if lease negotiating makes the head spin a broker might be a good idea if his fee is rational…so, is there such a thing as an average fee? and should one be wary of a broker who charges no fee?
From a brokers perspective-
I set fees based on type of car and rarity of deal
Example:
Honda/Toyota/Jeep-$299
BMW/Volvo-399
Land Rover-499
Then, there are exceptions to those rules for example, rare, one-car loaner deals, or deals that aren’t replicated anywhere else (TRD Pros, crazy program cars offered regionally).
No need to be concerned with a broker who advertises “no fee.” Instead, it’s just built into the quote and paid by the dealer.
No one works for free-it’s just a different structure.
10 Likes
Yeah, one needs to evaluate the overall deal as a whole. In my opinion, in the end it really doesn’t matter where the dollars are allocated, it’s the final effective cost that matters.
And as much fun as it is to try and hack a deal out (and of course I have spent hundreds of hours doing this as I do find it somewhat enjoyable), truthfully I think much of the time it is just better for an average person (who values their time at more than $1/hr…LOL) to let a broker do all the work.
7 Likes
Why does it matter to you what someone earns if he does a good job and gets you what you’re looking for?
16 Likes
Especially if the end deal is better than you can get yourself. Even if it is the same deal, but you saved like 50 hours of work, even a hacker like me who enjoys the process would say it is a no brainer to take the broker deal. Leverage the brokers efforts/volume!
The recent Tacos are a prime example. It literally took like five minutes to get a 0.5xx% deal.
2 Likes
understanding fees always matters,
.
6 Likes
Agreed, but when someone tells you there’s no fee to you, what is there to understand?
2 Likes
i’m in illinois…when i look in the broker category and tag illinois only one broker, based in chicago, shows up…how is it possible that only one shows up?
OP asked concerning averages and where they may come from, not whether the service provided is worth it for the price paid by whichever end.
It’s a valid question. Let it go.
10 Likes
I see two, Bliss Motors and Benedetto.
The local brokers by me don’t charge an upfront fee they get paid by the dealer which technically we’re paying but not upfront
1 Like
A broker often has relationships and or social engineering skills that allow them to accomplish in hours what would take the average shopper days.
Compare it to the attorney that plays golf with the judge every week.
3 Likes
In case you missed it - Illinois sucks! Not only do WE get taxed to death, the lease deals, for the most part, suck, too 
.
In the Dealer Review section you’ll see @Benedetto is listed as a Nationwide broker, he’s been around for years and very well known / respected on LH.
2 Likes
Isnt @ralphsaphony in that area?
1 Like
The lease deals aren’t as frequent as you see on LH in the NE or SoCal for example, but the whole tax thing isn’t true anymore.
No fee just means its baked into the lease.
3 Likes
Pretty much. I do a little business aside from my day job(s) but my fee is on the front end as to eliminate any questions regarding conflict of interest but I also do straight referrals in case someone prefers to do the work themselves.
1 Like
i was actually talking about Illinois taxes in general.
I won’t even mention the use tax levied by Chiraq.