These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of themodelblack.com and the other websites and services of The Model Black (the "Service"), operated by The Broker Black LLC, doing business as The Model Black ("The Model Black," "we," "us"). By using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
The Model Black is a new-car buying platform. We show participating dealerships' inventory at the prices those dealerships set, with each new car priced for you three ways (cash, finance, and lease) and each former loaner or demonstrator a dealership lists priced the ways that dealership offers it; we also estimate trade-in values and answer your questions through our Concierge team. For members, we introduce you to the participating dealership you choose: when you send a deal, we send that dealership your information and your deal, so you can complete your purchase directly with them. Anyone can browse and price cars, and creating an account to see pricing is complimentary; the introduction is part of a membership (section 6).
The Model Black is not a licensed motor vehicle dealer or broker and does not act as a broker in any way. Participating dealerships sell and lease every vehicle and complete each purchase directly with you. The Model Black is not a lender or a credit broker and does not make credit decisions. We do not represent you, do not negotiate price or terms, do not take or hold vehicle deposits, and do not prepare or sign contracts. Each participating dealership sets its own prices, confirms availability, handles all purchase, lease, and finance documents with you directly, and collects any deposit or payment itself.
Every payment, rate, tax, fee, trade-in value, protection product price, and warranty term the Service calculates is an estimate for informational and illustrative purposes only. Nothing on the Service is an offer of credit, a loan approval, or an offer to purchase your vehicle. Payment and rate examples are advertised estimates, and a participating dealership's special is that dealership's own advertisement; the disclosures shown with each one state the terms and assumptions behind it. A rate shown is an estimate for your credit range, term, and vehicle, built on Rateous risk-based pricing and current market rates, and including the selling dealership's financing participation where it applies. It is not an offer from any lender; the lender sets your actual APR. Your actual rate, payment, and qualification are determined only by a lender when you apply for financing. Prices and payments on the site are estimates. Each dealership charges its own documentary fee, which is not a government fee. We show each car's fee with its price or payment and say whether a figure includes it. Taxes and fees can change at any time. The documentary fee we show for a dealership is the one it has on file with us. A dealership can change its fee, and the selling dealership confirms the fee on your contract before you sign. Protection product prices, terms, coverage, and deductibles vary by dealer and provider.
Vehicle listings, pricing, photos, and equipment come from participating dealerships' inventory feeds, and some vehicle, valuation, and recall information comes from other data providers. Errors and omissions occur. Listings are subject to prior sale or price change without notice. Photos may be manufacturer stock images and may not represent the actual vehicle. Fuel economy figures are EPA estimates for comparison only. You are responsible for verifying all facts, pricing, equipment, availability, and vehicle condition directly with the selling dealership before purchase.
Offers, end dates, and sent deals. Offers, specials, manufacturer programs, and incentives end when the selling dealership's sales department closes on their end date, and a dealership may end its own offer before its end date. A deal you have saved but not sent is priced on what is current when you send it. Once you send a deal, the dealership holds its own price and specials for you for 72 hours, subject to prior sale of that vehicle; after that, it may re-price a deal you have not completed. Manufacturer programs and incentives are set by the manufacturer, not by the dealership or The Model Black, and apply only if you sign your contract with the dealership, and take delivery of the vehicle where the program requires it, before they end. The dealership will confirm which requirements apply, so send your deal early enough to complete them. Your final price, rate, and terms are the ones in the contract you sign with the dealership.
The chat assistant on the Service is an AI assistant: it is powered by artificial intelligence, it is not a person, and it will always tell you it is AI when you ask. It can make mistakes, including about vehicles, payments, and availability. Its responses are estimates and general information, not professional, financial, or legal advice, and not a commitment by The Model Black or any dealership. Verify anything important with the selling dealership, or ask a person on our Concierge team.
People in the chat. We keep your chat conversations. A person on our team may read a conversation, join it, or take it over, and then hand it back to the AI. The Concierge chat on the site is between you and us: no dealership ever sees it.
Your deal chat. Each deal you send to a participating dealership has its own chat inside that deal, between you and that dealership. That dealership's staff can read it and write to you in it; no other dealership sees it. The AI Concierge replies in a deal chat only when the dealership has turned it on, when the dealership sets that chat to after hours, or when the dealership asks our AI to check in with you, and it tells you when the dealership asked. When it replies there, it may show you that dealership's own published prices, specials, and manufacturer programs, and the payments our platform estimates from them at the settings you saved, each with its lease or finance terms, and it may set two of that dealership's cars side by side in numbers. It speaks only to that dealership's cars and offers, it replies as our AI and never as the dealership, and it never negotiates, recommends one car over another, or changes a figure; the Concierge chat on any page of the site covers any participating dealership. Otherwise your messages in a deal chat wait for the dealership's team. Typing STOP in a chat ends the AI's replies there; an email unsubscribe or a text STOP stops email or texts, not the chat.
