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My Auto Affordability Tool
With the My Auto Affordability Tool, you can see how much vehicle financing you can potentially qualify for, with no impact to your credit score3. In a few easy steps, you can:
Find out the financing amount you could be eligible to receive
Discover the estimated value of your trade-in vehicle
Customize your down payment
Receive an email with your results
Find out the loan amount you’re eligible to receive
Discover the value of your trade-in vehicle
Customize your down payment
Receive an email of your results
Ready to go car shopping?
Once you get pre-qualified for your RBC car loan, you can shop with confidence for your new vehicle, knowing how much you can afford. To apply to secure financing through RBC4, choose your car from one of our partner dealers nationwide. Find a Dealer
Ask for RBC financing to receive:
- Competitive interest rates. Financing rates are available through our partner dealers1
- Flexible payment options. Pay monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly or weekly. There’s no penalty to pay off your loan early.
- Financing solutions that match your needs. Choose a term from 1 to 8 years with financing available for units up to 10 years old.
- Skip-A-Payment opportunity. You can skip up to 1 monthly payment each year without penalty2
Car Loan Affordability and Prequalification FAQs
When financing a car, pre-qualification is always the first step. It gives you a broad sense of your borrowing potential based on details you share yourself, and it generally has no effect on your credit score. Pre-approval follows, requiring the lender to independently confirm your financial picture before extending a conditional loan offer with real numbers attached. Below is the step-by-step breakdown:
Pre-Qualification (Your Starting Point):
- You provide basic financial details such as estimated income, monthly obligations, and expected down payment and receive a general borrowing range in return
- Typically relies on a soft credit check, which leaves your credit score untouched
- Helps you zero in on a realistic vehicle budget before you begin shopping
- Carries no obligation from the lender; it's simply an early-stage indicator of eligibility
- Get started with the RBC My Auto Affordability Tool prequalification calculator.
Pre-Approval (The Formal Review):
- The lender takes a closer look, independently confirming your employment status, income level, and credit history
- Usually requires a hard credit pull, which could impact your credit score
- Results in a defined loan ceiling, a projected interest rate, and outlined terms, all subject to final verification
- Carries significantly more weight than pre-qualification and signals serious lending intent
- Arriving at a dealership with pre-approval in hand puts you in a stronger position when negotiating price and financing.
Auto loan pre-approval timelines vary based on your application and financial details. It typically takes 1-5 business days and the review process might extend if you have a more complex financial situation.
Factors influencing speed:
Factors influencing speed:
- Credit score: Higher scores often lead to faster decisions.
- Documentation readiness: Having proof of income (pay stubs), valid ID, and residence details ready can prevent delays.
- Credit impact: A pre-approval will often have an impact to your credit score and is considered a loan application, for which your financial and other credentials need to be verified.
- Validity period: Pre-approval offers are usually valid a period of time, giving you ample time to shop for your vehicle. After this valid period, you may require to extend or re-submit a pre-approval application.
For the fastest processing, apply with all required documents prepared.
My Auto Affordability Tool provides an estimate of the amount of vehicle loan you may qualify for at the present time, based on the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide. Please note, this is an auto loan pre-qualification and not a loan pre-approval or approval. As such, you must submit a separate application for a car loan through a dealer if you wish to secure financing to purchase a vehicle. You should not waive any financing conditions based on the results of the My Auto Affordability Tool.
No – a pre-qualification is only an estimate of the amount of vehicle loan you may qualify for at the present time, based on the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide. It is not a loan, nor a loan offer or approval. To secure vehicle financing, you will need to submit a separate application through a dealer, and will need to meet applicable lending criteria. You should not waive any financing condition based on the results of the My Auto Affordability Tool.
Automotive financing terms offered by RBC range from 1 to 8 years. Extending your loan term can lower your overall monthly payments but you may pay more in interest over the life of your loan. When choosing your financing terms, be sure to consider the total cost of your vehicle, including interest. Use our RBC Car Loan Calculator to understand how your loan repayment period affects your loan payments.
Try the RBC Car Loan Payment Calculator
Try the RBC Car Loan Payment Calculator
Yes! We offer the convenience of financing your vehicle through over 4,000 dealerships across Canada4. Simply ask your dealer for RBC financing when you’re ready to purchase. Once approved, you can drive away with your new vehicle!
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Legal Disclaimer*
The RBC My Auto Affordability Tool ("Affordability Tool") provides a prequalification, which gives you an estimate of the amount of automotive loan you may qualify for with us based on the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by you. This prequalification is for illustrative and general information purposes only and is not intended to provide specific financial or other advice. Prequalification is not the same as an approval. There are no fees associated with use of the Affordability Tool.
Your personal and financial information and that of any co-applicant, including your credit status, (your "Information") will be collected and retained by the Bank and used for these purposes:
Your personal and financial information and that of any co-applicant, including your credit status, (your "Information") will be collected and retained by the Bank and used for these purposes:
- To assist you with an automotive lending pre-qualification
- To contact you at the email address provided to confirm your result and assist you with any subsequent automotive lending application
- Provide the Information to a credit reporting agency in order to identify you and to determine your credit status. You will be required to answer a question based on your credit report for authentication purposes. Your credit status will be used by the Bank to estimate the loan amount you may qualify for using the Affordability Tool.
- Make the Information available to our employees, agents and service providers, who are required to maintain the confidentiality of the Information. In the event our service provider is located outside of Canada, the service provider is bound by, and the information may be disclosed in accordance with, the laws of the jurisdiction in which the service provider is located.
Legal Disclaimer1
Financing rates available at participating dealerships on select vehicles.
Legal Disclaimer2
In order to be eligible to skip a payment, loan payments must be up to date and in good standing. Skipping a payment may result in extending the amortization period of the loan. If you skip a payment and your loan is protected with LoanProtector® insurance, the premium (for the period of the skipped payment) will be collected from your next regular payment. This means less of the next payment will be used to reduce the principal amount of your loan. If a payment is skipped for a fixed rate loan, interest will continue to accrue and will be collected when the next payment resumes. If a payment is skipped for a variable rate loan, the unpaid accrued interest as well as the interest on the part of the principal that went to payment of the missed LoanProtector premium will be added to the loan principal balance (“Combined Amount’’) thus increasing the principal amount outstanding on your loan. Interest, at the interest rate of the loan, is charged on the Combined Amount until it is paid in full. You may repay the skipped payment at any time.
Legal Disclaimer3
This is an automotive lending prequalification only, and not an automotive lending approval or pre-approval. The RBC My Auto Affordability Tool (“Tool”) provides an estimate of the amount of auto finance loan you may qualify for with Royal Bank of Canada based on the accuracy and completeness of information provided at the time of completion. You must submit a separate application for an automotive lending approval or a pre-approval and a full credit report, which will be subject to formal verification processes and assessed on current credit adjudication policies. You should not waive any financing condition based on the results of this Tool. For full Tool terms and conditions, visit https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/car-loans/maat/tc.html (opens in new window)
Legal Disclaimer4
RBC automotive financing products are offered by Royal Bank of Canada by way of conditional sales contract (in Quebec, installment sales contract) and are subject to its standard lending criteria.
Legal Disclaimer5
You must submit a full application for an automotive lending approval or a pre-approval and a full credit report, which will be subject to formal verification processes and assessed on Royal Bank of Canada’s current credit adjudication policies. Your application may be declined if you do not meet the requirements of such policies.