Before the Lot
About us
Who makes Before the Lot, and how it pays for itself.
Before the Lot is a free car-buying planner. It is made by Volocent Labs LLC, a small Pennsylvania company.
Why it exists
At a dealership, the trade-in, the price, the down payment and the monthly payment are worked on one sheet, and they move together. That makes it hard to see what a car really costs. Before the Lot lets a buyer settle three of those numbers at home, with paper behind them, and compare dealers on the one that's left: the out-the-door price.
How it makes money
- Credit unions and community banks can license it under their own name, for a flat annual fee, so their members and customers plan with it.
- We never sell or share your data.
- No dealer leads, no referral fees, no affiliate links and no ads.
- Free for buyers, with no account needed.
Your privacy, in short
- We never ask for your name, address, income, account numbers or credit. The only email we ever hold is one you choose to leave with feedback, for a reply.
- Your deal is saved in your browser. It goes online only if you make a share link or a private link, or sign in to keep it across devices; sign-in gives us an account number from Google and nothing else.
- Usage is counted anonymously, with no trackers or third-party scripts. The full Privacy Policy says what is kept and for how long.
If Volocent Labs ever stops
- Notice first. At least 90 days' notice on the site, and in writing to every credit union and bank that licenses it, before anything is switched off.
- Your deal stays yours. The deal math runs in your browser, and your deal is saved there, so the planner keeps working on a device that has opened it, even offline. Private links stay readable through the notice period, so you can print or copy your deal.
- For a lender: a full export of its report data and its brand settings, and the source code licensed to it at no cost so it can keep running the planner for its members and customers.