Do car brokers get you a better price?

[mfl]

Hi all,
To summarise, why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car? You will be looked after on price and if you do pay a little more, it will be worth it anyhow in the after service you will receive.

Pity you are not In Sydney Rob,

because the dealer I bought from was and has been the model of indifference and their service staff could do with a fair bit of training in product knowledge.

[warped_foobie]

Hi all,

From a dealers perspective, you need to understand that brokers actually use the dealers to quote for you anyhow. Not only that, you are actually paying in excess of $550 for the brokerage service. So don't forget, when using them, this is built in to the price you are paying. To me, that says that you should be able to source the price $550 better than they can. Generally the people who use brokers, are people who are actually too busy to go out shopping for themselves (doctors etc), hence the convenience of using a broker, and in this instance, they are very handy and do a great job. The reason brokers seem like they get better prices, is that they use certain dealers regularly and in return the dealer gives them a consistant discount, but regardless of this, it ALWAYS comes down to availability and also the current market.. So I am certainly not against the brokers in any way, it would be crazy of me to do so. However, by using them, you don't have the flexibility of finding a 'bargain' on a particular car that a dealer may have in stock. Nor do you get to touch and feel the cars or build a relationship with the dealer you are buying from. As you will read in many of my customers posts, we actually offer a full service to our customers, before, during and after they purchase a car, and therefore if you strike any issues with your car, guess what, the dealer is there to help you. Most brokers would have wiped there hands of you by then, and then send you to a dealer with any issues you may have. Who do you go see when you arrive at a dealership if you don't know anyone? Would you expect to get red carpet service had you not chosen to purchase through them? I'm not saying you won't be looked after, but to have a familiar face and someone who you can lean on, will usually yield you better results.

As far as trade in prices go, we are not out to profit from trading your car in. The wholesalers are there for that. If you are happy with the trade in, chances are we will sell you a car so we do our upmost to ensure you get the best trade in possible. Definitely do your research, but don't use unrealistic websites like carsales as they are usually asking top dollar and are expecting to be offered less. REDBOOK, is always a good indication of what your car is worth as a Trade in.

A few things to remember; there is never a goodtime to buy, dealers are ALWAYS keen to sell cars. Sales are actually a good time to buy, because dealers are actually trying to sell alot of cars as they spend a lot of marketing budget in advertising etc, so they want some return for the outlay.

To summarise, why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car? You will be looked after on price and if you do pay a little more, it will be worth it anyhow in the after service you will receive.

I am quite passionate in our customer service we offer and aim to be No.1 in the country. Even if we never get there, at least our customers a more than happy with our service and in return, will bring their friends and family to buy a car from us, and recommendations are in abundance.

Regards,

Rob McGrail

Hi Rob,

I'm glad you chimed in on this actually - as I believe my GTI actually came from your dealership, through a broker. Ended up using them because of the trade price (they traded it themselves, as they had a staff member who was interested in my vehicle. it didn't actually go to a wholesaler) and the specs I was after. And I didn't have time to do the ringing around to see who had what stock.

That said, when I was price hunting I didn't actually ring Gold Coast VW

Will have to pop down one day and say Hi to you and your team.

Cheers - Chris

[GTi Bhoy]

Hi all,

From a dealers perspective, you need to understand that brokers actually use the dealers to quote for you anyhow. Not only that, you are actually paying in excess of $550 for the brokerage service. So don't forget, when using them, this is built in to the price you are paying. To me, that says that you should be able to source the price $550 better than they can. Generally the people who use brokers, are people who are actually too busy to go out shopping for themselves (doctors etc), hence the convenience of using a broker, and in this instance, they are very handy and do a great job.
The reason brokers seem like they get better prices, is that they use certain dealers regularly and in return the dealer gives them a consistant discount, but regardless of this, it ALWAYS comes down to availability and also the current market.. So I am certainly not against the brokers in any way, it would be crazy of me to do so. However, by using them, you don't have the flexibility of finding a 'bargain' on a particular car that a dealer may have in stock. Nor do you get to touch and feel the cars or build a relationship with the dealer you are buying from. As you will read in many of my customers posts, we actually offer a full service to our customers, before, during and after they purchase a car, and therefore if you strike any issues with your car, guess what, the dealer is there to help you. Most brokers would have wiped there hands of you by then, and then send you to a dealer with any issues you may have. Who do you go see when you arrive at a dealership if you don't know anyone? Would you expect to get red carpet service had you not chosen to purchase through them? I'm not saying you won't be looked after, but to have a familiar face and someone who you can lean on, will usually yield you better results.

