Frequently asked questions

Locates.io is a dealer-to-dealer marketplace for new vehicles. Dealers list units, other dealers find and buy them, and Locates.io runs the deal end to end: terms, signatures, settlement and freight. Both sides stay anonymous to each other until both have signed.

Franchised new-vehicle dealers. We verify each dealership before it can list or buy, and every account is tied to a real rooftop.

Fill in the listing form, forward the factory invoice to your private intake address, or import a CSV or spreadsheet from your DMS. The VIN fills in the year, make, model and trim, and nothing goes live until you confirm it.

No. You can list a unit with a price, mark it open to offers so buyers send you a number against invoice, or keep it private and use it only for your own Hold vs Move math.

Selling is free. The buyer pays $199 per unit, one time, only when a trade happens (locked when the deal's terms are finalized, invoiced when both dealers have signed, and refunded if the deal is cancelled before pickup). There is no monthly fee, no listing fee and no contract. Freight is priced per load and shown before anyone signs.

The buyer. Selling is free. The buyer pays $199 a unit, only when a trade happens, and the fee is locked when the terms are finalized. Each side sees only its own numbers.

No. The fee is locked from the pricing rules in force when the terms are finalized. A later rule change never touches a deal you already finalized.

No. Buyers see the vehicle, a distance band and an anonymous dealer profile. Your name, address, city, dealer code, VIN and exact distance stay sealed until both sides have signed the agreement.

Yes. Set a radius block (25, 50, 75 or 100 miles) for your whole store or for a single unit. Dealers inside that radius never see those units anywhere on Locates.io, and nothing tells them anything was hidden.

No. There is no dealer-to-dealer messaging. Every conversation goes between you and Locates.io, and Locates.io acts as the rep for both sides.

When both dealers have signed the current version of the agreement. At that point each side receives the sealed part of the agreement with names and VINs.

Units transfer between dealers at invoice, by floor-plan swap or check. Locates.io never holds the invoice amount. The difference over invoice runs through Locates.io: whoever owes pays Locates.io directly, and Locates.io pays whoever is owed.

No. Locates.io records a payout only after the incoming funds it depends on have been received. Each deal shows you who pays whom and how much before you sign.

Here is a made-up 10-unit deal. The units total $450,000.00 at invoice. The seller sold them for $2,000.00 over invoice in total. The Plus already holds the freight and the platform fee. It is $774.00 a unit, so the buyer's number is invoice plus $774.00 a unit, $457,740.00 delivered for the 10. The units move dealer to dealer at invoice, $450,000.00, by floor-plan swap or by check. Then two checks: the buyer pays Locates.io $7,740.00, and Locates.io pays the seller $2,000.00. If the seller had been $500.00 under invoice in total, the seller would pay Locates.io $500.00 instead. Whoever owes money writes a check, and money owed to Locates.io is paid to Locates.io directly. Each side sees only its own numbers.

Money you owe to Locates.io is never routed through the other dealer, and money owed to you comes from Locates.io.

No. A freight estimate is always a range, never a quote. The carrier's quote, the accepted cost and the final cost are separate numbers. The freight charge on your deal is fixed when the terms are finalized.

Yes. With buyer pickup there is no freight charge at all.

The carrier inspects each unit at pickup and again at delivery, with condition photos. Damage is documented with photos at those two points, and both dealers acknowledge the report. The buyer has 48 hours after delivery to open a damage claim with Locates.io; the carrier payout on that load waits while a claim is open. Photos are taken only at pickup and delivery, never on listings, and only the two dealers (after both have signed) and Locates.io can see them.

Either side. Buyer and seller sign independently. The agreement takes effect only when both have signed the same current version.

Any amendment creates a new version, and both dealers sign again. Signed versions are never edited.

On the home page, pick Dealers or Freight and tap "New here? Sign up". It takes a few short steps. You confirm your email, then a Locates.io rep reviews every sign-up before you get access.

No. You sign in with your email and we send a one-time link. It only works on the device where you asked for it and expires after 15 minutes.

We may call to introduce Locates.io or about a trade you are part of. If you tell us to stop calling, cold phone outreach to your store stops across Locates.io. Matches and deal notices still reach you in the app or by email, and an email unsubscribe takes effect immediately.

Marketing, digest and reminder emails have an unsubscribe link, and an unsubscribe takes effect immediately. Reply 'no thanks' to any of our outreach emails and we take you off; dealers with an account can also turn marketing email off under Account, Notification settings. Emails about your own deals, invoices and sign-ins link to your notification settings instead. Every email carries our postal address.

What we need to run trades: your dealership, your users, your listings and your deals. See the Privacy page for details, including our product analytics.