Buying a Consignment Car

[Vratenza]

Hi! I'm shopping around for a pre-owned car to replace my wife's current aging ride.

 

I came across a few dealers who posted on sgcarmart claiming that the cars they are advertising are on consignment.

 

I'm curious:

 

1) How do I know that the car is really on consignment? Or could it be a "consignment car" is easier for them to sell at higher profit since it lowers the buyer's guard against 2nd hand car dealers and reduce the tendency to bargain too aggressively.

 

2) If it is really a consignment car, do I need to pay admin fee to the dealer on my side? I was quoted a $700 fee if taking a loan with them and $1000 if paying full cash. Is this the usual for consignment?

 

3) Is the consignment dealer taking money from both sides ie.buyer and seller all pay a fee to him? I thought usually the seller already need to pay roughly 1% of the sales as commission for the consignment deal.

 

4) Can I get the seller to absorb these "admin fees" since I want to use my own financier who can handle all paperwork without additional cost to me.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Joseph22]

What is consignment car?

[Nimm12]

What is consignment car?

 

consignment simply means the owner of car put his car in a pte car dealer's showroom to display and sell

meaning the seller is the car owner himself, not the dealer

however the dealer may charge the owner (aka seller) for 'parking lot rental' and 'service charge'

 

1) How do I know that the car is really on consignment? Or could it be a "consignment car" is easier for them to sell at higher profit since it lowers the buyer's guard against 2nd hand car dealers and reduce the tendency to bargain too aggressively.

 

it doesnt matter to a buyer if the car is sold direct by the owner in a showroom (aka consignment) or if its sold direct by the dealer

important thing is still the condition of car, selling price and depreciation of the used car vs that of a brand new same model

 

 

2) If it is really a consignment car, do I need to pay admin fee to the dealer on my side? I was quoted a $700 fee if taking a loan with them and $1000 if paying full cash. Is this the usual for consignment?

 

usually dealers charge $0 to $500 for admin fee, depending on the price of the car they sell to u

if they sell dirt cheap, they may ask for higher admin fee

if they sell at a premium, they may give u $0 admin fee

if u take up a huge loan, they earn commission from the bankers and they can waiver this admin fee

again, more important to check the car condition, its depreciation vs a brand new same model

 

 

3) Is the consignment dealer taking money from both sides ie.buyer and seller all pay a fee to him? I thought usually the seller already need to pay roughly 1% of the sales as commission for the consignment deal.

 

the seller may not pay the dealer any $ but the dealer earn his comission from the buyer (ie you)

it is quite obvious admin $700 is on the high side

 

 

4) Can I get the seller to absorb these "admin fees" since I want to use my own financier who can handle all paperwork without additional cost to me.

can, if they are desperate to sell the car

meaning they dont want to hold it any longer due to 1) parking lot fee 2) depreciation of paper value

Edited February 5, 2010 by Nimm12

[Leepee]

Last year when my boyfriend tried to sell his car, I was with him.

1) Two different team of buyer came to see car, different day.

2) Same situation, one lady will act as the buyer. While she will bring along a male friend to look see.

3) The lady will claim she is buying for her own use. And so happen her male friend in in the second hand car business, so can help her to check and do the transfer.

 

When my boyfriend agreed to the selling price.

4) The female buyer will pretend to ask how much downpayment we need, etc.

5) From a wallet, suddenly a single $1000 note comes out. Not cheque but hard cash.

6) THe male friend will give a transfer care documents to be signed on the spot and request to collect the car the next day.

 

No issue there. Next day comes.

 

7) The lady came to collect the car in a flashy car with a special number plate "3".

8) The remaining cashier orders and sale agreemtn signed and hte car key handed over to the lady buyer.

 

 

One week later, the exact same car appeared in sgcarmart as CONSIGNMENT car.

 

We went down to make enquiry on the same car, the saleman gives all sort of nice story lah, the car female driver lah, only bring kids lah, under condo carpark lah...etc....etc..

 

 

So thats is what CONSIGNMENT is all about.,

[Vratenza]

consignment simply means the owner of car put his car in a pte car dealer's showroom to display and sell

meaning the seller is the car owner himself, not the dealer

however the dealer may charge the owner (aka seller) for 'parking lot rental' and 'service charge'

 

In my case, the cars are usually claimed to be still with the sellers...ie. I have to make prior arrangement to view the car. Sometimes have to wait a few days because the seller is out of town.

 

1) How do I know that the car is really on consignment? Or could it be a "consignment car" is easier for them to sell at higher profit since it lowers the buyer's guard against 2nd hand car dealers and reduce the tendency to bargain too aggressively.

