About lender
Established in 2016, Clutch is a Canadian car financing service that promotes an innovative approach to car shopping. This Canadian online car retailer delivers cars to the client’s doorstep arranging all the paperwork with lenders. Clutch offers more than 700 vehicles for every style and budget and the availability to test and reserve a car for 72 hours. In addition, Clutch allows customers to get an easy, transparent, and quick car-buying process online.
Features
Clutch promises rapid online financing, so clients get approved in under 24 hours entirely online. This company partners with many trusted lenders around the country. Clutch provides a personalized approach and convenient service. Special promotion offers, money-back guarantees, and extensive inventory attract clients.
Every year, Clutch sells over 1,000 vehicles. At the same time, it tries to pursue an environment-friendly approach: Clutch prides itself on planting over 5,000 trees.
However, one should beware of non-negotiable prices.
Pros and cons
Before starting to work with Clutch, it’s worth considering the main advantages and disadvantages of the borrowing process with this company.
Pros
Completely online application and approval within 24 hours.
Easy and convenient service — online shopping for a car and contactless delivery.
Competitive prices — Clutch can provide lower car prices by reducing overhead costs with trade-ins, auctions, and partnerships with manufacturers.
Money-back guarantee — customers can test the purchase within ten days and request a full refund or an exchange in the case of dissatisfaction with the car.
Large Clutch inventory — for more than 2,000 pre-owned cars for every budget.
Sell or trade-in availability — the client can sell the car even if there is no intention to buy the new car. Clutch also has an option of the trade-in to apply as credit towards the new vehicle.
Cross-province car purchases. This perk is available between Alberta and BC.
Open-ended terms. The loan is always open-ended so the client can pay it off anytime. The company also doesn’t ask for prepayment penalties.
No down payment. Сlients can get a loan without additional payments.
Cons
Not available in all Canadian regions. Currently, Clutch is only available in Ontario, BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland.
Non-negotiable prices. The company is not ready to cut prices, as it sells cars at competitive prices. Therefore, if you are looking for a company to cooperate with the possibility of negotiating the price, Clutch may not be suitable.
Only used cars are available. However, the vehicles offered by the company are characterized by low wear and, accordingly, a higher price than analogs on the market.
Additional fees. Some regions have extra fees associated with your funding.
Money-back guarantee limit. The company won’t accept a return in some cases: when the car has been damaged or modified. The client has only three cars to test for exchange.
Loan conditions
Clutch provides information about loan offers and conditions for its loans to understand whether it is relevant for them to use its services. So, the loan amount starts from a minimum of $7,500 and doesn’t have limits. The minimum loan term is 12 months, and the maximum loan term is about 96 months. The interest rate usually starts from 3,90%.
The company cooperates with several significant Canadian financial institutions to offer customers the best rates. The factors determining the conditions for issuing a loan are the client's credit history, employment, down payment, application and co-signers information, and car selection.
A variety of factors determine whether or not you get approved for a loan, including credit history, employment, residency status, down payment, application information, co-signers, and vehicle selection. As a result, the company does not guarantee that the client's loan application will be approved. However, the company's specialists strive to maximize this probability.
Applying for a loan is easy and entirely online. Auto loans are open-ended, which means the possibility to pay off before the end of the term without penalty respecting all the client’s lenders' terms. The term for receiving a response also depends on the client’s score and credit history.
To be eligible for financing via Clutch, a client will need to meet the following requirements:
Employment for more than three months.
The minimum credit score of 580.
Be a Canadian resident with a valid Canadian address.
Have a valid Canadian bank account.
Have a maximum of 1 bankruptcy.
Be considered an adult in the province of residence.
Have a valid driver’s license.
Methods of loan funding
Payments to clients are delivered via electronic funds transfer. The funds will be reflected in your bank account 1-3 business days after completing the transaction. EFT is the only payment method offered.
