Pricing & Accuracy Disclaimer
EFFECTIVE 3 AUGUST 2026
TrueTotal exists to make hidden costs visible. That mission only works if we are equally honest about the limits of our own numbers — so this page states plainly what our figures are, what moves them, and what you must do before spending money.
What our figures actually are
A TrueTotal figure is the output of a published calculation over sourced inputs. It is not a scraped price presented as truth. Each input carries two things that most comparison sites omit:
- A date. When that input was observed. Old inputs are marked as ageing or stale rather than quietly reused.
- A confidence grade. FACT means taken directly from an official or primary source. SOURCED means from a named, checkable third party. ASSUMPTION means a reasoned estimate where no reliable figure exists — and it is labelled as such wherever it appears.
The overall grade shown against a true total is the weakest grade among its inputs, not the strongest. A single assumption drags the whole figure down to “assumption”. That is deliberate: an average that hides its weakest link is a lie of composition. The full calculation is on the Methodology page and the sourcing rules are in Sources & Data.
What moves a price after we publish it
These are the forces that make any comparison figure age, in roughly the order they bite:
The advertised price itself
Sellers change prices constantly — daily in electronics and travel, sometimes hourly. A price we observed this morning may be gone by lunchtime.
Taxes and duties
VAT rates, vehicle registration tax, tourist and city taxes, import duty and customs charges differ by country and change with budgets. A figure computed for one country is wrong for another.
Exchange rates
When we convert between currencies we use European Central Bank reference rates, which are published once per working day. The rate your card issuer gives you will differ, and card providers usually add a spread.
Fuel and energy
Petrol, diesel and electricity prices move weekly and vary sharply by region and by whether you charge at home or on a fast charger. Running-cost estimates assume typical usage, not yours.
Insurance
Premiums are individually priced on age, address, claims history, licence and no-claims record. Any insurance figure we show is a market-typical illustration and will not be your quote.
Maintenance, servicing and repair
Labour rates vary by region and garage; parts prices vary by supplier; how a thing has been used matters enormously. We use representative schedules, not a prediction for a specific item.
Resale and depreciation
What you recover later depends on condition, mileage, timing, and a market we cannot see the future of. Resale is the single least certain input in a true total, and we grade it accordingly.
Availability and fees
Baggage charges, resort fees, delivery, booking and card fees, seasonal surcharges and dynamic pricing all move independently of the headline price.
Where you are
Regional differences in price, tax, regulation and availability are large. We compute for a stated region; changing it changes the answer.
Freshness: how we show you the age of a number
Every listing carries a last-updated timestamp and a freshness badge. We treat figures as recent for a short window, then ageing, then stale — and a stale figure is marked in the interface rather than silently served as current. If a price feed fails, we would rather show you an honestly dated old number than a confidently wrong new one.
Estimates are estimates — the specific limits
- We do not guarantee that any figure is accurate, current or complete.
- We cannot account for your personal circumstances: your insurance quote, your finance rate, your usage, your region.
- Illustrative and example figures used to demonstrate the engine are labelled as such and must not be relied on.
- Availability changes independently of price — an option we show may be sold out.
- Third-party sellers set their own prices and terms; see Third-Party Links.
- Nothing here is financial or professional advice; see No Professional Advice.
What we commit to in return
The limits above are not an excuse for carelessness. Our side of the bargain:
- Every number is sourced, dated and graded — you can always see where it came from and how sure we are.
- We never invent a figure to fill a gap. If we do not have it, we say so.
- We correct errors quickly and publish the correction — see Corrections Policy.
- Commission never moves a ranking or bends a figure — see Affiliate Disclosure.
Found a wrong figure?
Please tell us — it is the single most useful thing you can do for the next reader. Use Report an Error or email corrections@truetotalcalculator.com. Include the page, the figure and what the seller actually showed, and we will check it against the source and publish a correction if we got it wrong.