Car financing, explained without the pressure
Rough credit history? Here's how to shop for a vehicle with your eyes open
Clear guides on credit reports, bankruptcy and consumer proposals, and reading a loan offer, sourced from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and AMVIC. No promises, no pressure.
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Latest guides
Illustrative imageUnderstanding a loan offer
Reading a car loan offer: APR, term and total cost of borrowing
A line-by-line guide to the disclosure statement on an Alberta car loan: what APR, term, cost of borrowing and add-ons mean, and how to compare two offers fairly.
Illustrative imageAfter a bankruptcy or consumer proposal
Buying a vehicle after bankruptcy in Alberta: what to know before you shop
Discharged or not, how long a bankruptcy or consumer proposal stays on your credit report, what lenders look at, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.
Start with a topic
- Start hereWhere you stand, what lenders look at, and the order to do things in.
- After a bankruptcy or consumer proposalDischarge, credit-report timelines and what changes for car financing.
- Understanding a loan offerAPR, term, total cost of borrowing and the disclosure statement.
- Rebuilding your creditFree credit reports, on-time payments, using less of your limit, and patience.
- Getting ready to apply for a car loanWhat a loan quote is and isn't, and how to compare offers before you sign.
Who writes this
Rebuild and Drive is written by the editorial team at Butler Motor Group Ltd., which owns three AMVIC-licensed dealerships in northern Alberta. We arrange vehicle financing, so we say so up front. We can't promise anyone an approval, and nobody honestly can. What we can do is explain how the process works, with a source for every fact.