Some subprime borrowers have little money for a down payment. But you should do everything possible to scrape up the cash needed for a minimum down payment. Some dealerships and lenders may approve your loan without a down payment, but it will cost you over the term of the loan. While a dealer may ask for 20% of a car’s sale price down, you may get by with something less, such as $1,000 or 10% down. During the loan approval process, the down payment mitigates the negative effect of a bad credit rating and makes loan approval more likely because money down confirms your commitment to owning the car at some point. The larger your down payment, the less money you must borrow, and the lower your loan-to-value ratio. That means your payment amount will be less as will be the interest you’ll pay on the loan’s principal. In addition, the larger your down payment, the lower your annual percentage rate may be. In general, your monthly car payment is determined by the price of the car, the length of your loan, the amount of your down payment, and the loan’s interest rate.