Caution: Omegaautogroup Broker Fee Discrepancies

Ask the Hackrs
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Hi all,

I’ve been advised by @trusted_hackrs to post my concerns about @Omegaautogroup here instead of in seller reviews. I had originally raised my concerns to trusted_hackrs and the site founders in mid-November, but due to recent time constraints, I’m only now able to write this up and share with the broader community.

This post concerns the 13-month, 10K-mile Hyundai Ioniq 5 one-pay leases advertised by Omegaautogroup. In my opinion, Seth and his broker team are engaging in seriously unethical practices regarding their EV broker service fee. I believe you’ll concur after reading this post, but I welcome community feedback and invite Omega to respond publicly.

Let’s delve into the details:

OmegaAutoGroup’s marketplace post advertised the one-pay price for a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL at $1,485.00, including 7.75% Orange County tax. I handled the deal for a friend of mine, who requested one in Atlas White ($475 MSRP surcharge), bringing the agreed one-pay price to $1569.06.

Seth sent a Venmo payment request for $1099, itemized as:

Initially, this seemed reasonable. The $799.00 broker fee was clearly stated, and while the $300.00 pre-payment was a little unusual, I assumed it was a deposit to hold the car while the deal was being finalized.

The issue arose after I reviewed the final contract. The actual total for the one-pay lease was $1253.94 — $315.12 less than agreed upon. But the $300 pre-payment is not mentioned anywhere in the contract. When confronted, Seth offered several inconsistent explanations:

Claim 1: $300.00 was a cap cost reduction.
Reality: Lease contracts are fully itemized. The contract shows no such reduction.

Claim 2: $300.00 was sent to the dealership to reduce the vehicle’s selling price.
Reality: This makes no sense. If it’s an under-the-table arrangement with dealership employees, it would be legally problematic for the employee.

Claim 3: $300.00 was a broker fee paid by the dealership to Omegaautogroup, arranged for the customer to pay upfront.
Reality: The dealership’s General Sales Manager confirmed to me directly that no compensation was paid to Omegaautogroup. This would also violate California Vehicle Code 11736(f), which states that it is unlawful to “fail to disclose to the consumer and selling dealer…whether the autobroker receives or does not receive a fee or other compensation, regardless of the form or time of payment, from the selling dealer and the dollar amount of any fee that the consumer is obligated to pay to the autobroker. This arrangement shall be confirmed in a brokering agreement.”

Claim 4: Seth stated that he would have the dealership re-contract the lease with a higher vehicle selling price and refund the $300.00.
Reality: This never happened. Not to mention how logistically unfeasible this idea was.

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These inconsistencies suggest a deliberate attempt to mislead clients and retain additional fees under false pretenses. While the total out-of-pocket amount paid by the customer may match the broker advertisement, the allocation and representation of that amount raises serious ethical concerns. Essentially, OmegaAutoGroup is double-dipping on the broker service fee.

Despite attempts by myself and the site founders, OmegaAutoGroup has flatly refused to refund the additional $300.00 fee. I’m sharing this post to raise awareness, gather community feedback, and publicly call on Omegaautogroup to refund the additional fee to all affected clients.

I advise against doing business with this broker without a signed written agreement of fees (which, by law, are refundable per CVC 11736(c). If others have experienced similar issues, I would invite you to come forward and share your thoughts. Depending on the extent of this problem, a formal complaint with the CA DMV and CA Attorney General’s office may be warranted. At the very least, it warrants a serious look at their standing in the LeaseHackr community.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to seeing the public response from the community and Omegaautogroup.

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What attempts did the @admins take?

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We love receipts here.

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So what I see is he posted a 799 fee, a $300 ‘oddball fee’ and asked for 1269 for the rest…

And charged you 1253 less than 1269.
So in ‘money wise’ you are made whole.

But Yes I would ask why the $300 oddball fee for sure. I have never seen this before. Or the way he answered, when I dealt with him it was pretty straightforward.

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And violence.

Don’t forget violence.

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If he wants to make an extra $300 just charge the extra $300. Or have the dealer pay him out on a bird dog. Plenty of brokers here charge $1000+ to do a deal, it’s not like it’s not out of line with many others. All that matters is your price can’t be beat so if a broker wants to charge $5000 fee they can, just should be disclosed or if not disclosed, paid by the dealer to the broker.

Seems like you were ok with the price quoted and actually made out better than he said. But considering they weren’t transparent with you, he should def refund the $300.

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It seems all the OP is requesting is that the contract be re-written for the higher amount to account for the ‘missing’ $300 in the deal. Personally I don’t really see the need to do this because nothing is going to change except for how the money is accounted for in the deal. The buyer is not out any additional money since they agreed to a slightly higher price. Is it possible the dealer decided to mark up the MF and lower the selling price to account for the $300 difference?

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Just to clarify one thing here, are you now without a car/deal and you have no refund?

Everything else aside, that’s not right.

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I hate to say it, but I thought this was part of the broker game. I mean have you seen the “doc fees” on some of these deals? What NJ dealer has an advertised $899 doc fee? I get the reason to demand proper accounting, but there’s also something to be said for agreeing to a total price that you’re happy with and paying it.

Would the deal have sold more poorly here advertised at $1,250 with an $1,100 broker fee? Maybe? I’m thinking most are looking at total cost and being happy they’ve saved thousands. A little funny business on $300 that you’ve agreed to seems kinda moot. I can’t tell if you’re frustrated you didn’t get the $1,250 deal for the broker fee you paid, or if it’s truly just a matter of principle. I can understand the latter but do question the point of it all honestly. You saved a bundle and got the car for a cost you agreed to.

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Have you not shopped around?

I just left a dealer with a $799 doc + $299 etch fee. Total = $1098

in NJ that is.

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I have, I’m talking about $899 doc fees on Hyundai’s and the like.

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It was a similar brand actually, they are quite on the rise.

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My worst encounter was a max of $799 in the south, and I’ve been hunting many brands. Agreed that they’re increasing but it seems some brokers are hiding a little extra there.

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I wouldn’t necessarily say they are “hiding” their fee in there. A lot of them increase discount to show more off and add it to the fees, which in reality is the same thing all of these dealers with no doc fee restrictions do. Move it from one line item to another.

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Have you met Florida?

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Haha read enough here to stay away.

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back to the main post though, I have no affiliation with said broker.

However, I’m struggling to see the point you are trying to make. If the broker made an extra $300 on a car that is seemingly impossible to get your hands on and you paid exactly what was quoted, would you have not taken the vehicle?

IMO seems like you are trying to negotiate after the fact, which is in extremely poor taste.

EDIT:
If I were the broker and you wanted everything squarely done: I would re-contract at the agreed upon cost. You would have to pay an additional $13.

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To your point, moving things around is quite typical. Maybe the high doc fees aren’t so nefarious, but to OPs point they wanted it properly itemized. I get that. But I also see the view that just says it was moved to the broker fee and at the end of the day, what changed?

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A dealer in FL of ours has a $1498 doc - NJ is slowly becoming Wild West, but doesn’t matter as long as discount makes up for it. Total lease cost is the important #

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My understanding is that it is the broker took an extra $300 after the fact.

OP, is my understanding correct?

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