Auto-broker, good or bad idea?

October 31, 2009 10:13 AM

Does buying used through an auto-broker make sense for me?

I'm in the market for a used car (1-4 years old, one owner, still under warranty) but I live 90 minutes away from the nearest urban area with a proper used car market. To compound things my truck is on it's last legs and every trip out I expect it to be the last. This makes shopping around for a used car rather difficult.

It dawned on me that there must be a market for auto-brokers, and googling them found me several in the nearest city. Does anyone have experience with these? What should I be aware of? I don't mind paying a few hundred extra for the convenience.

posted by furtive to Travel & Transportation (2 answers total)

I've used auto brokers in Bellevue, WA two times, both for purchases of new cars. One was my first new car years ago and one was for my mom very recently. Both experiences were 100% positive. This particular broker does deal in used cars as well.

You still have to do all your legwork and research, and even visit the lots yourself an deal with the sales guys. Figure out which options you can't live without. It helps if you can be flexible on color. I read a bunch of old ask mefi threads on how to figure out what amount you should offer. Then I took all that to the broker and he found us rides that matched all our criteria, at our price, and actually had a few extra options that we had not wanted but got at our price. And they delivered the car right to us and had all the paperwork ready to go.

I will only use brokers from here on out...
posted by vito90 at 11:45 AM on October 31, 2009

I used one (in Australia) last year and like vito90, will absolutely do so again. My (licensed) broker bought at the auctions for clients as well as his own car yard. He charged direct clients $500 flat fee plus purchase/registration costs.

It was great having someone who knew cars buying on my behalf in person at one of the big but distant auction houses. I wanted a 4x4 diesel with particular cab and tray specifications and if one came up he called from the auction house to discuss possible purchase. I'm very happy with what he bought on my behalf; it was about 5 years younger than I was expecting, $1k under budget and it was roadworthy and registered when I picked it up. He also got me a great deal on some new wheels, offered trade rates insurance on the purchase, and generally bundled all his personal costs and time into the flat fee.

I really enjoyed kicking back on a weekend knowing that my broker was out looking for my next car. Worth every cent.
posted by Kerasia at 1:58 AM on November 1, 2009