Every person who writes is shown by first name and by who they work for, such as "Anne @ The Model Black" or a salesperson's name and their dealership's name. The AI label is off only while a person is writing, and the chat tells you when the AI is back. A dealership's messages are its own, not ours: we do not review, relay, or change them, and neither our team nor our AI carries prices, offers, or counteroffers between you and a dealership. Please do not type a social security number, card number, bank account number, date of birth, or driver's license number in the chat; we remove them from what we keep.
When you submit a form on the Service, you represent that the information is accurate and that you are at least 18 years old. By submitting your contact information you consent to be contacted by The Model Black (a person on our team) by phone, email, or text message about your request. Message and data rates may apply. Consent is not a condition of purchase. You can withdraw it at any time: reply STOP to a text from us, type STOP in the Concierge chat, or use our stop page to stop calls, texts, or marketing email. We do not share your information with a dealership until you send it a deal; see our Privacy Policy.
Accounts. Anyone can browse and price cars on The Model Black. Creating an account to see pricing is complimentary.
Memberships. We offer two memberships, White Level and Black Level. The price and term of each level are shown before you join. Each is a one-time payment. Your level, price, and term are the ones shown when you choose it and in your receipt. A membership belongs to your account, not to any one car or deal. It is not a fee on any vehicle, it is the same price whatever you choose, and it does not depend on whether you buy. Membership levels, prices, and what each includes may change for new memberships. A membership you've paid for keeps its price and everything it includes for its whole term.
What a membership includes. Every membership includes an introduction to the participating dealership you choose, so you can complete your purchase directly with them. When you send a deal while your membership is active, we send your information and your deal to that dealership, and the dealership contacts you directly. A membership covers as many purchases as you and your household make during its term. The full list of what each level includes is coming soon; we will describe anything added here before it is offered.
Term and payment. You choose a level and accept these Terms, then pay on a secure checkout page from our payment processor, Stripe, which opens from your account. If online payment is ever unavailable, we email you a secure payment link instead. Your membership starts when your payment is processed and ends at the end of its term. It does not renew automatically and is never charged again. If you do not complete your payment, no membership starts and nothing is owed. Joining a membership, or paying for it, never sends a deal. A deal you save before your membership is active stays saved, and once your membership is active you choose when to send it.
Household. A membership covers the member and the members of the member's household. Your household means the people who live at the same residential address as you. You can add up to four household members from your account. Each household member signs in with their own email address and confirms, by checking a box, that they live at the same residential address as you; that confirmation is their statement to us and to the participating dealership, and it must be true. A participating dealership may verify the address of anyone who buys under a membership, and we may end a household link that does not meet this definition. You can remove a household member at any time, and household coverage ends when the membership ends.
Refunds. You can cancel within 24 hours of purchase (when your payment is processed) for a full refund by emailing concierge@themodelblack.com, as long as no deal has been sent to a dealership under your membership, by you or a household member. A membership that has been used to send a deal is not refundable, including within the 24 hours, and after 24 hours memberships are not refundable. A refund goes back to the card you paid with. Joining never sends your deal: once your membership is active, you choose when to send it, and sending it ends the 24-hour refund.
You agree not to misuse the Service, including by scraping or harvesting data at scale, submitting false information, interfering with the Service's operation, attempting to access non-public systems, or using the Service for any unlawful purpose.
The Service, including its design, text, graphics, logos, and software, is owned by The Model Black or its licensors and is protected by law. Vehicle data and photos belong to their respective owners. You may use the Service for personal, non-commercial vehicle shopping only.
If you own a photo or other material shown on the Service and want it taken down, email support@themodelblack.com with the page it appears on and what you own. We take it down while we review your request.
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE MODEL BLACK DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY ESTIMATE WILL MATCH FINAL TERMS.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE MODEL BLACK AND ITS AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY VEHICLE PURCHASE, FINANCING, OR TRADE-IN TRANSACTION WITH A THIRD PARTY. THE MODEL BLACK'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE MEMBERSHIP FEES YOU PAID FOR THE MEMBERSHIP TERM IN EFFECT WHEN THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100). SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO PARTS OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Model Black and its affiliates from claims arising out of your misuse of the Service or violation of these Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Maricopa County, Arizona, and you consent to their jurisdiction.
We may update these Terms from time to time. The effective date above reflects the latest version. Continued use of the Service after changes means you accept the updated Terms. A change will not shorten the term, reduce the household coverage, or reduce the refund rights of a membership you have already paid for. If we change the name we do business under, these Terms, your account, and any membership you hold continue with The Broker Black LLC under the new name.
Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@themodelblack.com or through any contact form on the Service.