 

it doesnt matter to a buyer if the car is sold direct by the owner in a showroom (aka consignment) or if its sold direct by the dealer

important thing is still the condition of car, selling price and depreciation of the used car vs that of a brand new same model

 

So in this case, do I bargain with the dealer or the seller directly?

 

 

2) If it is really a consignment car, do I need to pay admin fee to the dealer on my side? I was quoted a $700 fee if taking a loan with them and $1000 if paying full cash. Is this the usual for consignment?

 

usually dealers charge $0 to $500 for admin fee, depending on the price of the car they sell to u

if they sell dirt cheap, they may ask for higher admin fee

if they sell at a premium, they may give u $0 admin fee

if u take up a huge loan, they earn commission from the bankers and they can waiver this admin fee

again, more important to check the car condition, its depreciation vs a brand new same model

 

3) Is the consignment dealer taking money from both sides ie.buyer and seller all pay a fee to him? I thought usually the seller already need to pay roughly 1% of the sales as commission for the consignment deal.

 

the seller may not pay the dealer any $ but the dealer earn his comission from the buyer (ie you)

it is quite obvious admin $700 is on the high side

 

I also feel that $700 is exorbitant...I am willing to pay a small fee for a good used car...but I believe the seller should also be paying for the dealer's service instead of wholly by me since it is the seller who engaged the dealer for his convenience instead of selling direct.

 

4) Can I get the seller to absorb these "admin fees" since I want to use my own financier who can handle all paperwork without additional cost to me.

can, if they are desperate to sell the car

meaning they dont want to hold it any longer due to 1) parking lot fee 2) depreciation of paper value

 

Is it usual for buyer to use his own financier since it is similar to buying direct?

 

 

 

[Nimm12]

In my case, the cars are usually claimed to be still with the sellers...ie. I have to make prior arrangement to view the car. Sometimes have to wait a few days because the seller is out of town.

 

So in this case, do I bargain with the dealer or the seller directly

 

I also feel that $700 is exorbitant...I am willing to pay a small fee for a good used car...but I believe the seller should also be paying for the dealer's service instead of wholly by me since it is the seller who engaged the dealer for his convenience instead of selling direct.

 

Is it usual for buyer to use his own financier since it is similar to buying direct?

 

then it is strictly not a consignment, its more like the owner ask the dealer to advertise for him

or the dealer offered the owner a very low trade in price (the owner actually wanted to get a used car from this dealer and trade in his car)

so the dealer suggested the owner try to sell the car in open market himself

 

deal with the seller, unless seller appoint dealer to act on his behalf

 

if i were u , i'll pay at most $200 for admin, depending on the quality of services of the dealer

 

and yes, better if u can find a rate lower than what the dealers offer u... currently used car interest is about 2.2%

but some unethical dealers will charge u another few hundred for not using their bankers

Edited February 5, 2010 by Nimm12

[Royang]

consignment car? I never heard it.

[Vratenza]

Last year when my boyfriend tried to sell his car, I was with him.

1) Two different team of buyer came to see car, different day.

2) Same situation, one lady will act as the buyer. While she will bring along a male friend to look see.

3) The lady will claim she is buying for her own use. And so happen her male friend in in the second hand car business, so can help her to check and do the transfer.

 

When my boyfriend agreed to the selling price.

4) The female buyer will pretend to ask how much downpayment we need, etc.

5) From a wallet, suddenly a single $1000 note comes out. Not cheque but hard cash.

6) THe male friend will give a transfer care documents to be signed on the spot and request to collect the car the next day.

 

No issue there. Next day comes.

 

7) The lady came to collect the car in a flashy car with a special number plate "3".

8) The remaining cashier orders and sale agreemtn signed and hte car key handed over to the lady buyer.

 

 

One week later, the exact same car appeared in sgcarmart as CONSIGNMENT car.

 

We went down to make enquiry on the same car, the saleman gives all sort of nice story lah, the car female driver lah, only bring kids lah, under condo carpark lah...etc....etc..

 

 

So thats is what CONSIGNMENT is all about.,

 

 

hmmm....i had this suspicion on those consignment thingy all along....thanks for the head up

Will ask them to show the log card and talk to the owner directly before committing....

 

How will the owner name on the log card (print from onemotoring) appear if the car is transferred to a second hand dealer?

[Vratenza]

then it is strictly not a consignment, its more like the owner ask the dealer to advertise for him

or the dealer offered the owner a very low trade in price (the owner actually wanted to get a used car from this dealer and trade in his car)

so the dealer suggested the owner try to sell the car in open market himself

 

deal with the seller, unless seller appoint dealer to act on his behalf

 

if i were u , i'll pay at most $200 for admin, depending on the quality of services of the dealer

 

and yes, better if u can find a rate lower than what the dealers offer u... currently used car interest is about 2.2%

but some unethical dealers will charge u another few hundred for not using their bankers

 

Thanks for the info...very useful when I try to bargain with them...not gonna let them chop carrot head so easily...

