I'm in the US, New York to be specific. Sorry, not a down payment, but a deposit. They said it would be applied as part of my down payment once the truck came in.
On top of the 5%, they also required a full loan approval (hard credit hit), instead of just a pre-approval. Their reasoning for both was something like "dealers were placing orders acting as customers so that they'd get the truck faster to sell on the lot". Also claimed that policy came down from Ram, but certainly seems like it's something they both made up after hearing this feedback. When I ordered my Crosstrek, I think I had to do a $100 refundable deposit. I appreciate any info you can get!
I originally emailed 20+ dealers in my area but only heard back from maybe 6. So far I've visited the 2 that gave me the best deal. But seems like it's time to reach out to those other 14 and hopefully find a more reasonable dealer. I really wish I lived closer to MD or the other recommended dealers I've seen on this forum. Seems like they take away a lot of this headache.