Canada Drives is a financing pre-approval service that refers you to partner dealers. It stopped selling cars in 2023. CarsFast is a lead site, owned by Consumer Genius Inc., that sends your application to its dealer network. Clutch is an online used-car dealer selling its own cars, and of BC, Alberta and Ontario it sells only in Ontario.
Only Clutch publishes rates: its calculator shows 7.99% to 9.99% by credit tier, over terms of 24 to 96 months (checked October 15, 2026). It is also the only one of the three with a written return policy. With Canada Drives or CarsFast, the dealer you are sent to sets the price, the rate and the protections. This guide covers BC, Alberta and Ontario.
The short answer
- 601
Clutch publishes rate tiers only for credit scores of 601 and up; its calculator shows no rate below that (checked October 15, 2026).
- 2023
The year Canada Drives wound down its own online car sales, according to Automotive News and the Globe and Mail.
- AB
Clutch does not serve Alberta: its AMVIC licence shows as expired since June 30, 2023 (AMVIC registry, checked October 15, 2026).
- 10 days
Clutch’s money-back window, or 750 km, whichever comes first; neither referral site offers a return policy because neither sells the car.
On this page 7 sections
Canada Drives vs CarsFast vs Clutch, side by side
Every row below comes from the company’s own pages or the dealer registries, checked October 15, 2026, except where a figure is credited to Finder. The registries are the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC) and the Vehicle Sales Authority of BC (VSA). Trustpilot figures were seen on ca.trustpilot.com and reflect whoever chose to post.
| Point | Canada Drives | CarsFast | Clutch |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Financing pre-approval and referral to a partner dealer; also buys cars for cash | Lead site that sends your application to its dealer network | Online used-car dealer selling its own inventory |
| Sells its own cars? | No (stopped in 2023) | No | Yes |
| Owner | Canada Drives Ltd., Vancouver; parent not named | Consumer Genius Inc.; terms governed by Alberta law | Clutch Technologies Inc., Toronto |
| Ontario | Registered Brampton location; service area not stated | Covered (terms: Canada except Quebec) | Buy, sell and finance; Toronto, Mississauga, Markham, Ottawa |
| Alberta | Registered Airdrie location; service area not stated | Covered (terms: Canada except Quebec) | Not served |
| British Columbia | Registered Richmond location; service area not stated | Covered (terms: Canada except Quebec) | Sell or trade in only; New Westminster drop-off centre |
| Who lends | The partner dealer’s lenders; none named | The dealer network’s lenders; logo image undated | Lenders Clutch submits your file to; none named |
| Published rate | None | None on its own site (Finder lists 3.90% to 29.90%) | 7.99% (780+), 8.99% (681 to 780), 9.99% (601 to 680); no tier below 601 |
| Terms | Calculator 12 to 96 months; guide says 36 to 72 is typical | Not stated (Finder: 12 to 96 months) | 24 to 96 months; minimum loan $7,500 after taxes |
| Credit check | Dealer inquiry that “will show up on your credit report” | “May” happen; soft or hard not stated | Soft for pre-qualification; possibly hard at the full application |
| Weaker credit | “All credit scores”; $1,800/month income guideline | Names consumer proposals on its home page | No bad-credit claim; weaker files may need a co-applicant or down payment |
| Price and fees | Set by the dealer; none disclosed | Set by the dealer; none disclosed | Ontario prices “Excl. HST & Licensing; Incl. OMVIC Fee”; distance-based delivery fee; financing needs Essential package or higher |
| Returns | Dealer’s policy | Dealer’s policy | 10 days or 750 km money-back guarantee, with conditions |
| Inspection and warranty | Up to the dealer | Up to the dealer | 210-point inspection; Ontario safety certificate; 3-month/6,000 km plan with Essential |
| Registry status | OMVIC registered; AMVIC wholesale only; BC dealer licence cancelled, wholesaler issued | No dealer registration in ON, AB or BC | OMVIC registered; AMVIC expired 2023; BC dealer licence issued |
| Trustpilot, as seen | 2.0 from 3,520 reviews | No profile found | 4.6 from 1,597 reviews |
How do Canada Drives and CarsFast work in 2026?
Canada Drives and CarsFast both send your application to dealers instead of selling you a car (company pages, checked October 15, 2026). The dealer then sets the price, the rate and any return policy.
Canada Drives
Canada Drives pre-approves your financing online and then, in its own words, “we will connect you with one of these partner dealerships” (help centre, checked October 15, 2026). It has not sold cars of its own since 2023, when it ended online retail and delivery and filed for creditor protection (Automotive News; the Globe and Mail).
