People are starting to take out 6 and 7 year auto loans. Some people only look at the monthly payment to figure out if they can afford the car. Because of this, some “budget conscious” buyers are effectively price insensitive.
Convincing a buyer to be a ‘payment’ buyer is an old trick in the car market. Don’t fall for it - always buy on price and then let the payments work out. With all the online calculators and soft pull applications (no credit hit, but accurate prices) it should be strait forward to figure out roughly what you can afford. If it seems like magic, it likely is.