Hey everyone. I have worked with a few brokers in the past and enjoy spending time on this site just looking at cars and the numbers. I currently have a full time job where my average coworkers income is above 6 figures. Cars are a passion of mine and I wanted to take it to the next level. There are not a lot of brokers where I live- SW USA (not Tx or NV)
I was wondering if anyone knows what it takes to become a broker.
My plan so far
Reach out to BMW dealers(I know this brand the best and it’s a big seller here) in a 20 mile radius and get an appointment with the GM. Try to put together a spreadsheet with prices
From what I understand the dealership typically gives a cut $100ish per sale ? Rest comes from the buyer.
Talk to friends and coworkers to get my name out there. Hopefully they will talk to me when it’s time to buy a car.
It wouldn’t be the GM, you’d be meeting with a Fleet / Internet Director or Sales Manager
$500 - $1,000 to a broker is the standard fee depending on deal quality.
There are licensing requirements that should be posted on your states DMV site.
To be honest being a real broker isn’t easy, you sound pretty new to it. I’d stick around the forum and learn a bit more about how the industry as a whole works before you decide to jump into it. Dealers don’t work with clueless brokers.
Thanks for the detailed reply. How responsive is the fleet or internet manager to a new broker? Is there anything I can do to show that I’m for real ?
I was going to set up a professional website and print business cards.
The thread suggests that there are people may operate in such a way that does not meet the legal requirements and try to justify it by calling it something other than brokering. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend going into a business knowing that you’re skirting the legal requirements of doing so.
I’m always surprised that aspiring brokers don’t interview current brokers (there are plenty who would never be direct competitors to OP), or read their posts about nightmare customers, getting ripped off by their clients on commission , or cut out of the deal. And: some of the best stories don’t get posted, but there is lots of receipts to be found here.
Of course, anyone with email and a Venmo can sell phone numbers or post uncompetitive deals structured by their dealer (as long as they registered and paid here). The successful brokers? Are licensed, and bonded/insured, and have desking tools, and (gasps) professional phone numbers/email/websites.
