In a viral Threads post by @umar_othmann, Umar, a car sales advisor, shared a brief conversation he had with a young man aiming to buy a Mercedes-Benz.

The challenge? The young man, whose name was not mentioned, earns a basic salary of just RM1,500 per month, with a net income of RM3,000.

“The downpayment alone is over RM200,000, sir,” Umar informed him.

Umar explained that, given the young man’s monthly income of RM3,000, he would need a downpayment exceeding RM200,000 and a guarantor. However, the young man could only afford a downpayment of RM5,000.

“That’s not enough. The monthly instalment costs more than your salary. For this car, an ideal salary would be RM9,500 or higher,” Umar advised.

In his Threads post, Umar mentioned that he had to keep his emotions in check when dealing with customers who try to spend beyond their means.

“It’s frustrating to handle young people who are just starting out. They have big ambitions but want to spend more than they can afford.”

In a brief conversation, Umar revealed that the car the young man wanted to purchase was a Mercedes-Benz A45S 4Matic Plus, priced at over RM312,000.

The monthly instalment would be RM3,161, assuming a 10% downpayment—an amount the young man clearly couldn’t afford based on his salary.

“I suggested other cars within his budget, but he kept insisting on vehicles he couldn’t realistically afford, like the Honda DC5,” Umar said.

Umar also added that he wasn’t sure if the young man was a recent graduate, as he only disclosed his salary.