Honestly this is a tough one there’s so many red flags here.

My biggest recommend would be drop the idea of an SUV. On how much they currently drive that’s a big waste on gas, wear, tires, insurance, etc. Go for an economic car. Their old car payment was also pretty bad considering the car is worth 4K so they either took out too long of a auto loan or got an awful interest rate or both.

I got a 2018 Mazda 3 very good condition CPO ~40k miles from a Mazda dealership for $15k in early 2021. It was used as a business vehicle when business flew in. When processing the loan I actually got an even better deal because they valued the car higher.

I don’t think you’d get the same today but someone else mentioned getting a 2013 Mazda 3 for $8k last year.

Look at credit unions for best auto loan rates. Get comprehensive insurance this time to cover the loan if an accident happens, most require this anyways.

No oohing and ahhing about not getting a SUV or the car they want. To bad at that salary and age they should have at least decent credit and a savings, there’s no one to blame but themselves for the lack of options. They’d be lucky to get a half decent car with the cards they’ve set themselves up with.