CBSL busted dealers inflating invoices to dodge the 40% down payment rule — would you try it?

Sri Lanka's central bank put out a warning on July 28, 2026 telling finance companies to stop letting vehicle valuers and dealers write invoices well above the real market price, and to stop using "bridging loans" stacked on top of a lease to dodge the 40% loan-to-value cap on new and recently-registered vehicles. In plain terms: if the rule says the bank can only lend 40% of the car's value, some dealers were inflating the invoice so 40% of a bigger number covers more of the real price, meaning you hand over a smaller cash down payment but carry a bigger loan on a car that isn't actually worth what the paperwork claims. One side says this is just buyers and dealers finding a legal workaround to a rule that shut ordinary families out of financing overnight. The other side says you're borrowing against a fantasy valuation, paying interest on money the car was never worth, and get burned the day you try to sell or the lease gets revalued. Did any of you get offered an inflated invoice or a "bridging" top-up to clear your down payment, and would you take that deal again? ඔයාලගෙන් කාගෙහරි dealer කෙනෙක් invoice එක වැඩි කරලා down payment එක අඩු කරගන්න ඕෆර් කළාද?