Correct. You can't magically draft a senior lien. Unless it's a house in an HOA in a super lien state. Or you're the government and taxes are owed. So there are some instances where a senior lien can be recorded later, but an outstanding auto-loan - not that I'm aware of.

Skirting what's owed, playing games with manufactured leverage, getting repossessed - these are all the factors that cause people with lower credit scores to pay a lot more for their loans.