markets started to take a shit ~september 07, with the tight markets coming soon after that. i was able to cosign for my brother through my bank in november of 2008 with out them batting an eye, and then me turning around 2 months later (jan 09) and getting approved for a mortgage at 5% (lowest rate at the time)
if he has a good history with his bank, had savings account as a kid, has a checking account that he hasnt overdrafted, maybe has automatic bill pay through them, a CC through them, he's going to have much better luck than just going to ABC bank and asking to loan him money and they have no clue who he is.
and he didnt say he didnt have ANY history, he just has a limited amount of history...when i cosigned for my brother in 2008, i had just a hair over 4 years of history. not that much at all. but i DID have good history with my bank.
you seem like a smart guy, and i think you think you know more than you actually might because you work at a used car dealership, but understand other people in this world know a little bit too.