Hello all,
Quick license question for CA brokers, can you broker new vehicles with an autobroker’s endorsement on a used/wholesale license as opposed to on a new retail license?
You have to have a retail dealer license and an office in a permited area with space for at least two cars.
From there you add the autobroker’s endorsement
I’m licensed to sell used cars but I only do broker deals
1 Like
I see, so you’d have to have a retail used license, not a wholesale used license. The retail license then requires you to have an office space? Was seeing this on DMV application forms so thought it could be possible to broker new cars with a home office space by using a different license.
You cant be a broker with only a wholesale license. correct, part of having a retail used license requires having an office in the correct zoning with space for at least two vehicles to be displayed.
Can’t get one with a “home office”.
I would have much preferred to have it with just a wholesale license and no office requirements
Got it now. Thank you for the information. Very much appreciated!
Recently been helping a lot of family/friends out on some leases and have been scoring some solid deals here in SoCal (including a 4.5k discount and buy rate MF on a black/black 100k MSRP 2020 Range Rover HSE that I was pretty happy about), and I’m considering getting into the brokering game. Have never been in the industry working for dealers. Does it make any sense for someone like me to start brokering? Or am I simply fantasizing?
It’s an extremely saturated market in CA, and tough to do well at if you have zero automotive experience. Not a bad side hustle if you know what you are doing and can make enough to offset overhead.
1 Like
Started learning about leasing a year ago, but as far as cars themselves (features, trims, makes and models) I feel I have an extensive knowledge. It would be a side hustle while I’m still in school, so seems like I could make it work?
Not only is the auto industry hyper-competitive and requires extensive subject-matter-knowledge, it is also about the relationships you build. You seem very keen on it, so GLWT! 
2 Likes
It should also be noted the relationships brokers have with dealers is very different than what you have done so far.
There are dealers that refuse to work with brokers. There are dealers that purposely give brokers crappy quotes to make them irrelevant. And you don’t grind a dealer like you do when you’re getting a personal car, they’ll shut you down fast.
Brokering is more like an ongoing relationship with key broker-friendly sales people / managers and working together to find an aggressive deal that works for your client yet also keeps the dealer happy enough to keep doing business with you.
It’s more like Broker + Client + Dealer on the same team vs You against the Dealer.
8 Likes
So true…
2 Likes
. I’ve heard of brokers getting stiffed by both dealers and customers, getting ghosted by both sides… and as an independent third party, neither owes the broker anything. It’s not an easy gig for sure 
2 Likes
Some really great advice! Noted. It is a different dynamic, approaching it with almost a “teamwork mindset”. It would definitely be a paradigm shift, still brokering seems like the most interesting side hustle I’ve come across.
It’s all about value add and being a good person to everyone you work with. As noted above, you need to please the dealers and prove value, exactly as you would with a client that hires you.
Just as Ethan said and Q agreed, it can’t be just business. I’ve made some very close friends at dealerships through brokering. I speak with most of them more often than I speak with any of my lifelong friends after all! Same with clients-it can never be about a single deal. It’s always about building a trusting relationship.
1 Like