As far as trade in prices go, we are not out to profit from trading your car in. The wholesalers are there for that. If you are happy with the trade in, chances are we will sell you a car so we do our upmost to ensure you get the best trade in possible. Definitely do your research, but don't use unrealistic websites like carsales as they are usually asking top dollar and are expecting to be offered less. REDBOOK, is always a good indication of what your car is worth as a Trade in.

A few things to remember; there is never a goodtime to buy, dealers are ALWAYS keen to sell cars. Sales are actually a good time to buy, because dealers are actually trying to sell alot of cars as they spend a lot of marketing budget in advertising etc, so they want some return for the outlay.

To summarise, why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car? You will be looked after on price and if you do pay a little more, it will be worth it anyhow in the after service you will receive.

I am quite passionate in our customer service we offer and aim to be No.1 in the country. Even if we never get there, at least our customers a more than happy with our service and in return, will bring their friends and family to buy a car from us, and recommendations are in abundance.

Regards,

Rob McGrail

Thanks Rob for the bleeding heart story !!!!

Brokers cut out the Bull$#@T
All Dealers look to make money on every part of the deal (the car, the finance, aftermarket and the trade in)
"To summarise, why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car?"
It is very rare to go back to any dealership and buy from the same salesperson 5yrs later !!!!!

You paint a nice picture of the dealer but they are out to make money not friends.

[Captain Courteous]

You paint a nice picture of the dealer but they are out to make money not friends.

Same can be said for the broker. They're out to make money too.

[GTi Bhoy]

Same can be said for the broker. They're out to make money too.

So true.

But I dont see any bleeding heart car brokers on here !!!!!!!!!

[GoldCoastVolkswagen]

Thanks Rob for the bleeding heart story !!!!

Brokers cut out the Bull$#@T
All Dealers look to make money on every part of the deal (the car, the trade, aftermarket and the trade in)
"To summarise, why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car?"
It is very rare to go back to any dealership and buy from the same salesperson 5yrs later !!!!!

You paint a nice picture of the dealer but they are out to make money not friends.

Thanks for the feedback... Think you will see that most do actually come back and keep coming back... each to their own it was only my opinion.

[GTi Bhoy]

Yes and I was only expressing mine.
I do agree people come back to buy their next car but my point was with regards to your comment "why not build a relationship with a salesperson and a dealership that will look after you now, and in 5 years when you are ready to buy your next car?"
Its rare to go back to a dealership and find the same sales person who was there 5 years earlier.

Thanks for the feedback... Think you will see that most do actually come back and keep coming back... each to their own it was only my opinion.

[phantomcamel]

but they are out to make money not friends.

That's called running a business! We are suppose to make money - not give away free car
I have quiet a lot of my customers not only buying cars repeatedly from me, but also following me from one dealership to the other as they appreciated my efforts.
It comes down to a fair deal for both parties.
Brokers are great for time poor people and people which are not keen on negotiating. So they have their place. Brokers deal with all the brands and therefore may not be that crash hot on product knowledge. Geez, i had one ordering a manual car when the customer wanted a DSG because the description in their system read manual sequential gearbox...

[bombsquad21]

Doctors are too busy to go car shopping? Read back your little spiel, it's abundantly clear that you like almost every other motor vehicle dealer make several key assumptions when dealing with it's customers. You all need practice at listening, delivering accurate information, knowing your products and actually assessing your customers needs.
The service culture in the entire motor industry is completely out of wack? You try to sell golf's by harping on about how crap a Ford Focus is...
The notion that someone would get poorer service cause they didn't waste 3 hours going around in circles with one of your sales people reaffirms this point.

Oh and one last thing, the refreshments offered in dealers are for the customers, not the staff and try and have your salespeople wear decent shoes, clean, nice, professional shoes.

[GTi Bhoy]

So they have their place. Brokers deal with all the brands and therefore may not be that crash hot on product knowledge. Geez, i had one ordering a manual car when the customer wanted a DSG because the description in their system read manual sequential gearbox... [/QUOTE]

Yes and dealers who deliver the wrong coloured car wrong engine no sunroff when its clearly on the order and I could go on .
Whats your point ????