Has anyone heard of Autoland? I'm planning to purchase a Prius C through them

As a fleet director, I have sold vehicles to Autoland over the years. Autoland is a car broker like any other. They have associates in their offices who call their partner dealers and get pricing, and then they add their own profit margin on top of that dollar figure. I've always said, if you know the right person to speak with at a dealership then you can cut out the middleman (car broker) who's adding their own profit margin to the car. The only reason for anyone these days to use a broker is convenience.

 

Hey are you..."the right person" to speak too?

 

On a Toyota I would be. Or Scion. I can't speak for other brands though.

 

I disagree. The #1 reason to use a broker is because their (discount - fee) amount is more than the discount amount the direct customer is able to negotiate.

 

Again: it depends on car brand, model, demand. And who you have access to at a dealership.

 

Again:The #1 reason to use a broker is because their (discount - fee) amount is more than the discount amount the direct customer is able to negotiate.

You remind me of the stores that advertise "we match the competitor's price!"

 

I agree, I just check with my auto broker for a 12 Camry Hybrid, he quoted me $600 under invoice. I have talked to some local dealers, the best they can do is invoice. If i go in and seat through two hours of torture, I may lucky to get $200 under.

 

Sage, you know I am not like that! At least I hope you do.
Autoland is not big enough to where they can beat MY Prius pricing. I'll put $ on it too.

 

If you live in CA, I can't imagine why you wouldn't at least ping Dianne for a price. I can easily imagine that she has saved the PriusChat collective somewhere in the neighborhood of $1M over the years.

 

The point I am trying to make is that I don't sell to Autoland for any less $ than I'd sell to YOU for. If that's the case, Autoland or another car broker would have to add some profit in there on top of my pricing. I don't favor brokers. I'm not here at my desk to make sure brokers make money. I like to make deals of course on all cars but my business is a small percentage of brokers and their clients.

I feel strongly that I'd rather see YOU as a client, because you send me referrals and trade me cars my store can re-sell... rather than dash a car off to Autoland or another company only to have the referrals go to THEM and the trrade ins go to THEM.

The internet is a big place but not everyone knows how and where to find me. Or, people like me. There's enough business on this planet for brokers, dealers, and their liaisons to happily co-exist.

I handle lots of internet inquiries and all Toyota and Scion requests like Truecar and Edmunds like any other Internet Manager or Director. Priuschat is a piece of my pie for business and inquiries, but not the entire pie.

Dianne

 

Seilerts nailed it -- Give Dianne a call, it is free. If you like the price you will have high confidence no funny business will happen when you go to pick up the car.

Dianne said

I appreciate the insider view -- thanks. I wonder though, do all brokers request quotes proximate in time to the customer inquiry, or do they sometimes buy in volume or when prices are low hoping to sell in the future ?

 

Yes, I pretty much agree. But? I think you should admit that not all dealerships, and not all people involved in auto sales adhere to ethical standards.

I would argue it's a testament to your success, that you have earned peoples trust with a long track record of playing it straight.

If every dealership, every person selling vehicles had Dianne Whitmires track record, I think auto brokers would be out of business.

It's a symptom of the illness that they are not.

People want an alternative. A different process. And IMO "Most" dealerships have nobody but themselves to blame for this reality.

It is convience primarily...to use a broker.

My dad, recently purchased a Rav 4, and used an Auto Broker. He was aware of the brokers fee, and I do think he wanted the convience.

But I think the whole dealership industry should ask itself "Why do people perceive that it's better to use alternative methods to buy an auto?".

In my Dads case? It was a desire for what he believed would be an more convienent and easier process. (Why should it be?). But also I think a level of distrust with dealerships. I think my Dad believed he could negotiate a better deal, or work towards a better deal, but it would of taken a lot of work. In other words? My dad rightly or wrongly, perceived the dealership as an adversarial experience.

Thus paying a brokers fee, ontop of the purchase price, was an acceptable alternative to him.

There are still far too many sharks in the water. That's why people IMO look for the crutches of buying services and/or brokers. Not necessarily only for convience, or even because they think they will get the "best" deal. But because they perceive the dealership experience as being adversarial.

 

I also want to add: if you buy a car, you pay for a car.
You bring a checkbook, or a car loan to table right away. Or, a trade in. Or, some combination of both. Autoland doesn't fund dealer partners very fast. Often we're sitting 2 to 3 + weeks waiting to be funded. Yet another reason to make sure the average Consumer / Client gets better deals... we get to close the transaction faster and pay off the flooring line. You're going to send me friends and referrals and probably check in with me for the next car too. With an entity like AL, their agents are often (most are, some not) transient and there is very little loyalty there. Any why should I make them a better deal? Dealerships get paid way faster from YOU than we usually do thru them. Their volume means nothing to any dealership because they do not pay us as fast as THEY are paid from your CU.

My business - this empire - is built on many years of referrals, repeat business, and word of mouth. I have a lot of brokers I work with that I adore... and trust and respect. Most of them provide a very valuable time-saving service to the clients. The way this business is now 75% internet-driven with so much information available to the average consumers, the days of the middle-man actually saving you money are dwindling. I can say this, after 32+ years ... I have enough experience to state this and mean it in regards to our general geography.

 

A broker is good for some people. If you are the type that does not like going into a dealership, or you don't know what you are doing, then a broker may be beneficial.

I have bought many new cars in my 43 years. (I just added them up, its 18). I have probably purchased another 10 used cars. This doesn't include any of my spouses, familys, or friends that I have helped. I have primarily owned Toyotas, and they have all come from the same person. However, as Dianne said, anyone can do it. Find the right dealer first, then find the right contact at that dealer. There are the monkeys standing in front of the store smoking cigarettes when you pull up that you can grind for hours with, or you can go straight to the guys that are in charge of moving metal. The guy in charge of moving metal is the same guy the broker will call.

 

ayup!

BINGO!!!
(Bravo Bret)

[QUOTING BRET................ then find the right contact at that dealer. There are the monkeys standing in front of the store smoking cigarettes when you pull up that you can grind for hours with, or you can go straight to the guys that are in charge of moving metal. The guy in charge of moving metal is the same guy the broker will call.]