[Vratenza]

Anyone bought 2nd hand car from Trade Assist?

 

Seen their website...all testimonies from the sellers purporting the high price they sold their cars for.....

What about the buyers? Are the buyers short changed?

 

I called them up and spoke to the person on the other side of the line,

Apparently the buyers of the cars they are selling need to pay $700 admin fee (if taking loan) and $1000 admin fee (if no loan)....so they are earning from both the sellers (A fixed charge of $500 or 1% of the sale price, whichever is higher, will be imposed upon sale of the vehicle) and buyers at the same time...

 

I asked them if I can get my financier to take over all the paperwork....they say cannot but cannot give me a good reason why not since I argued that they are already earning from the seller and why should I let them earn my financing/insurance cutbacks if I can settle on my own?

 

 

 

[Schneider79]

Depends on how you look at it. If the price is much lower than sgcarmart's asking price then the ball is in your court. I did some consignment car deals and i used the sgcarmart's contract template to complete the deal. That contract is very transparent as it will state the seller's name and buyer's name.

If you're buying in cash, more or less the dealer would ask you to help the seller to complete the full settlement of the car or else the transfer cannot be done at all.

[Nimm12]

Anyone bought 2nd hand car from Trade Assist?

 

Seen their website...all testimonies from the sellers purporting the high price they sold their cars for.....

What about the buyers? Are the buyers short changed?

 

I called them up and spoke to the person on the other side of the line,

Apparently the buyers of the cars they are selling need to pay $700 admin fee (if taking loan) and $1000 admin fee (if no loan)....so they are earning from both the sellers (A fixed charge of $500 or 1% of the sale price, whichever is higher, will be imposed upon sale of the vehicle) and buyers at the same time...

 

I asked them if I can get my financier to take over all the paperwork....they say cannot but cannot give me a good reason why not since I argued that they are already earning from the seller and why should I let them earn my financing/insurance cutbacks if I can settle on my own?

 

 

there's hundreds of used car dealers

use the ones that u feel give u the best price and services

Edited February 5, 2010 by Nimm12

[Vratenza]

Depends on how you look at it. If the price is much lower than sgcarmart's asking price then the ball is in your court. I did some consignment car deals and i used the sgcarmart's contract template to complete the deal. That contract is very transparent as it will state the seller's name and buyer's name.

If you're buying in cash, more or less the dealer would ask you to help the seller to complete the full settlement of the car or else the transfer cannot be done at all.

 

Hi Schneider79, seem like u are the right person to ask.

So for consignment deals, how do you negotiate the price?

If the dealer is telling me that if i want to buy the car, I have to do all the paper work and insurance/loan via him...is he trying to pull a fast one on me or can i just ask him to back off?

[Schneider79]

Hi Schneider79, seem like u are the right person to ask.

So for consignment deals, how do you negotiate the price?

If the dealer is telling me that if i want to buy the car, I have to do all the paper work and insurance/loan via him...is he trying to pull a fast one on me or can i just ask him to back off?

 

I will let the seller know if the selling price is realistic or not and also will advise them on the expectation of closing price.

I will help the seller to negotiate the price until both parties are completely comfortable with it.

Some of the customers i served are phone call filtering cases. The seller will meet the buyer with me and do a 3 party talk. Very very transparent in this case. But there are also sellers that do not wish to see the buyers too. This would be based on trust itself.

The deposit will be paid to the seller and i will handle the paperwork, eg, loan, insurance and full settlement.

 

We, car dealers do get a small cut from the loan and insurance itself. It's not a lot but it helps to get through the month. Giving the dealer to do everything is hassle-free because if the car has loan then you would need to settle the loan for the seller before you can transfer the car to your name. If you do the insurance on your end and some cockup happens, then it might take a few days for you to do the endorsement itself. Giving to the dealer and if anything happens, like engine number keyed wrongly, chassis number keyed wrongly, finance company is wrong, the dealer can do the endorsement asap as they are free to run around and it's a service.

 

Pulling a fast one on you might not be a case, the dealer would need to put food on his table, its really up to you if you are comfortable with him or her.

 

For my case, i will charge the seller 1% of the closing price. Why? Because he sold the car at a higher price than selling it to a dealer.

[Vratenza]

I will let the seller know if the selling price is realistic or not and also will advise them on the expectation of closing price.

I will help the seller to negotiate the price until both parties are completely comfortable with it.

