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.

Try a fictional example:
Offer A

1. Purchase price

Enter each charge once. Use the selling price before the discounts entered here. Copy the tax dollar amount; no state or ZIP tax rule is assumed.

2. Cash and trade-in

Cash includes your deposit and any costs paid upfront. Do not enter either twice.

3. Check the written quote

Leave blank if the quote does not show this total. Compare like-for-like: OTD before cash down, trade-in and financing.

4. Estimate financing (optional)

Use the contract interest rate if available. APR can include fees and may produce a different payment. Leave blank for a purchase-price check only.

No sign-up or document upload. Numbers are processed to calculate the result; this tool does not save them to your account or send them to analytics.

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

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