How SnagMyCar works, from your car details to the keys

SnagMyCar runs three written bidding rounds between franchised dealers that have your exact new car in stock, or that can factory order your build. Round 1 takes about 36 hours, round 2 about 24 and the final call about 12, so itemized quotes are usually ready in 3 to 4 days. Then you pick one and buy from that dealer.

Step 1: You describe the exact car

When you start your search, you give us the details a dealer needs to match a specific vehicle on their lot:

• Make, model and trim, or for a factory order, your configurator build code or build summary
• Exterior and interior colors you would accept, in order of preference
• Must-have options or packages, and anything you do not want
• Your search radius, in miles from your home
• Pickup or delivery, and your address so we can estimate either one
• Your best written out the door quote, if you already have one

That quote is the bar for our guarantee: if we don't beat it, your $99 deposit is refunded and you pay nothing. Full terms are on the pricing page.

Step 2: We find every matching car in stock

We search the inventory of franchised dealers inside your radius for vehicles that match what you described. Each dealer we contact gets asked about a specific vehicle, usually identified by its stock number or VIN.

We contact franchised new-car dealers only. If a brand sells direct at one set price, such as Tesla, Rivian, Lucid or Polestar, there are no competing dealers to bid against each other, so please do not sign up for those brands.

If you are factory ordering a custom build

The same process works for a car that has to be built (see factory orders). Use the manufacturer's online configurator, then send us the build code or the build summary when you sign up. Instead of searching inventory, we email that brand's dealers within your radius and ask each one for a written quote on your exact build. The email asks for:

• The selling price, stated relative to sticker
• Any market adjustment or dealer markup, on its own line
• The deposit amount and the terms for refunding it
• Whether the dealer has allocation to place the order, and the estimated build and delivery timing
• The doc fee, any add-ons they plan to put on the car, and taxes and government fees

Round 2 and the final call run the same way. After you choose, we check that the dealer's order matches your build code and price, and we keep handling the dealer through order confirmation and delivery. The fee is the same $99 deposit and $400 success fee.

For allocation-limited models, including many exotics from brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Rolls-Royce, dealers control who gets a build slot and some models sell at or above sticker. The realistic goal there is often removing or reducing a market adjustment, a fair deposit with clear refund terms and a firm delivery slot in writing, rather than a discount.

Step 3: Round 1, about 36 hours

Every matching dealer gets an email from us. It is short and it asks for the same things from everyone, so the answers can be compared line by line. The email asks the dealer for:

• A written out the door price on the specific vehicle
• The selling price, stated separately
• The doc fee and any other dealer fees, each on its own line
• Every add-on already on the car or on the paperwork, with its price, and whether it can be removed
• Sales tax, title and registration as the dealer would charge them for your address
• Confirmation that the vehicle is in stock and available

The email does not ask about monthly payments, trade-ins or financing. Mixing them into the price is how a nice-looking payment hides a bad total. Our guide to negotiating an out the door price by email explains why this format gets straight answers.

Dealers that will not put an itemized number in writing do not make the comparison.

Step 4: Round 2, about 24 hours

We take the best written out the door number from round 1 and send it to the other dealers that quoted. Each one is told the number to beat, not who sent it. This is the round where most of the movement happens, because dealers now know there is a competing written offer on the same car.

We compare like with like. A quote that looks lower because it leaves out the doc fee, or because it lists add-ons on a separate sheet, gets corrected before it is ranked.

Step 5: Final call, about 12 hours

The top two dealers get one last chance to improve. After this, the rounds are closed and no more numbers are accepted.

Step 6: You compare totals and choose

You get a side by side list of every written, itemized quote. For each one we add our estimate of pickup or delivery cost, so the ranking reflects the total to your driveway rather than the price on paper. A dealer two hours away has to beat the nearby dealer by more than the cost of getting the car home.

You pick the quote you want. Some buyers choose a slightly higher total from a dealer close to home for warranty service later.

Until this point, dealers deal with us, so you do not get sales calls.

Step 7: We check the buyer's order

We tell the winning dealer you accept their quote and ask for a buyer's order (the dealer's written purchase agreement) at that exact number. When it arrives, we check it against the quote you picked:

• Same vehicle: VIN or stock number, trim, colors and options
• Same selling price
• Same doc fee, with no new dealer fees added
• No add-ons that were not in the quote, and none that you asked to remove
• Taxes and government fees consistent with your address
• The same out the door total

If anything does not match, we send it back to the dealer to fix. The $400 success fee is charged only after the buyer's order matches the price you picked.

Step 8: Pickup or delivery

You buy directly from the dealer. Your name goes on the title. We never take title to the car and never handle your payment.

Pickup. You schedule a time with the dealer and go to the store. Bring your driver's license, proof of insurance on the new car, your payment method or loan pre-approval, and a printed or saved copy of the buyer's order we checked. Our new car buying checklist covers the full list.

Delivery. Some dealers deliver, sometimes for a fee, and that fee should already be in the total you chose. If the dealer is across a state line, read buying a car out of state for how tax and registration usually work.

What you do at the dealership

Very little, by design. The price is set. You inspect the car, confirm the VIN matches the buyer's order and sign.

You will still meet the finance office. They may offer a loan, an extended warranty, GAP coverage, tire and wheel plans or paint protection. You can say no to all of them. If you finance through the dealer, compare their rate to your credit union or bank pre-approval and take the lower one. Lenders commonly allow dealers to mark up a rate by about 2 to 2.5 percentage points. We don't sell loans, so this advice is free. Our dealer add-ons guide covers the common extras.

If the dealer changes the price at signing

Once a buyer's order is in writing this is uncommon, but it happens: a new fee, an add-on on the contract, or a higher total.

Do not sign. Point to the buyer's order and ask them to match it. If they will not, walk away and tell us. We will contact the dealer about the written number they agreed to. If they still will not honor it, the other quotes in your comparison are still there to choose from. You do not pay the $400 success fee on a deal that did not match.

For the case for and against using a service at all, see is a car broker worth it. To compare us with other options, see our roundup of car buying services.