CarEdge’s newly launched Car Dealer Transparency Index was designed to use verified out-the-door quotes to rate dealerships based on the accuracy of advertised prices with no “pay to play” option.

In a release, executives say the system rewards reputable dealerships by basing scores on four weighted components: fee transparency (30%), add-on behavior (30%), price accuracy (30%) and data quality (10%). Quotes are collected via CarEdge’s AI-powered negotiation platform.

“Transparent dealers have been losing ground to competitors who game the system — listing cars at artificially low prices, then recouping margin through mandatory add-ons, inflated doc fees and ‘market adjustments’ that only appear on the final contract.”

More than 4,600 U.S. dealerships had been given a rating at launch and dealers are invited to participate by claiming their profiles.

Read more at CarEdge