Selling a car through "broker"

[mihai123]

Hi PH! Long time lurker, this is my first post.

I've been trying to sell my car privately for a few weeks.
Today I received a call from a used car "broker". They claim they can sell the car on my behalf, give me my asking price, and then keep whatever they get on top of my asking price. They would provide warranty to the buyer, finance, etc. so I see how it might be easier for them than for me to sell the car in the current times.

I could not find many threads/articles about this way of selling a car, so here I am asking: does it work?
Will the broker deliberately take long, in order to squeeze my hand for a low price given that I need to sell the car this year? Other ways to be scammed?

Any advice or past experiences would be greatly appreciated

Moderator edit: no advertising

[BertBert]

There's almost certainly good and bad stories about SOR, but there are certainly enough bad stories to make it look like a really bad idea!!

[Edible Roadkill]

As above there’s good and bad car dealers out there. Go in with your eyes open. Research the company. Ensure you can pull your car at any time with no penalty, eg in the event of a private sale etc

I’ve read before of dodgy sor garages that went into administration and peoples cars were held as assets.

Make sure it’s a reputable firm.

[nordboy]

If they think they can make money over and above what you're asking, why don't they buy it and sell it on, sort of like a real dealer? Because they don't want the outlay and the risk of losing money. They are people who probably haven't got the cash to become a real dealer so try and do it on the cheap. As has been mentioned, there's been plenty of these businesses disappearing over the years.

i sold my car recently to a dealer, he gave me what I wanted, he's now listing it up on his website for a couple of thousand extra. Win win.

[HiAsAKite]

mihai123 said:

Hi PH! Long time lurker, this is my first post.

I've been trying to sell my car privately for a few weeks.
Today I received a call from a used car "broker". They claim they can sell the car on my behalf, give me my asking price, and then keep whatever they get on top of my asking price. They would provide warranty to the buyer, finance, etc. so I see how it might be easier for them than for me to sell the car in the current times.

I could not find many threads/articles about this way of selling a car, so here I am asking: does it work?
Will the broker deliberately take long, in order to squeeze my hand for a low price given that I need to sell the car this year? Other ways to be scammed?

Any advice or past experiences would be greatly appreciated

Moderator edit: no advertising

I'd avoid.. if they are so confident they could sell your car for a profit, they'd borrow the money to buy it themselves and sell it...

And if they were so good at selling other peoples cars at a profit for them, they would be innundated by word of mouth, and wouldnt be cold call canvassing for business.

To be honest.. its the cold call canvassing that is the biggest warning flag for me.

Maybe it would turn out ok,but youbwere going to use a broker, youd be researching, selecting and choosing one yourself, not using the one that cold calls you....


I'd avoid..

[samoht]

HiAsAKite said:

To be honest.. its the cold call canvassing that is the biggest warning flag for me.

Maybe it would turn out ok,but youbwere going to use a broker, youd be researching, selecting and choosing one yourself, not using the one that cold calls you....

100% this.

Your decision if you want to sell your car to a dealer, ask a dealer to sell it as Sale-or-Return, or sell privately.

If you then decide to try SoR, you want to do a lot of research to find someone with integrity and who is well placed to sell your particular type of car.


The usual way SoR goes wrong is that your car is sold but you aren't told, and/or then aren't paid, and/or what you're told it sold for is less than what the buyer actually paid. While the SoR 'broker' can't take legal ownership of your car, once the new owner has paid for it they have a good faith right to it, while you're left trying to pursue the broker through the courts for the cash, not easy.

Anyway, either ignore, or do a lot of research and try SoR with someone reputable, not the person who contacted you.

[Trevor555]

samoht said:

HiAsAKite said:

To be honest.. its the cold call canvassing that is the biggest warning flag for me.

Maybe it would turn out ok,but youbwere going to use a broker, youd be researching, selecting and choosing one yourself, not using the one that cold calls you....

100% this.

Your decision if you want to sell your car to a dealer, ask a dealer to sell it as Sale-or-Return, or sell privately.

If you then decide to try SoR, you want to do a lot of research to find someone with integrity and who is well placed to sell your particular type of car.


The usual way SoR goes wrong is that your car is sold but you aren't told, and/or then aren't paid, and/or what you're told it sold for is less than what the buyer actually paid. While the SoR 'broker' can't take legal ownership of your car, once the new owner has paid for it they have a good faith right to it, while you're left trying to pursue the broker through the courts for the cash, not easy.

Anyway, either ignore, or do a lot of research and try SoR with someone reputable, not the person who contacted you.

OP please heed this advice, it's spot on..

I've been in the trade since 1988 and have seen SOR go wrong so, so, many times.

A dealer who scouts for SOR is one that doesn't have their own funds to fill their forecourt. Would you really give an unsecured loan to someone like that?