Auto buying service

[panther4life]

Hi everyone. Just conducting some quick market research. 

Would you be interested/willing to pay for an auto buying service? 

Short version is I consult you on any and all questions you have, guide you on how to receive the best financing or lease terms, negotiate the price on your behalf for the vehicle of interest and potential trade. Help you search new and pre-owner inventory, understand what your budget will afford you and in some cases, probably a premium service have the vehicle and paperwork delivered to your home ( pending on the dealers willingness to do so).

A little background, I’m a 13 year veteran of the industry and spent several years as a sales manager.

This knowledge and insight would allow me to shorten the process for you, help you achieve the best deal possible and removes almost all of the stress of car buying!

My question is would any of you pay for such a service and how much would you deem fair for the service? Any other thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

**also I would not be aligned with any dealers, just private clients so my sole focus would be helping you, not the dealerships!

[Dex]

Speaking for myself no. But I'm anal about researching big purchases and prefer to do everything myself. Your target audience might be younger teens, single women and older people.

[panther4life]

3 hours ago, Dex said:

Speaking for myself no. But I'm anal about researching big purchases and prefer to do everything myself. Your target audience might be younger teens, single women and older people.

Thanks for replying!

[rhyslloyd]

What would be your price point for the service?  The reason I ask is because it seems like it would be time consuming on your part thus likely expensive for the buyer which could make it difficult to justify.  If someone was to spend say $500-$1,000 for the service, they technically could have purchased more car with that money having done it on their own.  Just my initial thought.

[panther4life]

1 hour ago, rhyslloyd said:

What would be your price point for the service?  The reason I ask is because it seems like it would be time consuming on your part thus likely expensive for the buyer which could make it difficult to justify.  If someone was to spend say $500-$1,000 for the service, they technically could have purchased more car with that money having done it on their own.  Just my initial thought.

$100 -$350 depending on the level of service requested.  Google searches lead me to a lady named “ the far chick” she gets away with charging $997 somehow and she has 0 experience in the industry. 

I may even offer a short e-book on a step by step guide on all you need to know to do the process yourself for $49. 

[PurityControl]

9 hours ago, Dex said:

Speaking for myself no. But I'm anal about researching big purchases and prefer to do everything myself. Your target audience might be younger teens, single women and older people.

As miserable of an experience as it is, yeah I couldn't turn over such a large purchase to somebody, I would want to handle it myself

But there has to be a market for something like this I would think, people are always looking for somebody to take the "leg work" out of certain things, hell I'm paid to shop for groceries and cook meals for people so. 

 

 

 

[rhyslloyd]

I think there are enough millennials (take it easy - I'm a millennial) who are:  1.  Clueless and 2. Devoid of any initiative; that you could get some interest if you're able to get your name out there.  

[Dex]

32 minutes ago, rhyslloyd said:

I think there are enough millennials (take it easy - I'm a millennial) who are:  1.  Clueless and 2. Devoid of any initiative; that you could get some interest if you're able to get your name out there.  

[rhyslloyd]

59 minutes ago, Dex said:

I can't tell you how many hairy situations hot cross buns got me out of.  I keep that thang on me.

[Khyber53]

Here's the thing: You've got to show any potential client how you can save them more money than you are going to cost them. In addition, if you can have a certified mechanic check each used vehicle independently before the sale AND provide a Carfax statement, you might have a good package deal there.

Get that e-book written, though, and get it out there. Advertise it on Facebook. It will help your credibility if you can say you are a 13-year veteran of the car sales industry AND author of "How Not To Get Screwed When Buying A Car." 

Then advertise the hell out of your services. And give a stack of business cards to each purchaser and tell them to give it to their friends after they write their own name on the card. Each card will have a $25 coupon off your services price. And then tell your customer that for each one of those cards you get back, you'll give them $50.

 

[panther4life]

What baffles me is the over confidence so many people project and sometimes just how flat out wrong they are about the process as I spent years on the other side of the table.

Plus their is the trust factor. Hardly anyone trust anybody on the inside of a dealership and it’s mainly because the ultimate goals don’t align.

The dealer wants to sell you a car on your visit or as result of your first interaction with them, be it an internet inquiry, phone call or just strolling into the dealer. That is their first priority. The 2nd is to maximize the profit they can make on you. 

Customers don’t realize that there’s 2 avenues of profit for dealers and everyone breaks them down into 2 segments. Front end profit and back end profit. The front is the money made on the sale of the car, the 2nd is the money made in the finance office (a lot of times the sales side already captures that money from you as a gift, for a lack of better words for the finance office).

How many of you are aware the the interest rate you pay, is allowed to be marked up to 2.5 points from what the bank “buys” the loan at?

Or what kind of margins there are in the extended warranties, gap insurance and prepaid maintenance?

I can’t tell you the number of times I let the customer feel like they won on a certain angle but in the end I won on several other fronts. Such as they were hell bent on buying the car for a certain price but then let me get their trade for 1-2k under market and sometimes more. Or sometimes it works in reverse where the customer mainly cares about the trade value so I show them more on paper but make it up on the front of the sale. Also people who buy off payment( 90%) and they aren’t even aware of the breakdown of the total numbers until they look at the contract the next day if ever. This doesn’t even cover the money made on marking up rates. 

Then you have your clients who have terrible credit and they don’t understand how lenders view them. It’s all about risk, hence the reason money down is required when you have less than stellar credit as the bank will only loan a % of the cars value. Sometimes they even tack on a fee to cover them in future recovery efforts (repossession) in the event you default on the loan. Dealers can’t legally disclose this.

