How Deal Score works
DealRadar estimates a comparable asking-price range from similar active Canadian listings. It is decision support—not a guarantee of condition, transaction price, or future resale value.
1. Match the actual vehicle
Comparables must share make and model. The engine then gives the most weight to the same derivative or performance badge, body style, drivetrain, nearby model years, similar kilometres and the same province. A CLE 300 is not treated as a CLE 53 just because both say “CLE.”
2. Remove duplicates and weak evidence
Duplicate VINs, invalid records and inactive listings are excluded. Interquartile-range checks reduce the influence of extreme asking prices. Missing trim, unknown history, stale verification and small samples explicitly lower confidence.
3. Estimate a defensible asking range
The engine adjusts comparables for year and kilometres using observed asking prices where enough data exists, then uses a similarity-weighted median. The displayed low and high values reflect comparable dispersion and are rounded to avoid false precision.
4. Calculate Deal Score
Asking price versus the adjusted midpoint drives the value component. Market confidence, mileage, known history and pricing momentum complete the score. Low confidence caps the result, so four weak comparables cannot create a 100/100 deal. Suspiciously cheap outliers are capped and flagged.
5. Build an offer range
Opening offer, target purchase, good-buy and walk-away guides are deterministic outputs of the same comparable asking range, listing age and verified price history. Every number is ordered and capped at the current advertised price. They do not predict what a seller will accept.
6. Explain dealer margin and wholesale scenarios
For qualifying dealer listings, DealRadar compares the asking price with persisted comparable asking evidence and may show a broad buy-side acquisition and gross-spread scenario. The scenario is withheld for thin evidence, a declared accident or an anomalously low asking price. DealRadar does not observe dealer invoices, auction results, completed sales or private carrying costs, and it does not calculate net dealer profit. Buyer-reported outcomes stay unreviewed until a separate evidence review can validate them.
What DealRadar does not know
The model mainly observes advertised asking prices, not completed transactions. Accident status marked “unknown” does not mean clean. Mechanical condition, liens, option packages, financing conditions, taxes and dealer fees require independent verification before purchase.