Some comparison sites still describe it as an online retailer or a direct lender, which no longer matches its own pages. Its $1,800 monthly income guideline comes with a condition: a job held for three months or more, though some government assistance may count (Understanding car loans guide). Its footer still shows BC dealer licence “DL# 41715”, which the VSA registry lists as cancelled.
CarsFast
CarsFast passes your application, which it says takes 2 minutes, to dealers in its network. Its terms say the site is “owned and operated by Consumer Genius Inc.” (checked October 15, 2026).
It claims “access to 350 dealerships across the nation” (self-reported). Finder also lists a $2,000 monthly income minimum for CarsFast, which CarsFast’s own pages do not confirm. If you are in a proposal, our guide to car loans during a consumer proposal explains how lenders treat one.
The lender logo image on its home page includes HSBC and Ally but carries no date, so do not read it as a current lender list.
How does Clutch financing work?
Clutch sells the car and arranges the loan through outside lenders: its FAQ says “We work with many of Canada’s largest financial institutions” (checked October 15, 2026). It is an OMVIC-registered dealer, and its FAQ says “we cannot guarantee that you’ll get approved”.
“Our pre-approval tool is a soft check,” says the Clutch FAQ. If your credit is not good or excellent, approvals “can sometimes take longer”, and lenders may ask for proof of income or employment. A financed purchase needs the Essential package or higher, priced at checkout. The FAQ also lists these fees:
- a lender registration (PPSA) fee “usually ranging from $55 to $170”
- a $199 lien discharge fee if Clutch pays off your old loan
- a refundable $100 deposit
The return window has conditions: no damage, odours or new liens, no shipping refund, and no return if you returned two others in the last 30 days. A trade-in is not handed back; you get its value, less any lien (Clutch guarantee terms, effective November 7, 2025).
Its Ontario price format leaves out only what OMVIC’s all-in price rule lets a dealer leave out, HST and licensing (O. Reg. 333/08 s. 36).
Clutch holds an issued BC dealer licence, and BetaKit reported in August 2025 that it planned to sell in BC by 2026. But when we re-checked on October 15, 2026, its Vancouver shopping link opened Toronto, Ontario inventory, and its site offered no way to buy in BC.
Which one fits your province and credit?
Your province decides first and your credit file second: as of October 15, 2026, Clutch sells cars only in Ontario of our three provinces. The table below is our analysis, built from each company’s own pages and the registries.
| If you are | Start with | Because | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Ontario, credit score 601 or higher | Clutch | Fixed listed price, published rate tiers and a 10-day or 750 km return window | Get the soft pre-qualification, then compare its rate with your bank or credit union before the full application |
| In Ontario, score under 601 or a thin file | Canada Drives or CarsFast | Clutch publishes no rate below 601, and weaker files may need a co-applicant or down payment | Ask the dealer which lender gets your file, and expect a dealer credit inquiry |
| In a consumer proposal, any of the three provinces | CarsFast, or a dealer directly | Only CarsFast names proposals on its home page; Canada Drives covers them in a blog post; Clutch does not address them | CarsFast’s privacy policy allows sharing with “purchasers of personal information” |
| In Alberta, any credit | Canada Drives or CarsFast | Clutch’s AMVIC licence expired in 2023 | The AMVIC licence of the dealer you are sent to, and a high-cost credit licence on any loan at 32% or more |
| In BC, any credit | Canada Drives or CarsFast | Clutch buys cars in BC, but its site offered no way to buy one there | The VSA licence of the dealer you are sent to, and a lender licence on any loan above 32% |
| Only selling a car | Clutch (ON, BC) or Canada Drives | Both make instant offers; Canada Drives says its offer is “valid for 7 days” | Get both offers before you accept either |
Our Alberta car loan guide covers AMVIC and the high-cost credit licence, and our BC car loan guide covers the VSA and loans above 32%.
What will your rate actually be?
None of the three can tell you your final rate until a lender has seen your full file. Clutch’s 7.99% to 9.99% tiers are calculator figures, not offers, and chartered banks averaged 6.66% (July 2026, Bank of Canada) on auto loans advanced (Bank of Canada). That is a banks-only series across all credit tiers that leaves out non-prime finance companies.
Term length matters as much as rate. A 96-month term on a used car is how people end up owing more than the car is worth. Clutch’s terms run to 96 months, and its FAQ says negative equity from a trade-in can be applied to the new loan. Here is the longest term at Clutch’s 601 to 680 tier, as an illustration and not an offer:
Illustration: $25,000 at 9.99% APR over 96 months
- Amount financed
- $25,000
- APR
- 9.99%
- Term
- 96 months
- Monthly payment
- $379.22
- Cost of borrowing
- $11,405.12
- Total repaid
- $36,405.12
Assumes equal monthly payments, no fees outside the APR and no early repayment. Illustration only, not an offer.
