Dallin runs DealerKey Auto. One licensed dealer. One flat fee.

The founder note

Dallin spent seven-plus years inside the traditional Utah dealership model — the floor, the desk, the back office where the numbers actually get decided. He saw the same pattern every week: a family would walk in with a budget, walk out with a payment, and the spread between wholesale and what they paid would land somewhere between three and seven thousand dollars. None of that spread funded a better car for the buyer. It funded the showroom, the TV ads, and the general manager's bonus.

DealerKey Auto is the response. Same access to the wholesale auction network — the same physical lanes the franchise stores use to stock their lots — but routed directly to the person writing the check. No showroom. No F&I office. No salesperson whose paycheck depends on stretching your budget.

Why a flat fee

The used-car business runs on spread. The buyer does not see the spread, so the buyer cannot negotiate it. Our fix is simpler than a negotiation: we publish the spread and charge a flat $1,500 on top. You see the wholesale hammer price. You see the buy fee. You see our $1,500. You see the tax. You see the drive-out. If the math works for you, we bid. If it doesn't, we don't.

This model only works on volume. We need to run enough transactions per month for $1,500 per car to build a business. That's a good thing for the buyer — we have no incentive to push you into a car that is wrong for you, because the next client is calling Monday.

Utah licensing

Three operating principles

1. Your approval at every step. No bid goes in without a written target price. No paperwork moves without a signature.
2. Open books on wholesale price. You see the redacted auction invoice, the MMR at time of sale, and every fee.
3. No back-end kickbacks. No referral money from transporters, inspectors, lenders, warranty providers, or body shops. The $1,500 is the only dollar we make.