How much does a vehicle locator cost? Fees explained next to a flat $199

A vehicle locator can cost a per-find charge, a monthly subscription, or both, and the amount varies by provider and contract. We do not quote other services' prices because we would be guessing. What we can state exactly is our own: selling on Locates.io is free, and the buyer pays a $199-per-unit platform fee, one time, charged only when a trade happens. No monthly fee.

What are the usual ways a locator charges?

Locator services tend to use one or more of these models.

• Per find. You pay each time a unit is located, whether or not you buy it.
• Monthly subscription. You pay every month for access, whether or not you use it.
• Percentage of the deal. The charge grows with the price of the unit.
• Listing or search fees. You pay to post or to look.

Each model puts the cost in a different place. A per-find charge costs you when a search succeeds. A subscription costs you in months when nothing moved. A percentage costs most on the expensive units, which are often the ones that most need to move. For the broader comparison, see trade, locate, auction or wholesale: what each exit costs.

What does a flat per-unit fee look like by comparison?

Here is how the models compare in structure. This table names no providers and states no prices.

What exactly does the $199 cover?

The platform fee covers the work that normally falls on a manager: finding the unit through a blind marketplace, agreeing terms through Locates.io instead of phone tag, generating the agreement that both dealers sign, and running the settlement of any amount over invoice. It is one fee per unit. It is locked when the terms are finalized and taken from versioned pricing rules, so a later change never alters a deal that is already finalized.

Locates.io adds nothing to the seller's vehicle price and keeps none of it. The buyer's delivered price is the seller's price plus the freight charge plus the platform fee.

What about freight?

Freight is a separate item. Before terms, you see an estimate as a range, never a quote. At terms, the charge is the carrier's quote split per unit plus Locates.io's flat $75 a unit, and it is locked. Buyer pickup means no freight charge. From terms, the price, freight charge and fee are itemized. The freight guide explains how the numbers fit together.

Who pays the fee?

The buyer. Selling is free. A seller who wants an aged unit to move does it with price: set the number under invoice and the buyer's delivered total drops.

Why does the structure matter more than the number?

Two services can look similar on a rate card and behave very differently in practice. A monthly plan feels cheap in a busy month and expensive in a slow one. A per-find charge feels cheap until you run many searches for one unit. A percentage feels small on a modest unit and large on a truck.

A flat per-unit fee is easy to plan around. You know the figure before you list, you know it will not change with the price, and you owe nothing in a month when nothing trades.

When is a flat fee not the better choice?

If you already trade weekly with a store you trust, and you are happy for them to see your inventory, a direct arrangement costs you only time. A flat fee earns its place on the trades you would not otherwise make: a unit from a store you do not know, an aged unit you do not want local competitors to see, or a deal you want papered and settled without chasing anyone. Read what a dealer trade should cost for the full reasoning.

How should you budget for it?

Budget per traded unit, not per month. Take the number of units you realistically buy in a quarter, multiply by $199, and add your expected freight for the units you want delivered. Since freight is an estimate range until terms, use the top of the range for planning. Buyer pickup removes the freight charge entirely. Units you sell cost you nothing.

Compare that total with what you currently spend on locating, calling, driving and chasing paperwork. Include staff time, because that is usually the biggest cost and the one that never appears on a statement.

How do you compare any locator fairly?

Ask five questions of any service you consider.

1. Do I pay when nothing trades?
2. Does the charge change with the price of the unit?
3. Is freight priced separately, and do I see it before I commit?
4. Does it expose my inventory to other stores?
5. Who handles paperwork and settlement?

Put the answers next to your own numbers and the cheaper option for each unit becomes clear.

What to do next

Add up what you spent on locating units last quarter, then compare it with $199 per unit you buy plus freight. See the pricing page and how it works.