Then of course you have your customers who have unreal and unreasonable expectations and play the “hardball” approach and basically say it’s my way or the highway. Well guess what if we sold you the car then your way was profitable to us. If we don’t make a deal and you can’t be reasoned with, you just wasted your own time, we have to be there anyway. 

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your research has allowed you to know more about the vehicle your buying than the bozo sales rep trying to sell it to you? How aggravating is that. What if you could have had more features for the same or less money? You think you may have gotten everything you can and maximized your bang for the buck, but how can you be sure??? 

Or how many of you know why leasing can be beneficial to certain people vs financing. Or why financing may be a better option even if you have the liquid cash to pay for it outright?

Ever dealt with negative equity(owing more than the vehicles trade is worth) and we’re so  upside down you could never ever find a car that you could buy because you were so negative in your current one? Well sometimes there’s ways to navigate around that and the dealer can help you but they will keep the strategy to themselves as it serves them to have the knowledge but not pass it on to you.

Lastly, you do all the research online and you’re confident you’ve found the best deal and have every angle covered. The  A. You get there and things don’t go as planned. B. Did you know the site you submitted the lead on charges the dealer for the acquisition of you as a client and that has to be accounted for in how much discount they can offer you?  

The service I’m proposing is valuable, but I’ve always shied away from it, because people don’t realize the value or appreciate all the time and money I can save them. Plus the stress. 

As for time think of it this way. How much is your time worth? Let’s say you make $25/hour and you invest  24 hours of your free time doing legwork that I could do for you. That’s $600 of your time that could have been better invested in doing other things you enjoy or focusing on work. 

Thanks again for all the input. If you hate what I’m saying that’s good to know , if you love it that’s even better haha. 

 

 

[panther4life]

Also just want to clarify in the above post I’m not insulting anyone. I just have knowledge that nobody really has a need for until it comes time to buy a car and it can really play into your advantage. Like I know nothing about chemistry but I don’t plan on working on any science projects or concocting any potions any time soon or ever. However if I did then it sure would be nice to know someone who had that knowledge and could walk me through the process or even better just do it all for me. 

I think the biggest obstacle or objection I have to overcome, is how as a stranger can you fully trust me to look out for your best interest? Everyone I’ve helped in the past were family and friends and I did it as a courtesy not a service that I charged for. 

Part 2 of the equation is me selling the value of the service and at the same time charging enough to make it worth my while. I have a passion to do this, as I want to make money and be my own boss, but have 0 desire to go back into the business again and work the crazy hours or do what it takes to work myself into a situation where I rise up the ranks of becoming an owner, even though I have the experience and skill set to do so. 

[toldozer]

What if the person knows exactly make and year model of car they want,  do you think your service would still be useful?  Maybe provide us with an example. The service doesn't seem useful to me but I definitely see the market.  Ok so let me give you a scenario.  I have good credit 725+, income to more than meet requirements for the cars I'm looking at. I don't want to trade or put any money down.  I'm looking for a 2018 MERCEDES-BENZ CLA250 with under 15000 (used not new) what price should I expect to pay? 

[panther4life]

4 hours ago, toldozer said:

What if the person knows exactly make and year model of car they want,  do you think your service would still be useful?  Maybe provide us with an example. The service doesn't seem useful to me but I definitely see the market.  Ok so let me give you a scenario.  I have good credit 725+, income to more than meet requirements for the cars I'm looking at. I don't want to trade or put any money down.  I'm looking for a 2018 MERCEDES-BENZ CLA250 with under 15000 (used not new) what price should I expect to pay? 

Yes.

 Have you already gotten rate quotes anywhere, financing term 60 months, 72 months? 

Would this be a 2nd or only auto loan for you? 

I can nail down the rate the bank will buy the deal at, lending how much you plan to finance. There is a specific formula they use when consisting rates and a large down payment does not always mean it will lower your rate. 

I can also help you determine the exact amount you should finance with all fees involved, tax, tag and doc fee. I can help you determine if a certified pre-owned would benefit you and that can only be purchased from a Mercedes dealer.

I can tell you this from an appraisal and pricing software  that that almost all franchise dealers use says the average price on an 18 model is $30,220 and the average mileage is 15,746. That’s within a 350 mile radius of Mooresville. 

So if you’re looking for an average deal, that’s what your looking at for pricing and mileage your considering.

I can use auction date to determine what the dealer would pay to buy, service and have one “front line ready” or retail ready on their lot and help negotiate you the best price before you even walk in the door and direct you to the top 3 best deals on the market. I can also access how long each dealer has the vehicle on their lot and how motivated they will be to haggle. 

In addition I can help you sort through reputable dealers, let you know if the prospective vehicle was a local trade or purchased at auction. I can also help you sift through the carfax and much more. I just wanted to give you a quick response while I wait for my haircut. 

Thanks for asking the questions!

Edit: I’d have tiered level of services and your situation would be a mid tier level. I think something id charge $200-250 range for. Surely I could save you enough time, money and give you confidence that you made a wise decision. To me that’s a good value, but again that’s just my perspective and why I started this thread to hear more opinions. Thanks again!

Edit 2: I could also answer any questions you have and help familiarize you with the different tactics and strategies the dealer will use on their end as well. If you have a trade in that adds a whole other element to this as well where I could be useful.