Automotive Dealerships

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Front to Back.

Full dealership deal structuring in one place — front-end gross, back-end F&I, payment solving, LTV checks, and reserve. Stop toggling between desks.

Field Notes
🚗 Automotive
How to Calculate Gross Profit on a Car Deal
March 2026·6 min read
Automotive
How to Calculate Gross Profit on a Car Deal
Car deals have two profit centers: front-end gross (selling price minus cost) and back-end gross (F&I products and rate reserve). Most salespeople miss 40-60% of deal profit by ignoring the back-end.
Read the Guide →
Automotive Deal Desk Calculator
Demo Mode
DEMOYou're viewing a limited demo of Deal Desk Pro — multi-deal tracking, print outputs & saved deals are unlocked in the full version.
DEALDESK
emorgan.net · Pro Suite
Sale Price
$42,500
Monthly Payment
$736 /mo
Total Profit
$3,320
Amount Financed
$43,307
LTV
101.9%
Bank Status
APPROVED
Demo Mode
🚗
Vehicle
MSRP
$
Discount
$
Dealer Cost
$
Pack
$
🔄
Trade
Trade Value
$
Payoff
$
Trade Equity$2,000
💰
F&I Products
VSC Price
$
VSC Cost
$
GAP Price
$
GAP Cost
$
📊
Finance
Buy Rate APR %
Rate Markup %
Term (months)
Cash Down
$
Tax Rate %
Doc Fee
$
🎯
Strategy
Min Profit
$
Bank LTV Cap %
Monthly Payment
$736/mo
72 months · 6.9% APR · $43,307 financed
Sell APR6.9%
LTV101.9%
Bank✓ Approved
Payment Negotiation Solver
Target Payment$650/mo
$200$1,200
Front Gross
$1,000
Backend Profit
$1,995
Reserve
$325
Total Profit
$3,320
Deal Breakdown3/15/2026
MSRP$45,000
Discount($2,500)
Sale Price$42,500
Trade Allowance($12,000)
Trade Payoff$10,000
Cash Down($3,000)
F&I Products$3,395
Sales Tax$1,913
Doc Fee$499
Amount Financed$43,307
Total Dealer Profit$3,320
Multi-Deal Comparison & Print Output
Deal 1
$---
Deal 2
$---
Deal 3
$---
🔒
Multi-deal comparison, deal saving
& print output — full version only
🚗
Front & Back Gross
Track front-end gross on vehicle price and back-end gross on F&I products separately — see the full picture on every deal.
💵
Payment Solver
Work backwards from a target payment. Enter the customer's number and see what rate, term, or down payment gets you there.
📊
LTV Checks
Loan-to-value calculated automatically. Flag deals that exceed lender thresholds before you submit to the bank.
🤝
F&I Product Overlay
Layer in VSC, GAP, paint protection, and other products. See penetration rates and total backend per deal.
💼
Reserve Calculation
Estimate dealer reserve based on buy rate spread. Know your holdback before you send the deal to F&I.
📋
Deal Summary View
Clean deal sheet with all numbers in one view — perfect for a quick manager review or customer presentation.
★★★★★
I used to juggle three screens to structure a deal. This consolidates everything I need into one clean interface. My close rate went up the first week.
🚗
Kevin D.
Finance Manager · Dallas, TX
★★★★★
The LTV flag alone has saved us from two chargebacks this month. Simple, fast, and the payment solver is exactly what I needed for hard-to-close customers.
💼
Sandra L.
GSM · Phoenix, AZ
★★★★★
We use it in F&I training now. New hires understand deal structure way faster when they can see the numbers update in real time.
📊
Marcus W.
Internet Sales Director
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Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What does front-end and back-end gross mean in automotive deals?+

Front-end gross is the profit on the vehicle itself — the difference between what you paid for it and what the customer pays. Back-end gross is the profit from F&I products like warranties, GAP insurance, and financing reserve. The deal desk tracks both separately so you see total deal profitability.

How does the payment solver work?+

You enter the customer's target monthly payment and the tool works backwards to show what selling price, term, and rate combination achieves that payment. It flags scenarios where the required selling price is below cost so you know before you present numbers.

What is LTV and why does the tool flag it?+

Loan-to-value (LTV) is the loan amount divided by the vehicle's value. Lenders have LTV limits — typically 120-130% for used vehicles — and deals above the limit often get declined or require a larger down payment. The LTV flag helps you catch problem deals before they go to the finance office.

Can this replace my DMS deal jacket?+

The Deal Desk Pro is a structuring and analysis tool, not a DMS replacement. It's designed to help you work numbers quickly before they're committed to your DMS — so you present the right deal the first time instead of reworking it multiple times.