What is a fair out-the-door price

The out-the-door price is the amount you pay to take the car, including tax and government fees, before your lender’s interest. A monthly payment is not an out-the-door price. Two dealers can advertise the same car at the same sale price and still ask for different totals once the doc fee, add-ons, and tax base are filled in.

The fair total this site uses

Fair out-the-door equals the selling price, minus discounts and rebates, minus a market adjustment, plus destination, plus the doc fee only up to a verified cap or presumption, plus tax computed on the verified base, plus government fees that the verified schedule says are due. Add-ons and finance products stay in only if you keep them. The trade allowance comes off as a credit. If a required government fee is missing, the fair total includes the verified minimum, because the real total will rise when the state charges it.

The difference is the quoted out-the-door total minus that fair total. A negative difference means the quote is under the verified charges, often because tax was computed on too small a base. The counteroffer is the fair total rounded down to the next $50, so you can name a number the dealer can accept without negotiating against cents.

What to send the dealer

After the checker runs, copy the script. It names the lines that broke a verified rule and asks for a rewritten buyer’s order at the counteroffer. Save the quote and open Compare quotes when you have a second dealer’s sheet. The comparison stays in this browser. There is no account, and the quotes are not sent to a server to be stored.

What this is not

The fair total is not a promise that a dealer will accept the counteroffer. Tolerances keep small rounding from becoming a red flag: sales tax may differ by the greater of $5 or 0.5 percent, and a government fee may sit above the schedule by the greater of $10 or 5 percent before it is called high.

Estimates from official sources as of October 24, 2026; not legal or tax advice; confirm with your DMV.