Your best bet is to shop online for rates. I mixed it up myself..3 banks and 3 credit unions. Banks will typically be higher in interest rates though.

It's not just about the down payment. Sure you can have a hefty down payment as "assurance" or "collateral" but each individual lending institution has their own mandates and guidelines.

Example...

In May, I went rate and lender shopping..I had 13k to put down on the Camaro plus knew I was getting the GMS discount. That right there is 16.5k on a 38k Camaro.

I make 55k a year base salary plus OT which over the past 7 years is averages to roughly 88-89k. My house payment $1290, Harley $412 Credit card balances $2600 with a $39k limit. Thats all I owe. Credit history 19 years, FICO score 801, not a blemish on my credit. I was denied a loan for the Camaro and a refi on the Harley by 3 of 6 institutions.

Reason?

Those institution who denied me could only use my base salary and not my OT for the loan. I argued with all three and stated I could provide 7 years of W-2's that show I make 35-40% more than my base every year. I even went as high as the regional manager with Credit Union One arguing my position...No luck. I went with PenFed. 3.99 on the Camaro and 4.9 on the Harley no questions asked.

So..

Even if you have a high down payment to assure collateral, there are many other lender specific criteria one must meet other than a huge down payment. Lending is NOT as loose as it once was. Those that have high credit may not understand this as it usually doesn't affect us. It affect(ed) people with FICO scores between 675 and 750 which were considered medium to low risk 5 years ago, but been reevaluated since all this credit spiral evolved.

Off my soapbox.