CAR BUYING & DEAL COSTS
Does the car deal add up?
Out-the-door price calculator & offer checker
Copy the numbers from a written quote. See the purchase price, reconcile the balance to finance, and compare a second offer.
All amounts are USD. Blank costs count as $0; missing costs are not estimated.
Fictional example — these are not current prices, tax rates or loan offers. Replace every amount with your quote.
What counts as the out-the-door price?
Here, OTD is the selling price minus the discounts you enter, plus your entered taxes, fees and selected add-ons. Cash down and your trade-in change how you pay for the purchase; interest is a separate financing cost.
OTD − cash upfront − trade-in value + trade-in payoff = balance to finance
A matching total means the entered numbers reconcile. It does not establish that a fee is required, a tax is correct, the car is fairly priced, or the contract is suitable for you. A difference is a prompt to ask for an itemized explanation, not a finding of misconduct.
Read the quote before comparing payments
- Ask which discounts you qualify for and whether they require a particular lender.
- Check whether a fee or add-on is already included in the vehicle price.
- Use a payoff quote from your current lender, which may differ from your statement balance.
- Compare the same vehicle and trade-in assumptions. A longer term can lower the payment while increasing interest.
Method and limits
Purchase totals reconcile in cents. Financing reuses Loanyzer’s fixed-rate monthly calculator: end-of-month payments, interest rounded monthly to cents and an adjusted final payment. It does not model daily interest, unusual first periods, variable rates or prepayment penalties. The balance shown is not a Truth in Lending disclosure. Taxes, rebate treatment and trade-in tax credits must come from your written quote. No state tax or fee lookup is performed.
Cash upfront plus loan payments excludes the trade-in vehicle’s value and running costs. Add-on impact holds the entered tax, rate, cash and term unchanged; removing an add-on may change the actual tax or lender terms. This impact is shown only when the balance can finance the full add-on amount.
Method version 1.0.0 · Sources checked September 27, 2026.
Sources
- FTC: written OTD price and financing
- FTC: comparing written prices and additional charges
- CFPB: trade-in payoff and negative equity