How to read a purchase quote, step by step

Work through a purchase quote in this order. Each step makes the next one easier to judge. 1. Find the vehicle price first. Look for the selling price — sometimes called the sale price or agreed price. Ignore the monthly payment until the end. The selling price is the number that moves the most, and the number you negotiate. 2. Add up everything the dealer is charging. List the doc fee, delivery or destination fee, any "dealer fees", and every accessory or protection-package line. Write each one down next to its amount so nothing hides inside a total. 3. Add taxes, title, and registration. These are government charges rather than dealer profit, but they still belong in the real total. If a quote says "plus tax and tags", the price on the page is not the price yet. 4. Subtract only the rebates you actually qualify for. Manufacturer rebates are usually yours regardless. Conditional rebates — military, student, loyalty, or "must finance with us" — can disappear if you don't meet the condition. 5. Add your trade-in and any payoff. A trade lowers the balance; a payoff on your current loan raises it. Keep them separate so you can see which is which. 6. Ask for the out-the-door total. That single number — price + fees + taxes + add-ons − rebates — is what you are actually agreeing to pay. 7. Check the finance numbers next, not first. If you are financing: amount financed, APR, term in months, monthly payment, finance charge, and total of payments. If those are missing, the quoted payment can't be verified. 8. Do the math yourself. Selling price + fees + taxes + add-ons − rebates should equal the quoted out-the-door price, within a few dollars. If it doesn't, ask the dealer to reconcile the difference in writing. 9. Write down what's missing. A quote with no APR, no out-the-door total, or no fee detail isn't a complete offer. Missing numbers are the first thing to ask for, and the easiest question to send by email. DealPilot does steps 2 through 8 for you when you paste in or upload a quote: it extracts each line item, totals them, and flags anything that doesn't add up or isn't there.