What Is the Dealer Invoice Price?

In most cases, a Car dealership’s “dealer invoice” is a value, very close to true dealer cost.

To calculate a true wholesale car price dealer invoice is what the dealership paid the manufacturer minus marketing considerations, such as holdback and incentives.

In many cases, you can negotiate a price below car invoice, if you are less particular about the options you want on the car and you leverage competing dealers against each other.

But, it’s important to keep in mind that the validity of this method for calculating wholesale car prices can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Typically, foreign car brands incur greater costs, in the form of tariffs, taxes and import costs, which makes it unrealistic make the actual dealer invoice, a starting point for price negotiation.

The best car buying tip we can give you is to shop around and get dealers to compete with one another. As the dealers fall over themselves competing for your business, it will become abundantly clear to you what is fair new car price. If you’re flexible on color and options, you are on your way to getting a fantastic deal.