Dealer Transparency Index Program Rules
Exhibit A — DTI Rating Methodology
Version 4.0 (November 10, 2026)
This version replaces Version 3.1 (September 14, 2026). Earlier versions are archived in the Methodology Changelog.
A.1 Data Sources
DTI Ratings are based on out-the-door price quotes (“OTD quotes”). An OTD quote is a document reflecting the total cost of purchasing a vehicle, including the sale price, dealer fees (including any documentation fee), estimated taxes and government charges, and any dealer-added accessories or services.
Quotes may enter the system through CarEdge Dealer Connect, direct agent negotiations, the Concierge service, or mystery shops conducted through the Program, including mystery shops requested by a dealership of its own rooftop. Regardless of source, all quotes are subject to the same eligibility criteria described in Section A.2, and every eligible quote is included in the scoring calculation for the dealer that issued it.
All mystery shops conducted through the Program, whether initiated by CarEdge or requested by a dealership, and whether directed at the requesting dealership or at another dealership, are conducted using the same methodology and are evaluated under this Exhibit A on the ordinary evaluation cycle. A quote resulting from a mystery shop is treated in the same manner as any other quote and is included in the scoring calculation for the dealership shopped if it satisfies the eligibility criteria in Section A.2.
A.1.1 Definitions
In this Exhibit:
- (a) Dealer fees are all charges the dealership adds to the vehicle price, including the documentation fee. They exclude government charges.
- (b) Government charges are taxes and title, registration and other fees set by a government.
- (c) Advertised priceis the clear and conspicuous price shown for the vehicle on the dealership’s vehicle detail page. It does not mean MSRP.
- (d) Starting price and selling price are the prices on the quote before and after any discount.
- (e) A quoted add-on is an add-on the quote does not designate as optional. An optional add-on is one the quote designates as one the customer may decline.
- (f) The rating window is the twelve (12) months before each scoring cycle.
A.2 Quote Eligibility Criteria
Only quotes meeting all of the following criteria are included in the scoring calculation:
- (a) The document is identified as a valid OTD quote, either through CarEdge’s automated classification system or through visual verification of the document image.
- (b) The stated total price falls within a reasonable range for a vehicle purchase (greater than $0 and less than $500,000).
- (c) The documentation fee does not exceed $5,000, when present in the document.
- (d) The document has not been invalidated by the CarEdge review team.
- (e) The quote and the interaction from which it was generated have not been identified by CarEdge as artificial, duplicative, manipulated, coordinated for the purpose of influencing a DTI Rating or otherwise not representative of bona fide consumer-facing dealership activity.
- (f) The document states an out-the-door price. A document without one is not graded.
Only eligible quotes dated within the rating window count toward the DTI Rating. Eligible quotes outside the rating window remain published under Section A.10 but are not scored.
Human review of quotes is a continuous process that runs independently of the scoring cycle. A quote may enter the calculation before being manually reviewed and may be excluded in subsequent cycles if later invalidated by a reviewer. CarEdge may invalidate individual quotes or groups of related quotes where available information reasonably indicates that the underlying activity does not satisfy the eligibility criteria above.
A.3 Scoring Dimensions and Weights
Each eligible quote in the rating window is scored on four independent dimensions, from 0 to 100. A dealer’s score in each dimension is the average of its quote scores, with newer quotes weighted more as described in Section A.4.1. Each dimension score is multiplied by its weight to produce the final transparency score.
| Scoring dimension | Weight |
|---|---|
| Fee Transparency (dealer fees) | 30% |
| Add-On Behavior | 30% |
| Price Accuracy | 30% |
| Data Quality | 10% |
A.3.1 Fee Transparency (30%)
This dimension evaluates whether the dealer fees on each quote are reasonable relative to the state benchmark described in Section A.11.1. The dealer fees on a quote are added together, the documentation fee included, and the total is compared with the benchmark. The documentation fee is not evaluated separately and is not weighted more than other dealer fees.
A quote whose total dealer fees are at or below the benchmark scores 100. For every $10 by which the total exceeds the benchmark, 1 point is deducted, to a minimum of 0.
A quote on which no dealer fee is listed is not included in this dimension; the missing itemization is reflected in Data Quality (Section A.3.4). A dealership that CarEdge has confirmed charges no dealer fees receives 100 in this dimension.
If sufficient state-level data is unavailable, CarEdge applies a default benchmark of $499.
