This file
Around 540–560
Not prime. A normal place to start.
Back to prime
The rate got you the car. We get you out of it.
CreditON stays after the sale. A higher rate is where a lot of files begin. Prime is where we point them.
This file
Around 540–560
This rate
Often the mid-teens
Higher than you wanted. The car was still the point.
The direction
Back toward prime
Payments, cards, then a lower rate is a real talk.
After the sale
People do not fail the loan. They get left alone with it.
A score around 540 or 560 often means a mid-teens rate. Prime is lower. CreditON is the guidance between those two places, sized to the money someone actually has.
How the five steps work
Where files start
Mid-teens
A common rate when the score is around 540 or 560. That distance, back toward prime, is the whole program.
Why we existThe Canadian file
Two scores. One scale. They will not match.
Equifax and TransUnion both score from 300 to 900. Lenders do not all report to both, and the models are different, so a car loan can show on one file and not the other. A good Equifax score is often described as starting around 660. Around 540 to 560, the file is still below that line.
300–559
Poor
Approvals are harder and the rate is higher.
560–659
Fair
Credit is possible. Pricing is not prime.
660–724
Good
Mainstream products start to open.
760–900
Excellent
The rate conversation is a different one.
Bands follow how Equifax Canada commonly describes scores. TransUnion uses the same 300–900 scale and different labels. A lender can ignore both and use its own cutoff.
What actually moves
The work is ordinary. The order matters.
- Payment history is the largest piece of a typical score. One payment thirty days late can undo months. The car loan, reported on time, is the foundation.
- Card balances are the fastest thing you can change. Using less than 30% of a limit is the usual target. Under that is better. Pay the card closest to its limit first.
- Collections in Canada usually stay on the file after you pay them. The status can change to paid. The item does not vanish. We only spend money there when a written agreement is worth it.
- Old cards should stay open. Closing the oldest account shortens the history you just paid to build.
An illustration, not an offer
Same car. Different file.
$22,000 financed over six years. Your lender, province, vehicle, and down payment change the real number.
15%
A mid-teens rate
$465/mo
9%
Closer to a prime conversation
$397/mo
About $4,900 less interest across the term in this example. That is why the file is the product, not a pep talk.
After a high-rate approval
You needed the car. The rate was the door that opened. The program starts when you drive away, not before the deal.
With a number for the month
Some months it is a few hundred dollars. Some months it is more. The plan is built from that number, including when the number is small.
When the store should call
If the score climbs, the dealer who sold the car can see it. A refinance or the next vehicle is a conversation, not a guess.