Some of the customers i served are phone call filtering cases. The seller will meet the buyer with me and do a 3 party talk. Very very transparent in this case. But there are also sellers that do not wish to see the buyers too. This would be based on trust itself.

The deposit will be paid to the seller and i will handle the paperwork, eg, loan, insurance and full settlement.

 

We, car dealers do get a small cut from the loan and insurance itself. It's not a lot but it helps to get through the month. Giving the dealer to do everything is hassle-free because if the car has loan then you would need to settle the loan for the seller before you can transfer the car to your name. If you do the insurance on your end and some cockup happens, then it might take a few days for you to do the endorsement itself. Giving to the dealer and if anything happens, like engine number keyed wrongly, chassis number keyed wrongly, finance company is wrong, the dealer can do the endorsement asap as they are free to run around and it's a service.

 

Pulling a fast one on you might not be a case, the dealer would need to put food on his table, its really up to you if you are comfortable with him or her.

 

For my case, i will charge the seller 1% of the closing price. Why? Because he sold the car at a higher price than selling it to a dealer.

 

Actually I don't really mind letting the dealer earn from the paperwork/insurance/loan...but to tell quote me $700 straight off really puts me off. I'm not hard up for that $700 but everything has it's price..just don't take me as a carrot head right from the start. If i let them do my loan and insurance, I estimate they can easily get a few hundreds minimum from them, why the extra $700 (especially the norm is 0-500)? I will be more than willing to give him a $200 tip if he help me settle my purchase nicely.

 

In my profession, if I were to charge the same way as these unscrupulous dealers, I will probably be buying a full cash, brand new SLK AMG instead.....

Edited February 6, 2010 by Vratenza

[Verve]

Hi! I'm shopping around for a pre-owned car to replace my wife's current aging ride.

 

I came across a few dealers who posted on sgcarmart claiming that the cars they are advertising are on consignment.

 

I'm curious:

 

1) How do I know that the car is really on consignment? Or could it be a "consignment car" is easier for them to sell at higher profit since it lowers the buyer's guard against 2nd hand car dealers and reduce the tendency to bargain too aggressively.

 

2) If it is really a consignment car, do I need to pay admin fee to the dealer on my side? I was quoted a $700 fee if taking a loan with them and $1000 if paying full cash. Is this the usual for consignment?

 

3) Is the consignment dealer taking money from both sides ie.buyer and seller all pay a fee to him? I thought usually the seller already need to pay roughly 1% of the sales as commission for the consignment deal.

 

4) Can I get the seller to absorb these "admin fees" since I want to use my own financier who can handle all paperwork without additional cost to me.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

if u feel the $700 is a chore, tell them. with so many sellers, dealers cannot afford to be inflexible. all these hidden costs are the icing on their cake. its up to you if you want to give it to them. logically, they already make at least 5k from the car already, admin costs in that sense already paid.

 

simple overview of negotiation strategy.

 

the one with the advantage wins.

 

you need a car at a reasonable price, many sellers. if you walk whose loss is more. be nice and firm. if it does not meet your requirement, walk. tons of dealers around (many pulling stunts) with a little patience, you'll find what you want. good luck

Edited February 6, 2010 by Verve

[Schneider79]

Actually I don't really mind letting the dealer earn from the paperwork/insurance/loan...but to tell quote me $700 straight off really puts me off. I'm not hard up for that $700 but everything has it's price..just don't take me as a carrot head right from the start. If i let them do my loan and insurance, I estimate they can easily get a few hundreds minimum from them, why the extra $700 (especially the norm is 0-500)? I will be more than willing to give him a $200 tip if he help me settle my purchase nicely.

 

In my profession, if I were to charge the same way as these unscrupulous dealers, I will probably be buying a full cash, brand new SLK AMG instead.....

 

Well, the ball is in your court. Like I said, if the car is significant priced lower than others then it might be worth it to buy the car with the $200 extra. If not, move on. Everyday there will be someone who are selling his or her ride. If you're not urgent, then wait for it. If not, you can always pm me.

 

[Vratenza]

if u feel the $700 is a chore, tell them. with so many sellers, dealers cannot afford to be inflexible. all these hidden costs are the icing on their cake. its up to you if you want to give it to them. logically, they already make at least 5k from the car already, admin costs in that sense already paid.

 

simple overview of negotiation strategy.

 

the one with the advantage wins.

 

you need a car at a reasonable price, many sellers. if you walk whose loss is more. be nice and firm. if it does not meet your requirement, walk. tons of dealers around (many pulling stunts) with a little patience, you'll find what you want. good luck

 

 

Good advice there....I'm not in a hurry....got 4-5 mths to go before the paper value of the current car takes another big dip

 

Trying to control my impatient nature when coming to shopping for cars...