Confused about broker/dealer lease process

Ask the Hackrs
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1

I’m new to leasing and have some concerns about the process.

  1. The brokers/dealers are saying the contract is only generated after approval, but there’s no charging plan or maintenance policy listed. How is this possible? Shouldn’t these details be provided upfront?
  2. I’ve asked for a formal quote for the car I’m leasing, but they only sent a text with the down payment, monthly payment, and mileage terms, calling it the “official quote.” Is this normal?
  3. They’re also asking for personal documents via text message. Are you guys okay with it?

I’ve read some forum reviews and know they are not scam, but I’m still unsure how others trust these brokers/dealers with their personal info. How do you handle privacy and lack of info concerns during the leasing process?

2

Most brokers deal with SSNs on the daily and use special sites to safeguard your data. A lot more than say a dealer asking you to fill out some paperwork with a pen and hopefully not forgetting to shred it.

Brokers give a price and thats it, they arent there to sell you a car, they are there to save you 5-6 hours normally spent in a dealership

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  1. A contract is the very last step of a deal, you cant make a contract without credit approval or any of your basic information given

  2. If they gave you all the relevant information that is sufficient, not sure what you are expecting to be improved on this…

  3. If worried about your information floating around why dont you put it in a pdf and password protect it, at the end of the day brokers get hundreds of credit applications etc a year and we just need it to sell you the car and move on

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4

Contract sample is enough. Some general penalty/extension/extra charge and inspection criteria etc… these policy don’t need personal info.

A lot more room to improve. You want people to pay and expose personal info only with a text message? Definitely not sufficient info for customer.

What is the point I encrypt it but also give the password out? It should be broker’s responsibility to provide a security way for doc uploading.

5

You are very safe with leasehackr brokers :grin:

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6

Doesn’t seem to be the case - appears some brokers are sharing customer information with others on this forum

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13 posts were merged into an existing topic: Off Topic Landfill 5

9

No one is required to use a broker, you can always work with a dealer directly

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12

Free charging plans, if provided by the OEM, are provided to every customer of that model. There’s nothing to negotiate with a broker or dealer with that aspect.

No one needs to buy a maintenance plan either. If it’s free, again, it’s free for everyone.

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Using a broker shouldn’t mean you are potentially at risk

IMO this is a potential compliance, regulatory risk For LH

Especially if information is being shared without the knowledge or consent of the customer

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Personally, LH or not, I would not give my info without a secure link. That’s just me.

No offense to brokers but who the hell wants their shit floating around with some random people?

Banks give secure links shouldn’t be any different here

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16

I am not trying to negotiate. I am surprised the broker tell me it won’t listed in the contract. You also said it is a rule, then why not put it down to words in the contract?

17

Contracts are legalese. They don’t edit contracts vetted by law firms to add/delete promotional content such as free charging.

Stuff like that is on the main Merc website. IDK why you’re asking stuff that can be verified easily online.

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18

Hundreds of people are happy with the process as is, however a potential solution exists here:

Pay the broker fee and be connected directly to the dealer and give your PII directly to the dealer and assuming all terms match presented by the broker then sign and take your new Mercedes home.

Perhaps you guys can work something out if you choose not to move forward for a refund of the fee. For example you get your fee back but you also agree to not get a vehicle from that dealer for three years. That way said broker is protected from you going behind their back and not paying said fee.

Short of that it may be better to give this a go yourself and see what kind of deal you can get.

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19

Brokers shouldn’t have access to personal information
As we see some people become acrimonious - what’s to stop brokers from sharing PPI with other members on this forum as previously stated in a separate thread

Personally I won’t be sharing any information with some of these brokers anytime soon

I respect and admire many of the dealers and brokers here

However the events that have transpired the past couple of days have made me very concerned

20

Let @Ashleigh explain how important safeguarding PPI is

Some of these brokers think it’s for their personal use in trival measuring contests

@michael - this is a massive potential risk for you

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Speaking from my direct experience with only one broker here, they only asked for my name so they could make the intro to the dealer.

A few folks I have referred to brokers have similar though I think some brokers collected license and insurance information.

All credit related things were handled using secure links from dealers directly in the above cases.

No broker should be asking for your SSN.

Lastly, I suspect some brokers do sell/share people’s information (phone number) with third parties which may or may not be fully disclosed.

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22

I don’t know why you are not putting this easy stuff as part of contract sample for customers.

23

Mercedes doesn’t put the free charging in the contract, just like the contract doesnt specify what kind of tires come on the vehicle, the warranty terms, how much fuel comes in the gas tank at delivery, etc.

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What’s to stop this from happening? - based on the events of the last few days idk……

Hence Michael and Violet need to take a serious look at this - Trusted broker(s) for each region and a unified payment system and doc portal if needed

Any information sharing between brokers must be approved by the customer - this includes anything CREDIT related which some user(s) have said is being shared without their consent