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Solar quote red-flag audit
Updated September 18, 2026 · a weighted checklist of common quote warning signs · by Cali Energy
How do you spot a bad solar quote? Tick the warning signs — vague pricing, pressure to sign today, a hidden dealer fee, no itemized cash price — and the tool weights them into a risk score. A few flags mean “clarify in writing”; many mean “get a second itemized quote before you sign.”
✓ A weighted checklist of common warning signs — a buyer’s aid, not legal advice. See what it weighs ↓
Check every item that applies to your proposal.
Educational self-check based on CPUC and CFPB consumer-protection guidance, not a substitute for legal or financial advice. Weights reflect how often a flag hides real cost, not a formal standard.
The rates and figures this calculator usestap to verify
This weights common warning signs into a 0–20 risk score. Here are the categories it covers and how the score reads — it hasn’t verified anything about your specific quote.
| Pricing red flags | no itemized cash price, hidden dealer/buydown fee, only a monthly payment |
| Scale of a dealer fee | the federal consumer bureau found these typically run 10–30% of the cash price and can exceed 50% |
| Sales pressure | “sign today”, fake deadlines, a hard door-to-door close |
| Technical red flags | vague equipment with no make and model, an unexplained production “guarantee”, a battery with no stated usable kWh |
| Weighted score / 20 | each flag carries a weight |
| Low score | clarify the ticked items in writing |
| High score | get a second itemized quote before committing |
This is a buyer’s aid, not legal or financial advice. It weights common warning signs into a 0–20 risk score — it hasn’t verified anything about your specific quote, so review each item against the written proposal. The numbers worth comparing across quotes: cash price, financed principal, total of payments, APR, and any disclosed dealer or rate-buydown fee — the gap between the cash price and the financed principal is usually the dealer fee, which the CFPB found typically runs 10–30% of the cash price and is generally left out of the cost of credit a lender discloses. A high score doesn’t prove fraud, and a low score doesn’t guarantee a good deal — always get the key terms in writing.
How this calculator works
You tick the warning signs that match your proposal, and each carries a weight — a missing itemized cash price counts for more than a minor quibble. The tool adds them into a 0–20 risk score and returns a plain read: nothing flagged yet, a few things to clarify, or a high-risk proposal worth a second opinion. It doesn’t judge the installer; it structures your own review of the paperwork.
How to read your result
A low score isn’t a green light and a high score isn’t proof of fraud — it’s a prompt. Any ticked item is something to get explained in writing before you sign. The single most useful move the tool points to is comparing the same numbers across two itemized quotes: cash price, financed principal, total of payments, APR, and any dealer or buydown fee.
What moves the result the most
Pricing opacity and sales pressure carry the most weight, because that’s where buyers get hurt: a “$0-down” monthly payment with no cash price often hides a large dealer fee, and a “today only” close exists to stop you from comparing.
Common questions
What’s the biggest solar-quote red flag?
No itemized cash price. If you can’t see the cash cost separate from the financed “total of payments,” you can’t tell what a dealer fee or rate buydown is costing you.
Is a $0-down offer a red flag by itself?
Not by itself — financing is normal. The flag is when the cash price is hidden, because $0-down loans often bake a sizable dealer fee into the price. Ask for both the cash and financed numbers.
Why does sales pressure matter?
“Sign today” deadlines and door-to-door closes exist to stop you from comparing quotes. A real, well-priced system is still there tomorrow — take the time to get a second bid.
How do I compare two quotes fairly?
Line up the same system size and equipment, then compare cash price, financed principal, total of payments, APR, and any dealer/buydown fee — plus the production estimate and the warranties.
What numbers should be on the quote?
System size (kW), panel and inverter models, an annual production estimate, the cash price, and — if financed — the principal, APR, term, total of payments and any fees. Missing any of these is worth questioning.
Should I always get a second quote?
Yes — it’s the best protection against overpaying. Use our solar cost calculator to sanity-check the price and the ownership tool to compare financing.
Sources
- California Business and Professions Code §7159.5 — home improvement down payment limit and the bond exemption
- California Civil Code §1689.5 — home solicitation contract, appropriate trade premises and the definition of a business day
- California Civil Code §1689.6 — the right to cancel and how notice is given
- California Civil Code §1689.7 — the required Notice of Cancellation, and the buyer's right to cancel until the seller complies
- California Business and Professions Code §7159 — home improvement contract requirements and the three-day / five-day right-to-cancel notice
- CFPB — Issue Spotlight: solar financing dealer fees (August 2024)
- CSLB — Check a License
- CSLB — home improvement contract requirements
- CPUC — California Solar Consumer Protection Guide
- NREL PVWatts — production estimator
Estimates only, not a quote. Assumptions, rates, incentives and program rules can change — confirm current details with your utility, the program administrator or a licensed professional.
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