Fresh Start Finance Program
Credit dinged, and shopping from Camas, Vancouver or across the I-205 bridge in Portland? Westlie Ford's Fresh Start Finance Program, on South Marina Way in Washougal, starts by hearing you out. No lectures.
★★★★★1,400+ five-star Google reviewsRead our Google reviews for Westlie Ford
“...He's super patient and doesn't make you feel like an idiot like so many car salesman do.”
Brooks F., Google review, August 2017
“As always the sales staff, the finance managers are very easy to work with. No gimmicks. No pressure.”
KEITH H., Google review, December 2025
“...We never felt rushed or pushed into looking at anything. ... The manager, Don, was also very helpful with all our financing needs.”
April A., Google review, June 2021
Excerpts from 5-star Google reviews, quoted as written. Every buyer's credit is different, and lenders make every credit decision.
Our finance office takes in the whole picture and passes your application to outside lenders that consider damaged credit. Which of these sounds familiar?
No judgment
Hospital bills, a business that didn't make it, a truck that got repossessed, months of catching up: our finance office has worked through all of it with buyers before. Say it plainly, and we'll walk through what's still on the table.
Turned down?
Lenders don't share one rulebook, so a denial from one says little about the next. Federal Regulation B makes a lender that declines you explain why, or tell you how to ask. Hang on to that letter; it's a useful starting point for our finance office.
Life happens
Credit takes hits, and the rest of your file still counts. According to the CFPB, a lender also weighs what you earn, what you owe, the size of the loan, how much you put down against the vehicle's worth, and new or used.
Buy here pay here
Westlie Ford doesn't lend its own money; your lender will be an outside bank, credit union or auto finance company. Buy here pay here dealers' rates tend to be higher, per the CFPB. Every used vehicle we sell has passed a 137-point inspection and comes with its CARFAX report free, an exchange option good for 3 days or 300 miles, and a limited warranty of 3 months or 3,000 miles.
Lenders make the credit decisions here, and approval isn't guaranteed.
We are
Westlie Ford sells and services new Fords, plus used vehicles, at 40 South Marina Way in Washougal, just off SR 14.
We aren't
Useful to know when other kinds of sites show up next to ours in a search.
Ford Credit's online application goes to Ford Credit, and its terms say a dealership needs your consent and request before sending your information to any other finance company (Ford Credit application terms). Westlie Ford's own credit application comes straight to our finance office, which can put one application in front of several lenders. Ford Credit can still be one of them when a new Ford is the plan. Whichever lender looks, it wants to see income, however it reaches you:
First-time buyers
No credit history yet, whether you're new to Clark County or have always paid cash? What lenders read instead.
Bankruptcy
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, including what changes when a case was filed in Oregon rather than the Western District of Washington.
Each lender sets its own list, so this is where to start, not the last word. Bring it on the first trip and you won't need a second drive from Vancouver or Gresham.
Take the quiz above, apply online, or call (360) 834-2113 and ask for the finance office. Sales keeps hours every day, Sunday included.
You can apply. Our finance office submits it to lenders open to credit problems, and each lender alone decides on approval and terms. Approval isn't guaranteed.
Yes. Apply with your Oregon address; the lender decides on credit just as it would for a Washington buyer. Separately, RCW 82.08.0264 exempts a qualifying nonresident purchase from Washington's retail sales tax, and the dealership keeps your declaration and proof of residency on file. That's general information, not tax advice.
No single number applies. Each lender sets its own bar and looks at the score together with income, debts, the loan amount and term, your down payment and the vehicle (CFPB).
Benefit income may count, and the lender decides how much. Under Regulation B, a lender can't refuse to consider income because it comes from a public assistance program, though it can weigh the amount and whether it will continue. Bring your current benefits letter.
Ford Credit's online application goes to Ford Credit. Ours comes to Westlie Ford's finance office, which can send it to more than one lender with your OK, and Ford Credit can be one of them on a new Ford.
Ask the lender that declined you: under Regulation B it must give its reasons, or your right to request them, within 30 days of receiving your completed application. Check your free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com too.
No. The FTC warns that real lenders don't commit to a loan before seeing an application, and that ads offering credit regardless of history are a common scam.
Submitting a full application gives lenders permission to pull your credit, and each pull is recorded as an inquiry. The CFPB says auto loan inquiries made within 14 to 45 days of one another generally count as one.
No. Outside lenders make the loans. You can also line up a loan through your own credit union or bank.
No. It's the name Westlie Ford gives to how our finance office handles applications from buyers with damaged credit, no credit history or a bankruptcy. Every loan is made by an outside lender, and no government agency runs the program.
The Fresh Start Finance Program is Westlie Ford's name for how our finance team handles applications from buyers with bad credit, no credit or a past bankruptcy. Financing comes from outside lenders, which decide approval and terms, and approval isn't guaranteed. A negotiable documentary service fee of up to $200 may be added to the sale price.
