Car broker

vampyzz · January 2018

Hello, I'm new to this forum and new to using a car broker as well! I read the article discussing car brokers and now I'm a little worried on the one I chose. I asked what the fee is for their service and they said they don't charge a fee to the customer, the fee is paid by the dealership.

Is there anymore important questions I should be asking about this? I'm pretty clueless and I do truly want the best deal on my car (just for everyone's info I plan on leasing a Kia base model).

Thanks

PS: If it makes responding easier, I can provide the state, car broker company I'm going through. Also, if someone wants to use that info to call and ask questions and let me know the result that would be fine too.

Michaell · January 2018

vampyzz said:
Hello, I'm new to this forum and new to using a car broker as well! I read the article discussing car brokers and now I'm a little worried on the one I chose. I asked what the fee is for their service and they said they don't charge a fee to the customer, the fee is paid by the dealership.

Is there anymore important questions I should be asking about this? I'm pretty clueless and I do truly want the best deal on my car (just for everyone's info I plan on leasing a Kia base model).

Thanks

PS: If it makes responding easier, I can provide the state, car broker company I'm going through. Also, if someone wants to use that info to call and ask questions and let me know the result that would be fine too.

I know it seems easier to use a broker, but for a base model Kia, I think you can do just fine with a little research on your own.

And, brokers don't collect their fees from the dealer; they collect them from the purchaser.

vampyzz · January 2018

Well, I just dislike the haggling process since I'm not aggressive and don't know how to negotiate well. Also, there aren't any good deals out there for a base model Kia Optima (even the 2017 versions too). I also have excess miles and this will be my second time with leasing a car so I don't know the ins and outs. Forgot to also mention I want to have more than the 12k default miles that they give. I really don't want to sit for an enormous amount of time at the dealership trying to get what I want.

For the fee, that's what the car broker said when I asked what is the fee for going through your services and if it's a flat fee. He said "We don't charge a fee to the customer, our fee is paid by the dealerships" (if it helps I live in California so maybe it varies state to state? not sure).

kyfdx · January 2018

vampyzz said:
Well, I just dislike the haggling process since I'm not aggressive and don't know how to negotiate well. Also, there aren't any good deals out there for a base model Kia Optima (even the 2017 versions too). I also have excess miles and this will be my second time with leasing a car so I don't know the ins and outs. Forgot to also mention I want to have more than the 12k default miles that they give. I really don't want to sit for an enormous amount of time at the dealership trying to get what I want.

For the fee, that's what the car broker said when I asked what is the fee for going through your services and if it's a flat fee. He said "We don't charge a fee to the customer, our fee is paid by the dealerships" (if it helps I live in California so maybe it varies state to state? not sure).

If the dealer is paying the broker, that means the price given to you will be that much higher. There is no free lunch.
It's easy to get 15K mi/yr, just tell them that is what you want.

It's possible that the Optima isn't the best car to lease, and maybe you should be looking at some competitors.

People use a broker, because they don't want to deal with anything, or worry about the price they pay. Yet, you are on Edmunds doing research (which is great!), so maybe using a broker isn't for you?

vampyzz · January 2018

ya I'm starting to think the broker I picked will be a no go and perhaps should look towards a brokerage that has a flat fee rather than the dealer paying them. Like I said before, I'm not good at negotiating or being assertive so it would be really difficult for me to do that with a car dealer. Also, this will be my second time leasing a car so still learning all this terminology that they throw at you and just make you sign etc.

Well, I know Kia Optima's are pretty good with regards to safety and reliability. I guess I could look for other cars but I prefer just to do another Optima. I also find it weird how they had a deal for my Optima (back when I leased it in 2016) for 99$/month, 12k miles and I believe I put down 2500 or 2000 for their 24 month lease. Now, for a 2018 its 1999 down, $204/month with 12k miles for a 24 month lease. Just seems ridiculous but oh well...

