0149

Great answer and thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I don't mind letting the dealer make $3,000 to $4,000 on a $60,000 transaction.

I usually pay cash for cars. I was spoiled in the past by a boss who loved cars, and who had spent his life in many areas of purchasing. To indulge his hobby, he would help anyone in the office by assisting in the process. It got to the point where word got around, and he ended up getting involved with many people in the entertainment business who had money and specific requests, but due to shooting on location, or just their working hours, they called the dealer and told him their agent would be buying a car on their behalf. Before long, he was well known to the Beverly Hills and Burbank dealerships, and was buying a few cars a week for some very well-heeled clients.

Soon after, he retired from his day job, and went full time into the celebrity car handling business. He would handle the purchase, service, registration, and any other car-related details. He charged 5% of the deal price, and $250 per hour after that. He would personally deliver the cars and teach the owners how to operate them and set the computer, GPS, etc. For his clients, time was more important than money, and he held the power to keep the dealers on their toes and straight.

The key to this was his reputation for complete honesty and confidentiality with his clients and the dealers. He refused "spiffs" from the dealers to sweeten the deal, and provided a great service. He would never tell tales out of school.
I think he retired for good and sold the business, and it only lasted about a year after he sold it.

In any case, your skills are valuable.

Which gets me to thinking. I should track him down, send him first class tickets, and pay his fee to see if he is still willing to provide this service.

With the skills and knowledge you have, and with a few key dealer relationships, you might earn some good money on the weekends...

Thanks!

Phantom Mark

Its not all bad, I paid ?12999 for my car and was offered last week ?13999 against a car costing ?23999, I have had the car 8 months.

Only reason I never went for it is because I cannot be sure the car I was looking at is the right one for me

v_therussian

-excellent lesson, actually - just because someone offers you good money for your car, doesn't mean that you should jump on buying something you're not 100% sure you need/want.

v_therussian

PS I would not charge 5% of the car's price, I'd charge a set fee and maybe an exception fee for some really hard-to-get items.

einstein57

I went to trade in a pretty clean vw for a leased 328i. They offered $4500 on the trade in. I sold it in 3 days on autotradder for $7500. I got over 50 calls in the week it was on autotrader. The key is to set a reasonable price. If the average price on autotradder for your car is 20k, sell it for $18k firm. Your likely to get a serious buyers instead of tire kickers trying to low ball you.

.:reza:.

I am a dealer. BMW's and Mercedez always drop in pricing. I can buy a 06 530 with say 30k on the motor for about 20 grand. It's sad I know..

pjinca

Does it matter? ANY car you buy will depreciate (there's a reason I would only buy CPO). If you want a car that will remain the same or go up in value visit a classic car auction, otherwise, it's a car - not an investment, because if you consider it an investment you are delirious.

rrnag30

it is sales my friend, dont take it personally its just business.

gotabyte

I posted this on another thread but here it is again. My neighbor who works for a Chevrolet dealership took a trade in for a 2004 545 with somewhat over 50k. They took the trade for $14,500. He liked mine so much that he purchased it from the dealer with a $500 premium for $15,000. These are tough times for trade-ins. Btw, the car is loaded with SP, HUD, NAV, PREM PKG, auto shades, etc.

jrbmwenthusiast

Yikes! Somebody at the Chevy dealership needed to put food on the table! Such is the law of supply and demand.