Becoming a car leasing broker

[Tuvra]

I am always on the lookout for cheap lease deals and have a huge interest in cars, I also enjoy finding the best deals for people and have sourced a few cars already for close family and friends. As sad as it sounds I actually like being involved in the new car situation, making suggestions and then finding out how the same people are getting on with their cars.

It got me thinking about doing this as a little sideline. I have a chap that emails me once a month with cracking lease deals and he then attaches an excel sheet that shows all the other vehicles he has available to lease, it seems pretty low outlay to set something like this up but I have a few basic questions:

• I assume I would make my money from the "admin fee" charged to the customer when they initially place the order. Is there any more to be had? I read on line that some make a cut on top of the rental charges e.g. BMW charge £300 and the customer actually pays £310 with BMW paying the additional £10 back to the lease company i.e. £230 over the 23 month period on top of the admin charge. Is this right?

• Where do you access the deals to offer on? I have seen franchises etc but they seem like a waste of money to me? Surely theres a way to acquire such lists from the manufacturers?

• What exactly would my job entail? I assume its find the deals, market the deals, hook the customer, forward the Finance proposals to the customer, return them to the finance company and if the credit score checks out- thats it you have a "sale"?

• Any other comments anyone can make on this idea?

For now its not going to be a full time commitment, just something where I can make a few quid highlighting the really good deals to family, friends and colleagues and then hopefully expand once I have "learned the ropes" a bit.

Very early stages in the thought process but looking forward to reading some responses

[Tuvra]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Andy I have emailed you

I appreciate certain suppliers may have a minimum order policy, do we have any ideas what these might be? In my first year I would be aiming to lease out approx 12-15 cars providing sufficiently desirable cars crop up.

I would be looking to "sell" premium brands, desirable/interesting models and the really cheap deals (£75 C1's) rather than offer loads of run of the mill stuff like Focus', Mondeo's etc. I would then heavily promote good deals like the 120d, M135, Golf R, C63 etc that we have seen in the past using things like Facebook, Twitter, Adwords etc.

Initially I would be aiming to get people who are new to leasing cars rather than fleet users etc and see how it goes. I cannot really see how this can be an expensive operation to set up? You could effectivley run it from a back bedroom with internet connection and a phone no? (Providing you were BVRLA registered and had a Consumer Credit Licence etc).

[Tuvra]

The Moose said:

Dick Dastardly said:

eliot said:

Plus you only need to pay £20 to a colour blind kid on Acid to design your website as one such company have proven!

I use Ling for company cars. Their customer service and the deals they offer are excellent. I wouldn't want to compete with them.

Their pricing hasn't been very competitive when I've looked at personal lease deals. Maybe they are more so on the business?

I have never found Ling competitive even as a business user.

I find Freedom Contracts are usually close to being on the money but they fob you off from one sales assistant to the other and lack that personal feel. I have had lots of dealings with a chap that I email direct named Scott (Central Leasing I believe) and he has been top draw.

I would try to add a personal touch to my business by using my car knowledge to make suggestions on good deals for alternative vehicles, providing one to one assistance, being kept up to date with every order update etc. Basically I would try and create the leasing company I would use.

ModernAndy said:

At a self-employed level it's okay but the cost of staff at a business level looks prohibitive unless you're doing very well (plus they can break away and do it for themselves for the same or more money no problem).

To get enough money to pay somebody £30k (which is about market rate I reckon) you need them to sell around 200 cars a year approximately so you need them to be doing cars every day (from a non-dealership company) to pay their way and make the company a bit of money.

Not saying it's impossible but the competition is fierce while most deals will make merely okay money.

If I could create a suitable demand and start turning over sufficient orders the next step would be asking my partner to quit her job and assist me with the running of the business. She could also assist with the running of my current business so the cost impact would be small as her wages would be covered by the both companies.

I have done a lot of deep thinking the past day or two and will pick holes in my own idea all weekend to see if it is worth it