Provenance
Which named source and source record said it?
The trust rule
A client can never upgrade a fact.
Stale stays stale. Unknown stays unknown. Dealer-asserted availability never becomes “available now” because an assistant wants a cleaner sentence.
Before an agent repeats a fact, it has to know what kind of fact it is.
Authority
Is the source the system of record or repeating someone else?
Freshness
When was it observed, and until when is it valid?
Uncertainty
Exact, estimated, unknown, or not applicable?
Eligibility
True for every buyer or only a qualifying one?
✓ “Available—confirmed by the dealer’s inventory source two minutes ago.”
△ “Listed in a feed this morning—worth confirming.”
✕ “Available.”
Five questions one number cannot answer.
A scalar price forces the assistant to invent the relationship between the advertised price, dealer charges, incentives, government charges, and availability.
price: 74590
What the agent must guess
- Does it include the documentation fee?
- Does it assume a rebate this buyer earns?
- Which jurisdiction’s tax and registration?
- Does it require dealer financing?
- Is the vehicle still here?
same vehicle
same feed →
same feed →
Classified disclosure
What the agent is actually told
advertised_price· integer minor unitsrequired_dealer_charges· itemizedconditional_adjustments· eligibility + stackinggovernment_charges· unknown until facts suppliedavailability· authority + observed time
The practical test