A.3.2 Add-On Behavior (30%)
This rule is applied to each quote in the rating window, and the dealer’s score in this dimension is the average of its quote scores, weighted as described in Section A.4.1.
This dimension evaluates two combined aspects:
- (a) How frequently the dealer presents quotes with no add-on charges. The higher this proportion, the higher the score (up to 60 points in this sub-dimension).
- (b) The average dollar amount of add-ons charged when included, according to the following scale (up to 40 points in this sub-dimension):
| Average Add-On Amount | Points |
|---|---|
| Up to $500 | 40 |
| $501 – $1,500 | 30 |
| $1,501 – $3,000 | 20 |
| $3,001 – $5,000 | 10 |
| Over $5,000 | 0 |
Add-ons that the dealer explicitly designates as optional in the OTD quote — meaning the customer may decline them — are excluded from both sub-dimensions above. Add-ons not designated as optional (including those marked mandatory or left unspecified in the quote) are treated as mandatory and continue to be scored under both sub-dimensions as described.
- (a) A dealer that includes only optional add-ons in their quotes receives the same score in this dimension as a dealer with no add-ons.
- (b) A dealer with both optional and mandatory add-ons is penalized only for the mandatory ones.
- (c) The classification of an add-on as “optional” or “mandatory” is determined from the information contained in the OTD quote submitted by the dealer.
A.3.3 Price Accuracy (30%)
This dimension measures whether the dealership’s advertised price includes every charge a buyer must pay to purchase the vehicle, other than government charges and optional add-ons, and whether the quote gives at least the discount the advertised price reflects. It follows the published guidance of the Federal Trade Commission for motor vehicle dealers.
Each quote is compared with the dealership’s vehicle detail page for the same vehicle on the following items: (a) the documentation fee; (b) the other dealer fees; (c) the quoted add-ons; (d) the advertised price; and (e) the discount. A quote that does not match on any one of these items is a non-matching quote and does not receive the full score for this dimension. No tolerance applies.
A quote below the advertised price is not a non-matching quote for that reason. A markup, addendum or market adjustment on the quote that the vehicle detail page does not show reduces the quote’s discount. The starting price is not checked separately. When the advertised price for a quoted vehicle cannot be determined, that quote does not lower the dealer’s score in this dimension.
A.3.4 Data Quality (10%)
This dimension measures how completely each quote itemizes its charges. Each quote earns 25 points for each of the following that it lists on its own line: (a) taxes; (b) dealer fees; (c) add-ons; (d) government charges.
A single line that combines several dealer fees does not count as itemized dealer fees. The documentation fee counts as a dealer fee. A quote with no add-ons receives the points in (c). Corrections approved under Section A.8 are applied before this dimension is calculated.
A.4 Transparency Score Calculation
The DTI transparency score is the weighted sum of the four components:
Transparency Score = (Fee Transparency x 30%) + (Add-On Behavior x 30%) + (Price Accuracy x 30%) + (Data Quality x 10%)
The result is a number between 0 and 100.
A.4.1 Recency Weighting
Only quotes in the rating window are used. They are ordered from newest to oldest and divided into four groups of equal size; when the number of quotes is not divisible by four, the additional quotes are placed in the newer groups. The groups count for 50%, 30%, 15% and 5% of the score, newest first. A dealer with three quotes uses 60%, 25% and 15%; two quotes, 70% and 30%; one quote, 100%.
Each quote is scored in each dimension, and each quote carries the weight of its group. Weights apply only to the calculation of scores. Amounts, counts and averages published on the Dealer Profile are not weighted.
A.5 Grade Scale
The transparency score is converted to a letter grade according to the following scale:
| Grade — Score | Description |
|---|---|
| A — 90 or above | Highly transparent dealer |
| B — 80 – 89 | Transparent dealer |
| C — 70 – 79 | Moderate transparency |
| D — 60 – 69 | Below-average transparency |
| F — Below 60 | Insufficient transparency |
A.6 No-Quote Dealers
A dealer that has received three (3) or more documented contact attempts with confirmed delivery status, and has not provided any written OTD price, will automatically receive a grade of F with a transparency score of 0. This grade, together with the record of contact attempts made, will be published on the Dealer Profile.
A.6.1 Dealers Without Recent Quotes
A dealership with eligible quotes, none of them within the rating window, has no current DTI Rating. Its Dealer Profile shows its earlier quotes for reference. It is not included in state rankings or state benchmarks. This Section takes precedence over Section A.6.
