Purchasing a car in malaysia

My insight is that if you buy new from a dealer, for example, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Honda etc, then the car dealer will arrange the loan for you with a bank offering the best rates. When I bought my car the loan was with Hong Leong Bank.

Hi there,

What about the deposit? I’ve been told it’s a flat 30% for any car if you’re not local but used car dealers have been giving me percentages such as 10,15,20 and 30 percent.

Sorry I cannot remember how much deposit I paid, that was back in 2008 that I bought the car.

For new cars the banks will be firm on high percentages for foreigners but for secondhand there is more flexibility. But there is no hard published rate for anything because each lender has their own programs and that includes the dealers acting as lenders themselves. Too, the more you put down, the lower the interest rate you can negotiate.  If you have a good relationship with your own bank, go talk to them about what they can do. Otherwise, if you want a Honda from a certain dealer then you are stuck with whatever loan programs that particular place has to offer. In all cases, what a lender wants to see is that the foreigner has a good job with a branded company. If you are a manager at Intel or Petronas, that carries weight. If you are a tourist, forget it. First find the car you want and then sit down and they will come up with some workable idea for you. We are not lenders here and cant say whats the best route because we dont even know your situation or proposed loan amount or creditworthiness level or anything. But what you call "inconsistencies" are simply the different loan products offered by different lenders. Some are friendly to foreigners and want their business and others dont like foreigners at all. A foreigner I knew had to put 50% down payment because the lender didnt want the business and tried to discourage them. The higher up your employment status the better the loan deal, even possibly no down payment at all. If you are on a solid contract with Petronas at super high salary, I will make you the loan myself at zero down. Forget looking online, pick the car you want and then you must go into the dealers and haggle for prices, loans, etc.