Dealer quote checker
Paste in the out-the-door figure a dealer has quoted you and this splits it in two: the part your state actually charges — tax, title and registration, computed from 15 states' published fee schedules — and the part the dealership set itself. Everything in that second number is price rather than law: the documentation fee, pre-installed add-ons, market adjustment, prep and advertising charges. It is also the only part you can negotiate, which is why it is worth seeing on its own.
Enter the agreed vehicle price and the dealer's out-the-door figure. Everything above the government portion is the dealership's own charges.
Why the gap exists at all
An advertised price and a signed contract are different documents. Between them sit charges that are added by the dealership rather than the state, and several of them are designed to appear late — after the price is agreed, when the paperwork is in front of you. The most common are a documentation fee, a package of add-ons already fitted to the car, and in a tight market an adjustment above sticker.
None of that is hidden from you if you know the statutory number first. Tax, title and registration are fixed by law and identical at every dealership in your state — on the same $30,000 car they range from $555 in South Carolina to $3,377 in California, and your state's figure is knowable before you leave the house. Once you have it, any quote resolves into two numbers instead of one intimidating total.
What to do with the answer
- Ask for the quote itemised in writing. A dealer confident in their pricing will send it; one who will not has told you something.
- Check the tax line against this figure on the same vehicle price. If theirs is higher, the taxable amount includes dealer product.
- Take the remainder — the dealer's share — and negotiate it as price, not as fees. Most charges cannot be deleted individually, but the vehicle price can always move.
- Decline finance-office products at the point of sale rather than in principle. A warranty can be bought later; one financed over six years is hard to unwind.
- Confirm the final out-the-door total in writing before signing anything.
What this deliberately does not do
It does not calculate a monthly payment. Payment calculators are the ones buyers most often find misleading, because a monthly figure conceals the total and can be reshaped by lengthening the loan — the same car at the same price looks cheaper over 84 months and costs considerably more. This works on the out-the-door total instead, which is the number that cannot be massaged.
It also cannot tell you what a specific dealership will charge, only what the state will. Doc fees, add-ons and adjustments vary between showrooms a mile apart — the doc fee caps and the add-ons guide explain what to expect, and how accurate is this sets out precisely what the statutory figure covers. Figures verified against agency sources on .
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if a dealer’s fees are legitimate?
- Separate them into two groups. Tax, title and registration are set by statute and are identical at every dealership in your state — those you cannot negotiate and should not try to. Everything else on the worksheet is the dealership’s own price, whatever it is called: documentation fee, prep fee, advertising fee, protection package, market adjustment. Calculate the statutory portion first, subtract it from the out-the-door quote, and the remainder is the negotiable part.
- What is a normal amount for dealer fees?
- There is no statutory answer, because most of these charges are prices rather than fees. Documentation fees alone range from statutory caps of $85 in California and $175 in New York to four figures in uncapped states. Add-on packages commonly run $1,000 to $3,000, and a market adjustment on a scarce model can be far more. What matters is not whether a number is typical but whether you agreed to it.
- Why is the dealer’s tax figure higher than this calculator’s?
- Usually because the dealer is taxing a larger amount than you expect. Add-ons and, in most states, the documentation fee form part of the taxable price, so a quote loaded with dealer charges carries more tax as well. If the tax line is higher than the figure here on the same vehicle price, ask what the taxable amount was — the difference tells you how much dealer product is buried in the deal.
- Can a dealer refuse to remove pre-installed add-ons?
- They can refuse to remove the item, and often physically cannot — an etched windscreen or applied sealant stays. What they can always do is change the price. Treat the add-on as part of the vehicle price you are negotiating rather than as a fixed fee, or ask what else is in stock without the package.
- Is this a monthly payment calculator?
- Deliberately not. Payment calculators are the ones buyers most often find misleading, because a monthly figure hides the total and can be reshaped by extending the loan. This tool works on the out-the-door total instead: the number you actually hand over, and the only one worth comparing between dealers.
Next: build an out-the-door figure from scratch, or compare all 15 states.