It's a number that the stealers want you to think that they paid for the car. Like the stealer is going to sell you a car and not make any money! Stealers get holdbacks and incentives from the manufacturers, making their cost for the car much less than "dealer invoice". The number you should be concerned with is dealer cost, not an arbitrary number caller "dealer invoice". Use the below link to find out more. I saved $5000 off MSRP (another bogus number) on a 2001 4Runner. Good Luck !