In Ontario, a dealer arranging financing on a used car must make sure the lender has given you its disclosure statement before you sign (O. Reg. 333/08 s. 40). An ad that states a rate or payment must also show the APR and term (O. Reg. 17/05 s. 61). Our car loan rate tracker sets published lender floors next to the bank average.
Check the dealer’s registration
Look up the dealer you are sent to on the OMVIC, AMVIC or VSA registry before you sign anything.
Start with a soft check
Clutch’s pre-qualification is a soft check, while a dealer inquiry can show on your credit report.
Get the APR, term and total cost
Ask for all three in writing, because a payment alone hides the rate and the length of the loan.
Compare with your bank or credit union
Set each offer beside a quote from your own bank or credit union before the full application.
Price each add-on separately
Warranties, protection packages and fees raise the amount financed, so ask for each on its own line.
Check your credit report afterwards
Pull your free credit report after you apply and check who looked.
What red flags should you watch for?
Most problems with referral financing appear at the dealer. The three that matter most are a dealer with no OMVIC, AMVIC or VSA registration, a payment quoted without its APR and term, and any APR above 35%. That is Canada’s criminal rate since January 1, 2025 (Criminal Code s. 347).
- An unregistered dealer. Search the OMVIC, AMVIC or VSA registry.
- Promises of approval. Clutch itself says it cannot guarantee approval, so treat any promise of approval as advertising, not a decision. See what approval-promise ads really mean.
- Pressure to sign the same day. Ontario and Alberta have no cooling-off period once you sign a vehicle purchase contract (OMVIC; AMVIC). Clutch’s 10-day window is its own policy, not the law.
| Provider | APR as published | Term | Provinces | How to apply | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada DrivesLoan marketplace | Not published | Not published | BC, AB, ON | Online pre-approval, then referral to a partner dealer, which runs a credit inquiryNo longer sells cars itself since its 2023 creditor protection filing; it still buys cars from consumers. | Oct 15, 2026 |
| ClutchOnline car retailer | From 7.99% | 24 to 96 months | ON | Online, when buying a Clutch vehicle; soft check to pre-qualify, lenders may then pull a hard checkSells its own inventory with a 10-day or 750 km money-back guarantee; buying is Ontario only (BC is sell or trade-in). | Oct 15, 2026 |
| CarsFastLoan marketplace | Not published | Not published | BC, AB, ON | One online application; matched with lenders and a network of about 350 dealershipsStates it assists 'all types of credit including consumer proposals'. | Oct 15, 2026 |
“From” rates go to the strongest applicants; your rate depends on your credit, income, the vehicle and the term. No provider pays NotchUp for its position in this table, which is sorted by type of provider and then alphabetically. Rates are hidden once a row is more than 30 days past its check. Nothing above 35% APR, Canada’s criminal rate, is ever shown. How NotchUp makes money.
For lenders you can approach directly, including finance companies that work with weaker credit, start at our car loans for every credit score hub. Our page on how we check lender rates and tables explains where each row comes from.
Frequently asked questions
Does Canada Drives still sell cars?
No, Canada Drives stopped selling its own cars in 2023, according to Automotive News and the Globe and Mail. Today it pre-approves your financing and connects you with a partner dealership, which sells you the car and sets the price. Canada Drives still buys cars from owners with an instant offer.
Is CarsFast a lender or a dealer?
Neither: CarsFast is a lead site owned by Consumer Genius Inc. that passes your application to dealers in its network. Searches of the OMVIC, AMVIC and VSA registries found no dealer registration for it. It publishes no rate, and its privacy policy allows sharing with “purchasers of personal information”.
Can I buy a car from Clutch in Alberta or BC?
No, not as of October 15, 2026: Clutch’s AMVIC licence expired in 2023. In BC its site shows only selling or trading in a car at its New Westminster drop-off centre. Clutch holds an issued BC dealer licence, so check its site again if you are in BC.
Will applying through Canada Drives, CarsFast or Clutch hurt my credit score?
It can, at the dealer or lender step. Clutch’s pre-qualification is a soft check, but sending your file to lenders “could be a potential hard check”. Canada Drives says the dealer’s inquiry “will show up on your credit report”, and CarsFast says a credit check may happen without saying which kind.
What interest rate does Clutch charge?
Clutch’s calculator shows 7.99% for a credit score of 780 or higher, 8.99% for 681 to 780 and 9.99% for 601 to 680. Its terms run 24 to 96 months (checked October 15, 2026). These are illustrations, not offers: the lender sets your rate after a full application, and Clutch shows no figure for scores below 601.