In-house financing with approval decisions made on-site — no third-party lender required.
Get started at DriveTime Automotive Group → Pre-qualify (where available) with a soft credit pull — no score impact.
ClearValue Rating: 3.9 / 5 — our editorial assessment (how we rate)
Editorial confidence (30%), cost (25%), value (25%), accessibility (20%) — scored consistently across every product, independent of compensation.
Borrowers with very low FICO (below 580) or recent negative marks who need guaranteed in-house financing.
DriveTime — In-house financing with approval decisions made on-site — no third-party lender required. Best for: Borrowers with very low FICO (below 580) or recent negative marks who need guaranteed in-house financing.. Compare it against alternatives before applying; the right fit depends on your situation, credit, and goals.
DriveTime is built for borrowers with very low FICO (below 580) or recent negative credit marks who need in-house financing. Because DriveTime is both the dealer and the lender, its approval decisions are made on-site and are independent of any third-party lender.
DriveTime lists no minimum FICO. It makes its own in-house approval decisions rather than routing your application to an outside bank, which is why it can work with borrowers who have very low scores or recent credit issues. Verify the current criteria with DriveTime directly.
Reported DriveTime APRs are typically in the 20–29% range — the upper-subprime tier, higher than the prime market. Your actual rate depends on your credit profile, the vehicle, and your down payment. Because financing is in-house, there is no competing third-party offer within DriveTime; confirm your exact rate before signing.
DriveTime sells and finances its own used-vehicle inventory, so it acts as both dealer and lender. Approval decisions are made on-site without waiting for a bank to review your application, and down payments can start as low as $500 depending on the vehicle. Loan amounts are based on the vehicle price, with terms up to 72 months.
Vehicle selection is limited to DriveTime's own used inventory, APRs sit consistently in the upper-subprime range, and the combined dealer-lender structure leaves less room to negotiate price or rate independently. ClearValue Lending is a neutral information platform — comparing an outside pre-approval before committing gives you a benchmark.
How we rate
Every pick gets a 1–5 ClearValue Rating computed from four weighted factors: Editorial confidence (30%), Cost (25%), Value (25%), and Accessibility (20%).
Scored consistently across every product and independent of any compensation. Full methodology →
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