1. Evidence is ranked by source quality
OTD Guard starts with the buyer's written quote, buyer's order, retail installment contract or worksheet. Those documents establish what this dealer is actually proposing. Outside research is then used to test specific lines rather than replace the customer's transaction with a generic estimate.
- Transaction documents: the exact written price, fees, products, APR, term, payment and amount financed offered to the buyer.
- Official primary sources: manufacturer model pages and incentive disclosures; state tax, title and registration sources; and regulator or court documents.
- Direct market evidence: current written competing quotes and clearly comparable dealer offers, adjusted for location, model, trim and date.
- Directional community evidence: buyer reports and public discussions. These can reveal patterns but are not treated as authenticated transactions unless supporting documents are available.
Sources are dated when practical because manufacturer charges, incentives, tax rules and dealer inventories change. A missing or weak source lowers confidence; it is not silently converted into a fact.
2. Every charge gets a classification
Labels such as “freight” or “processing” do not by themselves establish who requires a charge or whether it can be changed. OTD Guard uses these working classifications:
| Classification | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Government charge | A tax, title, registration or similar charge supported by an applicable official source. |
| Manufacturer-published charge | A destination, commodity or similar amount published by the manufacturer for the model and period. |
| Dealer-imposed charge | An amount created or set by the dealer, even if it may be common in that market. |
| Optional product | A warranty, service contract, GAP product, GPS, protection package, accessory or other item that requires clear itemization and consent. |
| Unverified | A line whose basis cannot be established from the submitted documents and available reliable sources. |
“Dealer-imposed” does not automatically mean illegal, fraudulent or removable. It means the buyer should compare the total written OTD and ask who receives the money and whether the deal changes without it.
3. The price screen avoids double counting
The free calculator first reconciles the quote from the entered selling price and line items. If the selling price is missing, MSRP is used only as a placeholder and the result says so. Taxes and government charges remain unknown unless the buyer enters them.
This total is a review amount, not promised savings. OTD Guard does not add those same line items and then add the entire OTD-to-MSRP gap again. Any remainder is shown as unallocated or unexplained depending on whether government charges were supplied.
The free Price Score is a conservative burden screen based on the entered review amount relative to MSRP. When government charges are missing, the reconciliation first allows the larger of $500 or 12% of the entered selling price for unknown tax, title, registration and other unentered amounts. Only the remaining positive mismatch lowers the screen, and it is still labeled unallocated—not promised savings. When government charges are entered, a smaller rounding allowance is used. This is not an appraisal, a legal conclusion or a guarantee that another dealer will sell at a particular number.
4. Financing is evaluated as cost risk
The Finance Score reflects the entered dealer APR and term. A high APR cannot receive a perfect score merely because no lower alternative was entered. Conversely, a missing APR is not treated as 0%; the finance score remains unscored.
When enough fields are present, the payment check independently computes the amortized payment from amount financed, APR and term. A mismatch prompts a paperwork review. It can result from data-entry mistakes, financed products, fees, a different first-payment structure or other contract details; it does not by itself prove payment packing or fraud.
Outside or promotional APRs are user-entered scenarios. Estimated savings are shown only when a lower rate is supplied, and approval or eligibility is never assumed. Rebates and promotional financing may be mutually exclusive, so they should be compared as separate written total-cost scenarios.
5. Recommendations are decision prompts
The free screen uses action labels such as Looks competitive—verify paperwork, Counter, Change financing before signing and Walk/shop another dealer. A positive screen is deliberately not phrased as unconditional approval to buy. The full audit can incorporate current model evidence, location-specific government charges and the actual uploaded contract.
Recommendation confidence depends on document completeness, source quality, comparability and whether key figures reconcile. Material unknowns are disclosed rather than filled with optimistic assumptions.
6. Important limits
- OTD Guard is not a dealer, lender, broker, attorney, tax professional or financial adviser.
- Scores summarize entered transaction risk; they do not predict mechanical condition, future resale value or loan approval.
- A fee is described as unlawful only when reliable authority clearly applies to the specific jurisdiction and facts.
- Public market listings and community reports may be incomplete, stale or not directly comparable.
- The buyer must inspect the vehicle, read the final contract and confirm all figures before signing.
Questions about a result or source can be sent to support@otdguard.com.
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