From start to finish, experience to savings, the best benefits, aside from the obvious money saved, are the overall value, convenience, and personal, yet professional, customer experience throughout the entire process. But what is the difference, honestly? Knowing all of your options when buying a new or used car is not only important, it very well could save you a ton of time and a whole lot of money! Let's explore this a bit more...

What Do Car Buying Services, Auto Brokers and Leasing Companies Actually Do?

As a professional Automotive Lease and Purchase Negotiator, ex-high line/luxury segment auto brand specialist/internet sales manager for almost 20 years, I’m constantly asked what the differences are between a Car Buying Service, Auto Broker, and a Leasing Company. Truth be told there's very little difference as far as the service offerings go but the fees are very different.

A car buying service (what I do) is hired directly by the client and solely works for them to locate and negotiate the purchase price or lease costs of your desired vehicle, then finds you the best price for your trade-in and negotiates interest rates or lease money factors on your behalf. Car Buying Services are independent contractors who are paid by their clients directly to save them as much time, frustration, and money as possible. Fees vary but the average cost is approximately 1-2% of the negotiated sales price of the vehicle before taxes and dealer fees. For example: A new car with a $45,000 price tag gets negotiated down to $38,000. You would pay the Car Buying Service approximately $400. Car Buying Services do NOT collect any money from dealers. Car Buying Services/Negotiators are frowned on by many dealers because they dig so much deeper into dealership profits than the average Joe-shmo walk-in customer or even the typical broker. Some dealers flat out refuse to work with Car Buying Services because of how effective they are.

An Automotive Broker is a licensed and bonded dealer who does exactly what a Car Buying Service does but they usually charge you and the dealer to collect from both ends while taking the first price they get from a dealership they already have developed a solid rapport with. They have to charge more because of the expensive insurance and licensing costs. Some, dare I say most Auto Brokers will rope you in with a nominal $99 fee or even no upfront charge to you but collect much more from the dealer; usually upwards of $1500 for the average $30k vehicle. These brokers don’t fight to save you more money than a Car Buying Service because they get paid by the dealer on the back end which ultimately negatively affects the price of your vehicle. It's a license to steal! A customer once confided in me that I saved him $3k more in 24 hours than the broker he contracted who took 2 weeks to bring him a deal.. on the wrong car!

What about Auto Leasing Companies? Both Car Buying Services and Licensed Auto Brokers can act as Auto Leasing Companies. It’s virtually the same thing as negotiating the sales price of a car which ultimately dictates the price of your lease as money factor rates are lower than auto finance interest rates and the residual values are concrete, set in stone percentages dictated by the bank. Again, It's significantly cheaper to just hire a Car Buying Service and pay their fee.

What it really comes down to is this... professional car buying services will often work harder to get you the best deal when buying a new car. In fact, their reputation actually depends on how well they take care of their clientele. After all, referrals are, by far, one the primary means of acquiring new clients for the best car buying service companies over any other method. This is in part due to the fact that true professional car buying experts take pride in the work they do, as well as the savings they are able to obtain for their clients, and overall quality of the level of customer care they provide throughout the entire car buying process.

Making it affordable, convenient, and easy to get the best deals when buying a new car is the apex of what BrianGetsCars.com is all about.