I just had the worst experience with a broker here trying to get an affordable car for a family member and had to share this. I’m sure dealing with people can be challenging but I really can’t find an excuse for how this guy behaved especially when his job revolves around providing a service. Long story short this guy went ballistic demanding that I pay his full $400 fee and threatening that he has “means to ensure he’s paid” after we attempted to pull out of a deal where I had even offered $100 for his time before he went nuts. It had been maybe 3 hrs from initial contact to this point.
We weren’t trying to go around him or anything like that. He misled about how far the dealer was from our zip code and I was able to get a similar deal from a dealer that was closer. I even wanted to keep him in the deal with the other dealer. At this point my family member had only submitted an application before we attempted to back out but I don’t think the brokers dealer even had a car yet. This guy goes back and forth saying I was a scumbag for trying to pull out of the deal and his dealer apparently would now be stuck with the car (I found out the next day this was a complete lie they weren’t even able to locate the car). I legit felt bad about it because I know times are hard right now.
Against my better judgement I proceed with this clown. 24 hours later (3/30) at like 8pm the broker texts me and my family member and says he can’t get the car and that they even tried to get it from the dealer I was attempting to buy from but they were sold out. He offers another trim at around $30 more a month. At this point I was livid but I just kept my cool and said we would let him know about the other trim. In the next morning, I call the other dealer to verify if they in fact sold their cars. Surprise surprise they still have 2. I’m glad I didn’t give this guy a cent. Scary to think whether he would’ve returned my money if he already had it or force me into the different car? I thought I was an A hole but if I am he’s a much larger and stinkier one. I’ve bought from two other brokers and communicated with several others and never had this type of behavior. YMMV i guess
It’s strange because I read a lot of reviews with satisfied customers so I guess everything is fine so long as he is in control of the whole situation and knows he’s getting paid at the end. Should’ve ghosted this clown instead of entertaining his BS. Honestly the interaction with this guy was terrible and I hope he gets diarrhea.
I am going with both of you were a-holes here. Regardless of the back and forth you leveraged his pricing to get it through another dealer and then offered him 25% of his fee. That was a true prick move. I don’t know if it justified the full extent of his reaction but definitely a lot of it.
And seriously? 35 miles is too big of a burden? That’s nothing for the right deal.
Sorry dude, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for you on this one.
OP acted like a scumbag by snaking my numbers to a closer dealer (who my dealer was also trying to swap cars from) AFTER agreeing to a deal, sending a license AND submitting a credit application, which I believe was processed. Then he offered to pay me 1/4 of my fee. To me, it felt insincere, especially while in the middle of a rush to get all of these deals approved by month-end.
I ultimately was unsure about customer’s ability to transact and didn’t want my dealer stuck with a 2020 after lease support ended, so I told them pencils down and told the customers we wouldn’t be working on this any longer. Actually still managed to get 2 additional customers the same cars that OP was looking for, so safe to say the cars were attainable. This customer didn’t pass the smell test after snaking my numbers.
EDIT - it’s very much not a YMMV - OP is a scumbag and just didn’t want to pay $400.
I have a good feeing who the broker was. I’m assuming that you used the numbers from that deal he provided to get a better/same deal at the closer dealer. I also don’t think 30 more mins to get a car that you got a great deal on was worth pulling out from. It also doesn’t matter you reached out to him from a deal that was already posted on the site, he still assured you the deal and you went through the process. I think he is owed his fee.
Thanks, I appreciate it. I do believe I earned payment here, as well. The OP actually interfered by going to the other dealer because my store had already reached out and were working on swapping when the other store went ghost on them. Wonder why???
Yeah believe it does. The guy just didn’t want to pay $400. Takes balls to start a thread about this after the fact. I would have just kept on the DL if i stole money that someone earned.
If it does, I think it’s very fair to pay the full $400 fee owed. The OP would have at that point known what dealership was doing the deal but still filled out the credit app completely. It was likely at that point where he showed the closer dealership the deal he was getting and they matched/beat it.
I don’t disagree one bit that it was a scumbag move to pull out the way OP did.
However, brokers are in the customer service business and should expect scumbag type of behavior at least once in awhile. It really hurts the broker’s reputation and potential for future business by responding in the manner they did.
lol no, we shouldn’t expect people acting like this. this is really bottom of the barrel and gutless. in fact, has never happened in almost 1,000 transactions…
I’ll disagree. A bit more anger than needed? maybe It was end of month, he is dealing with multiple customers and is busy as hell. He has already taken plenty of time to do that, go back and forth, provide the dealer everything, etc. Why should he expect this behavior? Maybe if it was initial questions about the vehicle etc. but not this late in a transaction.
Without a contact, the broker doesn’t have a legal means of getting paid. “I have plenty of means at my disposal to ensure I get paid.” Is quite a threat.
