Dealer-to-dealer trade checklist: what to confirm before you agree

Before you agree to a dealer-to-dealer trade, confirm six things in writing: the exact vehicle, the price basis, how holdback is treated, the freight arrangement, the paperwork and title handling, and who pays what. Most trades that go wrong fail on something nobody wrote down. A short checklist, used every time, removes most of the risk.

Who should use this checklist?

Anyone who approves a trade: the new-car manager, the general manager, the controller who handles the paperwork and the person who signs. Each owns a different line, so share it before the trade, not after. It works whether you find the other store by phone, through a group chat or through a marketplace.

What should you confirm about the vehicle?

Check the build, not just the model. Trim, package, color, options and model year should all match what your customer or your order needs. Confirm the unit is a new, unsold vehicle and that nothing on it is pending, such as a customer deposit or a hold. Mileage matters too, especially if the unit will be driven to you.

What price basis are you agreeing to?

Be explicit. A price can be invoice, invoice plus an amount, or invoice minus an amount. Say which one, and say whether both sides are using the same invoice figure.

On Locates.io the seller sets its number over or under invoice, and the vehicle price is exactly that or what an accepted offer says. The buyer's delivered price is that price plus freight and the platform fee.

How is holdback treated?

Decide this before the unit moves. Holdback and similar factory incentives can be handled differently by each store's accounting, so agree on whether the price already accounts for them. Do not assume the other side thinks about it the way you do. If you are unsure, ask your controller before you sign, not after the unit arrives.

What freight arrangement is it?

There are three common options: a carrier, a driveaway driver, or buyer pickup. Confirm which one applies, who arranges it, and what the buyer will pay. On Locates.io you see an estimate range first. At terms, the freight charge is the carrier's quote split per unit plus a flat $75 a unit, and it is locked. Locates.io books the carrier, so nobody at your store chases a truck. Buyer pickup means no freight charge. See freight for dealer-to-dealer trades for the detail.

What paperwork and title handling is needed?

Agree on the dealer trade form, who sends the MSO or title documents, and by when. Also settle how floor plan payoff and new floor plan are handled on each side. Missing paperwork is the most common reason a finished trade drags on.

Who pays what?

On Locates.io selling is free. The buyer pays the $199 per unit platform fee, and only when a trade happens.

How do you protect yourself in the room?

Use a written agreement that both sides sign, ideally the same version. On Locates.io, buyer and seller sign independently in either order, and the agreement executes only when both have signed the current version. You sign in the app or from an emailed link, and you get a signed PDF with a certificate. Signed versions are never edited. Any change means both sides sign again. Identities and VINs are released only at that point.

One more case to know. If the unit sells somewhere else after signing, Locates.io marks it and freezes the deal: no pickup, no completion. Ops replaces the unit or drops it, and both dealers sign again. Locates.io runs the conversation with each side, so there is no dealer-to-dealer messaging to manage.

How does the money move?

Units transfer at invoice directly between the dealers, by floor plan swap or check. Locates.io never holds the invoice amount. Any amount over invoice runs through Locates.io: whoever owes pays Locates.io, and Locates.io pays whoever is owed. A payout is not recorded until the incoming funds it depends on have been received.

What should you check at delivery?

Inspect the unit before you sign for it. Compare it with the pickup condition report. Damage photos are taken only at pickup and delivery, and they are visible to the two parties after signing. Note any mark on the day it arrives.

Why does a checklist matter if you know the other manager?

Familiar trades feel safe, so steps get skipped. A phone call settles the price and nobody mentions the paperwork. Three weeks later, one store is still waiting on an MSO and the other is waiting on a check. The checklist is not about distrust. It is about making sure both stores remember the same deal.

When the other store is one you have never met, the checklist is even more useful. It gives you a neutral set of questions that apply to every trade, so nothing depends on a relationship.

When should you walk away?

Pause the trade if any of these happen:

• The other side cannot confirm the exact build.
• The price basis keeps shifting.
• Nobody owns the paperwork.
• You are asked to move the unit before anything is signed.

A trade worth doing survives a short delay for clarity. If it does not, you have learned something useful before the unit moved.

A one-page checklist

1. Exact build matches: trim, package, color, year.
2. Unit is new and unencumbered.
3. Price basis written down, same invoice figure.
4. Holdback treatment agreed.
5. Freight option and who bears it confirmed.
6. Paperwork owner and deadline named.
7. Payment method chosen.
8. Both sides sign the same version.
9. Pickup and delivery condition recorded.

For the full flow, read the dealer-to-dealer trade guide and what a dealer trade should cost.

What to do next

Print this list and attach it to your next trade. Then see how it works to run the same steps on Locates.io, with the paperwork generated for you.