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Used Car Profit Margin Calculator

What's your real take-home per car? Plug in acquisition cost, recon, floorplan days, sale price, and F&I — see front gross, holding cost, total gross, and margin %.

Costs
Holding & sale
Numbers stay in the URL — bookmark or share the result with a partner.

Stop tracking deals on a yellow pad

DealerVLO calculates this for every deal automatically. Acquisition cost goes in when you add the vehicle, recon and transport go in when you spend, days-in-inventory tracks itself, and the gross hits your dashboard the moment you mark a deal sold.

  • Per-vehicle cost ledger — acquisition + recon + pack rolled up automatically
  • Aging report flags units past 60 days for repricing
  • Bill of Sale, FTC Buyers Guide, Federal Odometer Disclosure on every deal
  • Massachusetts RMV-1 fill (other states on the roadmap)
  • Public dealer website + inventory feeds (CarGurus, Facebook, Cars.com)
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Common questions

What is a good profit margin on a used car?▾
NIADA and NADA dealer-survey data consistently put average front-end gross at $1,800–$2,400 per unit, with total gross (including F&I) typically $3,000–$4,500. As a percentage of sale price, healthy total gross is usually 12–18%. Anything under 8% after holding costs is a warning sign — the unit is either mispriced or aging too long.
How do I calculate holding cost on a used car?▾
Holding cost is days in inventory × daily carrying cost per unit. For floorplanned cars, daily cost is roughly (vehicle cost × annual rate) ÷ 365 plus any per-unit flat fee. For cash-bought inventory, dealers usually pencil in $10–$25 per day to account for lot rent, insurance, and opportunity cost of tied-up capital.
Should F&I income be included in gross profit?▾
Most dealers track front-end gross (vehicle profit) and back-end gross(F&I — warranty, GAP, service contracts, retained doc fee) separately, then report total gross as the sum. This calculator shows both lines and a combined total so you can see where the money is actually coming from.
Why does the URL update with my numbers?▾
So you can share or bookmark a deal. Copy the page URL after you calculate and send it to a partner or your accountant — they'll see exactly the same breakdown you do. Nothing is stored on our servers.