Before the Lot: a free car-buying planner

How dealerships get ya, and how to walk in ready.

Free and private. Settle three of the dealer's four numbers at home, make dealers bid on price, and walk in with a one-page deal sheet.

Start my deal. Free, no account needed, and it needs JavaScript to run.

Four boxes on one sheet, all moving at once

Most dealers work your deal on a single sheet split into four boxes: your trade-in, the price, your down payment and your monthly payment. It's often called a four-square. Every box can move. Give a little in one, take a little more in another, and by the end it's hard to see where the money went.

Trade-in. What the dealer pays for the car you have now. How the dealer uses it: A low appraisal, or a high one that's taken back somewhere else. What you do: Lock it to written offers. The best one is your floor.
Price. What you pay for the new car, out the door. How the dealer uses it: A high first number, so talking it down feels like a win. What you do: Leave it open. Get three dealers to bid on the out-the-door total.
Down payment. The cash you put in on the day. How the dealer uses it: Asked about first, to find your cash and steer to a payment. What you do: Choose it at home and lock it. It doesn't move at the desk.
Monthly payment. What you pay each month for the loan. How the dealer uses it: "What payment works for you?" Then the term quietly stretches. What you do: It's math on the other three, at your own pre-approved rate.

Before the Lot flips it. You fill in three of the boxes at home, with numbers you can back up. Price is the only one left to negotiate, and you make dealers compete for it.

Three steps from your couch

Lock three boxes at home. Get written offers for your trade-in, choose your down payment, then a pre-approval from your own lender for the rest. Each locks its box.
Find a fair price, then make dealers compete. Look up what the car usually sells for, set the most you will pay, and email three dealers for itemized out-the-door quotes.
Walk in with a one-page deal sheet. Your numbers, your walk line and what to say, on your phone or on paper. Price is the only thing left to talk about.

Three tabs, one deal

Before the Lot: Set a budget, find a fair price for the car, lock your trade-in, down payment and pre-approved loan, then email dealers for itemized out-the-door quotes and rank them.
At the Lot: Your one-page deal sheet for the dealership: the out-the-door price, your walk-away line, the numbers you've locked and what to say at the desk. Works offline.
After the Lot: A car-loan payoff planner: see what an extra payment each month saves in interest and months, with room for tight months.

Private by design

Your deal is saved in this browser, and online only if you make a private link. We never ask for your name, email, address, income history, account numbers or credit. Share links and private links hold deal numbers, with nothing that identifies you.

Before the Lot is an educational planning tool, not financial, legal or tax advice. Numbers are estimates; your lender's and dealer's documents are what count.