CAR BROKERS???

[NMTRUCKER]

My wife and I have done all our vehicle negotiations in the past. We are going to replace her 2008 Highlander next year as it’s starting to get long in the tooth.
Just wondering if anyone out there has ever used a car broker to negotiate with the dealerships and was it worth it?

 

[duggydo]

My wife and I have done all our vehicle negotiations in the past. We are going to replace her 2008 Highlander next year as it’s starting to get long in the tooth.
Just wondering if anyone out there has ever used a car broker to negotiate with the dealerships and was it worth it?

I vaguely remember TFL doing a video about using a broker a few years ago when they bought a Subaru. I don't know if it's worth it or not. I would recommend finding what you want then dealing with multiple dealerships via email only. I've had my best luck with a small dealership. It was the best deal and experience I ever had buying a new truck. I still have the emails from over 15 years ago. Sadly, that dealership was bought out by one of the large conglomerates though. I had to drive over 300 miles to pick it up, but still worth it.

 

[NMTRUCKER]

I vaguely remember TFL doing a video about using a broker a few years ago when they bought a Subaru. I don't know if it's worth it or not. I would recommend finding what you want then dealing with multiple dealerships via email only. I've had my best luck with a small dealership. It was the best deal and experience I ever had buying a new truck. I still have the emails from over 15 years ago. Sadly, that dealership was bought out by one of the large conglomerates though. I had to drive over 300 miles to pick it up, but still worth it.

Thanks. The last truck I purchased was from a dealership 250 miles away and everything was done online. It was fairly painless. Almost all of the dealerships near me (within 125 miles) have been taken over by conglomerates. I remember when a conglomerate moved in 2022 they immediately added $1800 to every vehicle and had the balls to say “we are customer friendly”! Just thinking a broker might have better insight into negotiating with dealerships. I’ll keep folks informed if we go that route.

 

[Dusdaddy]

I used one over here on the East Coast back in 2015. Worked out extremely well. Cost me $500 back then and I believe it was well worth it. It was a crossover for the wife, and I just didn't want to spend a lot of time finding one and negotiating. He found what she wanted (he will also assist in choosing a model if needed), negotiated the deal based on a range I set that we'd travel, and we just showed up at a dealer as scheduled to close the deal. Well worth the money. His name is Tom McParland and his site is Automatchconsulting.com. He is also a regular contributor on Jalopnik.com where I heard about him.

 

[NMTRUCKER]

I used one over here on the East Coast back in 2015. Worked out extremely well. Cost me $500 back then and I believe it was well worth it. It was a crossover for the wife, and I just didn't want to spend a lot of time finding one and negotiating. He found what she wanted (he will also assist in choosing a model if needed), negotiated the deal based on a range I set that we'd travel, and we just showed up at a dealer as scheduled to close the deal. Well worth the money. His name is Tom McParland and his site is Automatchconsulting.com. He is also a regular contributor on Jalopnik.com where I heard about him.

Great. Thanks for the contact. My wife hasn’t shopped for a new vehicle since 2008 so I thought I would pick out 4 or 5 vehicles that fit her needs. Then let her watch some YouTube reviews of these vehicles before heading out to the dealerships to get some hands on. Then we might try the broker route. When I bought my truck 2 years ago I purchased it sight unseen and it has fortunately worked out.