You won’t find any legally operating independent brokers based in Texas as the state laws effectively prevent it.
The Texas Occupation Code section Sec. 2301.006. prohibits brokering of motor vehicles. Sec. 2301.002 contains the following definition of a broker:
(3) “Broker” means a person who, for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, arranges or offers to arrange a transaction involving the sale of a new motor vehicle, other than a person who is:
A) a franchised dealer or a bona fide employee of a franchised dealer acting for the franchised dealer;
B) a representative or a bona fide employee of a representative acting for the representative;
C) a distributor or a bona fide employee of a distributor acting for the distributor; or
(D) the owner of the vehicle at any point in the transaction.
The Administrative Code, Section 215.85, contains an exception from the requirements of having a dealer license if the broker establishes a “referral service” and receives fees from dealers that meet the following requirements:
(1) There is no exclusive market area offered to a dealer by the program. All dealers are allowed to participate in the program on equal terms.
(2) Participation by a dealer in the program is not restricted by conditions, such as limiting the number of line-makes or discrimination by size of dealership or location. The total number of participants in the program may be restricted if the program is offered to all dealers at the same time, with no regard to the line-make.
(3) All participants pay the same fee for participation in the program. The program fee shall be a weekly, monthly, or annual fee, regardless of the size, location, or line-makes sold by the dealer.
(4) A person is not to be charged a fee on a per referral fee basis or any other basis that could be considered a transaction-related fee.
(5) The program does not set or suggest to the dealer any price of a motor vehicle or a trade-in.
(6) The program does not advertise or promote its plan in a manner that implies that the buyer, as a customer of that program, receives a special discounted price that cannot be obtained unless the customer is referred through that program.
There does not appear to be an exception for brokers that take their fees from consumers and not from dealers.