Ok, lets just use the $17,995 price and the $5,000 for the trade for this example.
$17,995 - $5,000 = $12,995, before TTL, and any interest on the loan.
$325 per month x 36 months = $11,700. Considerably less than the pretax sales price he is looking at right now.
Plugging in the $12,995 number, 8% interest for 36 months, 9% sales tax (not sure of the tax % of where you are at) and $100 for tag, title, etc., his payments would be $447 per month.
Even if they sold him the van for $17,300, his payments would still be $423 for 36 months. $17,300 - $5,000 = $12,300. $12,300 / 36 payments = $341 with 0% interest on the loan. Needless to say, you are not going to find a bank willing to do a 0% interest loan on any used car.
In order to get the van at $325ish for 36 months, depending on the tax/loan interest variables, they would have to sell the van for $14,500, give him the $5000 for his trade and have a price of around $9,500 before TTL. Or he would have to come up with $3k - $4k in money to put down if they won't budge from the $17,995 price. So, unless your friend is prepared to drop a big down payment or the dealer cuts a ton off of the sticker, the $325 for 36 months is not realistic.