A.7 Update Frequency
A dealership’s DTI Rating is recalculated and published each time a new eligible quote for that dealership is received. Each recalculation incorporates all eligible quotes in the rating window and the administrative adjustments approved up to that time.
A.8 Administrative Overrides
CarEdge maintains an administrative override process that may modify the data used in the score calculation. The CarEdge team may apply technical corrections to dealer fees, add-ons, prices, or dealership identity, subject to internal approval, when documented errors exist in the source data. These overrides require internal approval before taking effect and take precedence over the original quote data.
A.9 Planned Methodology Improvements
A.9.1 is removed; recency weighting now applies under Section A.4.1.
CarEdge plans to extend Section A.3.3 so that a quote also does not receive the full score for Price Accuracy when it calls an optional add-on required, states that an installed option cannot be removed, misstates the price of an option, or includes a charge for an option the buyer did not agree to. These items are not scored under this version.
A.10 Dealer Quote Publication
In addition to the rating score, the Program publishes the quote history received from each dealer. This history serves as evidence of the behaviors evaluated and allows consumers to directly verify the prices, fees, and add-ons charged in real transactions.
The quote publication process runs each time a DTI Rating is recalculated under Section A.7. It applies the same eligibility criteria described in Section A.2 and reflects the same administrative overrides described in Section A.8. The specific characteristics of this process are:
- (a) Scope: every eligible quote is published, ordered from most recent to oldest. Quotes outside the rating window are marked as not counted toward the DTI Rating.
- (b) Name consolidation: Quotes from name variants of the same dealer are grouped under the canonical name, consistent with the scoring calculation.
- (c) Add-on normalization: Add-on names are standardized through the system’s mapping table, which resolves duplicates across alternate names and excludes items classified as fees or not publicly displayable.
- (d) Images: When a redacted version of the OTD document exists (with the customer’s personal data removed), it is published in place of the original image.
- (e) Administrative overrides: Overrides approved by CarEdge at the time of each run are applied to the original quote data prior to publication, so that the visible history always reflects approved corrections.
- (f) Price check: for each quote, the result of the comparison with the advertised price under Section A.3.3 is published.
- (g) Limited data: when a dealer has fewer than three (3) quotes in the rating window, its grade is published with a limited-data notice.
A.11 State and Brand Reference Averages
The Program calculates and publishes two types of reference averages that complement the individual dealer rating and allow consumers to contextualize it relative to the broader market.
A.11.1 State Dealer Fee Benchmark
The state reference value used in the Fee Transparency dimension is the median, across the rated dealers in the state, of each dealer’s median total dealer fees over the rating window. Dealers whose quotes list no dealer fee are excluded. If a state has no dealers with available dealer fee data, a default reference value of $499 is applied.
This calculation is performed within the same scoring cycle, across the full population of dealers in each state, so all dealers in a state are evaluated simultaneously against the same benchmark. The state used for this calculation is the definitively resolved state for each dealer — determined through location enrichment layers including MarketCheck data, zip codes, and VINs — not necessarily the state appearing in the original quote text.
The scoring cycle also calculates each dealer’s rank among the dealers in its state that have a current DTI Rating.
For consumer information, the Program also publishes each state’s average documentation fee and, where one exists, its legal maximum. Neither is used in the DTI Rating.
A.11.2 Brand and National Add-On Statistics
The Program produces aggregated add-on statistics organized by market segment. This data allows consumers to understand which add-ons are common for each vehicle brand and at what price they are typically charged, independent of any specific dealer.
The available segments are:
- (a) By brand: add-ons aggregated across all quotes for vehicles of a specific brand (e.g., Toyota, Honda, Ford). Reflects the typical add-on patterns for buyers of that brand.
- (b) National: add-ons aggregated across all brands and all dealers in the program, without distinction.
- (c) Multi-round negotiations: add-ons present in the first quote of processes in which the same vehicle (identified by its VIN serial number) received more than one offer round, allowing analysis of starting points in active negotiations.
For each add-on type in each segment, the following are calculated: frequency (number of quotes including the add-on and the percentage it represents of the segment total) and average price charged when present. Add-ons classified as fees or not publicly displayable are excluded from these calculations. The process also includes manufacturer-installed options, which are tallied separately from dealer-charged add-ons.
These statistics are updated after each quote processing, synchronized with the scoring and quote publication cycles.