Who charges it
- Imposed by
- the dealer, as an optional product
- Legal status
- Optional — never required to buy the car or get the loan
- Negotiable?
- Yes — typically removable from the order
- Attention level
- high
Dealer add-ons
Theft Protection / Recovery Package
A branded theft-deterrent product (registration, marking, or a benefit that pays if the vehicle is stolen). The benefit is often a dealer credit rather than cash.
Negotiable: Yes — typically removable from the order
Benchmark range
$0–$250
typical $100
Consumer value of marking/registration products is modest; benefits are usually dealer credits
- Carlarity operator benchmark (starting hypotheses from the 2026-09-07 brief, cross-checked against dealer F&I menus) — F&I ancillary product starting ranges (secondary source, accessed 2026-09-07)
The report pre-fills $499 for this line as a catalog starting point you can overwrite; it is not a market benchmark.
Why it matters
These products usually combine a low-cost marking or registration with a theft benefit. Read what the benefit actually pays: many pay a credit toward a replacement vehicle from the same dealer rather than cash, and most modern vehicles already have factory immobilizers.
What to ask at the desk
“Please show exactly what is installed or registered, what the theft benefit pays and in what form, and confirm the product is optional.”
What Carlarity evaluates
- Classifies the line as theft protection / theft deterrent package from its name and aliases, and the fair price depends on the contract terms.
- Compares the quoted amount with the benchmark range above and states any potential excess as a range, never a point estimate.
- Flags the line for contract review: the coverage terms, exclusions and cancellation rights decide its value.
- Checks the coverage term against the factory warranty still in force, and states the overlap.
- Checks the order for a second line covering the same thing.
- Keeps government, manufacturer and lender charges out of the negotiable total by construction.
Reading this page
Legal and expensive are two different questions. An optional product can be entirely legitimate and still cost more on the buyer’s order than the same coverage elsewhere; a low-value item can be fairly priced. This page tells you what the product is, who is charging for it and what a fair range looks like. Your report judges your actual quote against that range, as part of the whole deal.
Benchmarks are market ranges from the sources cited, not exact prices, verified 2026-09-07. Nothing on this page is legal or financial advice. The product’s contract terms decide its value on your deal.