Buying a used car, was accepted for one car but not the other?

I went to a dealership and tried to finance a Mazda3 2012 for 13.5k, but the salesperson said he couldn't get the bank to approve that car. He then went to show me another car that he said the bank approved. This other car was a Honda civic 2011 for 13k. He also said that I have higher chance to finance a Honda, Toyota or Nissan. I want to know if banks prefer one Make over the other, or if the guy is screwing with me to buy a specific car. Note that he said he will check to see again in 2 days after telling me that I couldn't finance the Mazda and I refused to buy the Honda.

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