I also found it weird that the broker asked what is more important for me; lower monthly payment and more out of pocket or more monthly payments and lower out of pocket.... Not sure why this seemed odd to me but it just stuck out. Perhaps it seems like a silly question since I want both out of pocket AND monthly payments to be low... upping one and lowering the other just seems like a cool trick to make it seem like your saving money

EDIT: is it true that if a broker requires a fee that they are being paid by you and the dealer as well? It would be nice if someone gave me some important questions to ask brokers.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

kyfdx · February 2018

vampyzz said:
ya I'm starting to think the broker I picked will be a no go and perhaps should look towards a brokerage that has a flat fee rather than the dealer paying them. Like I said before, I'm not good at negotiating or being assertive so it would be really difficult for me to do that with a car dealer. Also, this will be my second time leasing a car so still learning all this terminology that they throw at you and just make you sign etc.

Well, I know Kia Optima's are pretty good with regards to safety and reliability. I guess I could look for other cars but I prefer just to do another Optima. I also find it weird how they had a deal for my Optima (back when I leased it in 2016) for 99$/month, 12k miles and I believe I put down 2500 or 2000 for their 24 month lease. Now, for a 2018 its 1999 down, $204/month with 12k miles for a 24 month lease. Just seems ridiculous but oh well...

I also found it weird that the broker asked what is more important for me; lower monthly payment and more out of pocket or more monthly payments and lower out of pocket.... Not sure why this seemed odd to me but it just stuck out. Perhaps it seems like a silly question since I want both out of pocket AND monthly payments to be low... upping one and lowering the other just seems like a cool trick to make it seem like your saving money

EDIT: is it true that if a broker requires a fee that they are being paid by you and the dealer as well? It would be nice if someone gave me some important questions to ask brokers.

Thanks for all the comments so far.

Well.. the broker adds a level of expense that has to be paid. One way or the other, that comes out of your pocket. The broker isn't likely to divulge that information.

As far as the broker's question, they want to know how you want the lease structured. To keep things simple, tell them you want to only pay first payment and DMV fees at lease signing. That way, you have an apples to apples comparison on prices.

vampyzz · February 2018

I'm almost leaning towards ditching the broker and just doing stuff myself. With that being said, what in an advertised lease on the KIA dealership website can I negotiate? Can I negotiate the monthly payment, down payment, paying excessive wear and mileage on my current lease and my last 2 monthly payments for my current lease??

Thanks

Michaell · February 2018

vampyzz said:
I'm almost leaning towards ditching the broker and just doing stuff myself. With that being said, what in an advertised lease on the KIA dealership website can I negotiate? Can I negotiate the monthly payment, down payment, paying excessive wear and mileage on my current lease and my last 2 monthly payments for my current lease??

Thanks

You can negotiate the selling price and how much up front cash you want to start the lease with.

You need to find out the payoff value and the trade value of your current car. Call the bank for the former, and take your car to CarMax for the latter number. That way, you will know how much positive or (likely) negative equity you have, that has to be addressed in the new deal.

vampyzz · February 2018

Why cant I ask the dealership these questions since this isnt my car but a lease from them?

Michaell · February 2018

vampyzz said:
Why cant I ask the dealership these questions since this isnt my car but a lease from them?

You can, but can you trust what you're told?

Better to get independent verification of this information that you can use in negotiations.

Three years ago, I traded in my wife's Mazda for a Subaru. Took the Mazda to CarMax, where they gave me an offer of $12,500.

I immediately went to the Subaru dealer, where they offered me $10,500. I showed them the quote from CarMax, and they updated their offer to match.

vampyzz · February 2018

But why would I need a price to trade in when I'm just turning in my lease in order to get another leased car?? Sorry I'm not understand =(

Michaell · February 2018

vampyzz said:
But why would I need a price to trade in when I'm just turning in my lease in order to get another leased car?? Sorry I'm not understand =(

Your leased car still has a payoff value (it's not just the remaining payments, unfortunately).

You may be best served by waiting until your existing lease is up; that is one less complication to worry about with the new deal.

Car broker

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