I Need A Buyer's Agent! But For My Car.?

So I want to buy a new car. I want a convertible Saab, used of course. Somewhere between 2004 and 2006.
I have been pretty dead set on it for about 6 months now. I even have the financial means to buy it.
Why won’t I buy one? Just because I hate the process! How silly is that?There are several out there through dealers, but when I go into the dealership, I don’t get a warm and fuzzy welcome. I instead get a salesperson. I see him in a similar light as most consumers see Realtors. I don’t trust him.

In part because of my background in Real Estate, I know that there is a ton of insider knowledge (which I try to expose in this blog) that I don’t have. AND I DON’T LIKE IT! I know he looks at me like a chum, and oftentimes his bonus will be directly attached to how high a price he can get from me (I could be wrong about their compensation, but that is my perception, probably from a friend that worked in used cars 5 years ago). I’m even at a point in my life where I don’t mind people making money, I just don’t like not knowing what they are making and I don’t want to be the sucker that overpays.

I wish I had a buyer’s agent… for cars.

• Somebody that I could pay (wouldn’t it be great if the seller paid… nah, not really, it all ultimately comes out of my checkbook one way or another).
• Somebody that has the insider information and can help me get the best deal.
• Somebody with the insider connections and the know how.
  I might be a brilliant lawyer (I’m not) or a genius doctor (I’m not), but without doing it day in and day out, I am at a disadvantage, no matter how smart I am, or even worse, how smart I think I am.

I know there are car buying guides and websites, but still, I want more of an inside scoop? Carmax? Maybe. I understand their prices are fixed, but then I heard they aren’t the best deal.Kelly Blue Book? Yeah right, a book created BY the car industry based on numbers that are submitted by the dealerships, with no proof. Sound familiar? Every dealer is suddenly selling “below Kelly BB”? How can this possibly be? Who is selling way above KBB in order to allow so many to pay under KBB? I don’t trust it.

So I did it! I hired a Used Car Buyer Agent.

A client of mine is a Saab enthusiast and he bought his car through an auction via an agent that he trusted, and a friend had used. He got a great deal and highly recommended him to me. No, a really good deal, not the “good deal” that every dealership brainwashes you into thinking that you got when you pushed them down $2,000.

But, do I have a car yet? No. Why? In part because my agent isn’t good. For one he doesn’t use email (and probably not the internet, so I won’t be worried that he will read this), and my phone calls get left with his nice wife. A ton of other reasons, but it hasn’t been an experience that I could recommend to others… yet. I’m still hopeful. I think I will call him yet again today.

Unshamelessly blatant non-subliminal plug: The above is an actual true story. Yes it is meant to highlight why you should have a great buyer’s agent for a house, and not just somebody that your mother plays cards with, or happened to be sitting at an open house. A buyer’s agent shouldn’t just be a pencil pusher. Not only do you need somebody that will fight for you, you need somebody that is responsive. And somebody that won’t talk/push you into buying. Instead he will show you all the options and give you the pros and cons for you to make the final decision. You all are lucky because you have that option, meanwhile I’m Saab-less. End plug.

Does anybody know a good buyer’s agent for cars?

Update: Posting coming soon about the Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement, whether to sign it or not.

– Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker/Owner FranklyRealty.com
703-827-4OO6

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Keywords: Housing bubble? Arlington, Alexandria, mls, homes, Real estate, Virginia, Realtor

• 17
• January
• 2007

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