A Message From The Founder:
Everyone would like an automobile buying experience that’s easy, painless and hassle-free; where information was honest, unbiased and with straightforward pricing. I have started a company to create this type of customer experience:
- You would rather not be in a dealership for 6 hours.
- You would rather not negotiate for weeks and then not know if you got the best deal.
- How much is your time worth?
- Why go through the stress?
- Why not save hundreds if not thousands of dollars?
After 14 years at a well-known Lexus Dealership in Los Angeles I started a company in 2011 to create this type of customer experience.
As an Auto Advocate, I am able to find you any automobile in the world – new or pre-owned – it doesn’t matter. For over 14 years it’s always been my hope that if I treated clients as I would like be treated myself, then and only then, I would create a client and friend for life. With over 2,100+ sold clients and another 4,000 potential clients later, it appears to have worked!
Please call me anytime for all of your automobile needs.
Thank you,
Michael Sachs
818-430-3777
A Little History...
My name is Michael Sachs and I’m the founder and owner of Your Auto Advocate.
While in College as a starving student, I needed to find work. I went out on many interviews and decided that I would like to try the auto industry. I interviewed at many auto dealerships but at 20 years of age they weren’t really looking for a college student to train. I ended up going to a local Ford dealership and after many interviews they gave me a sales job. I did really well and was making a lot of money for a 20 year old. In 1980 and in college making mid five figures was great. Truthfully, It wasn’t about the all mighty dollar for me, It was about helping my clients. I loved dealing with the public and pointing clients in the right direction. I also was young, inexperienced and unprepared for the pressure tactics the dealership tried to teach me. Looking back on that experience, knowing what I now know about this business, I have learned it is not about pressuring the client into the sale. It is about the whole deal, being a great listener, thinking long term, managing my time, Being aware of my clients time, always follow up and most of all always treat every client with respect. I never wanted to be pushy or pressure the client to make a sale. The buying process can be many hours and very stressful. After all, I buy cars as well for family members and myself. I understand the process from the client’s point of view.
That was my first feel for the automotive industry. After college, I went directly into the Restaurant business. Again dealing with and helping the public.
As I got a little older and wiser, I decided to gain a better understanding of the internal workings of the automobile business. The more I researched, the more intrigued I became and the more apparent it was that too many people pay much more than they need too for that shiny new car. I was especially motivated and incensed after discovering that an elderly relative of mine was taken advantage of on his new Ford. He definitely paid too much and spent too many hours in the dealership.
Now armed with my new found understanding of the list of tactics car dealerships employ to separate the consumer from as much of their money as possible, I began assisting relatives and friends with their automobile purchases with a great deal of success.
Because of my all-around knowledge and many years of experience negotiating deals, managing deals, knowledge of every calculation that goes into a lease and every incentive there may be I have first hand knowledge that far too many buyers were paying more money than they needed to because they were simply out negotiated by the dealerships. Recognizing the disadvantage and frustration that most buyers have when negotiating their own deal, I realized there was a tremendous need for today’s buyer to have their own expert negotiator who has done this for a living for the past 15 years. That’s when I decided to begin offering my service to the public and Your Auto Advocate was born. I have actually been doing this for many of my clients and Family for years. I just couldn’t give it 100% as I still had a job to do for Lexus.
Providing a personalized service throughout the USA.
Due to my experience selling Lexus and other brands to more than 2,100 clients throughout the country, I have a business relationships with 100s of dealerships from California to Maine. I can provide a highly personalized, EASY AND PAINLESS, new car-buying experience for all my clients. In many cases, I travel to many of the above destinations to make sure all goes smooth. Remember, In 95% of cases the automobile is delivered to your home or place of business!
YOUR AUTO ADVOCATE is not a broker.
You may also have heard of Car Brokers who claim to get you the best price on a car. At first glance, this seems like a great solution since you save money without paying a fee. But look a little closer; the broker gets paid an undisclosed amount FROM YOU by the dealer by inflating your payment without you knowing it. This creates a tremendous conflict of interest. Where is the broker’s loyalty?
When you work with Your Auto Advocate you have a consumer advocate who will work solely on your behalf with professionalism and integrity to bring you the best deal possible. Not to mention, when you deal with Your Auto Advocate, you will have no stress, no countless hours on the phone and/or in a dealership. Just what is your time worth?
Frequently Asked Questions
Following are the most frequently asked questions asked by those who hear about us for the first time.
Q. How do I know that Your Auto Advocate will get me a better deal than I can get for myself?
A: The short answer is that negotiating car deals is our profession and we are very good at what we do. Our experience and research into the inner workings of car dealerships has taught us how dealers make money and the fact that we have been negotiating car deals for almost 10 years gives us the level of experience needed to gain the upper hand when negotiating your car deal. In order to intelligently negotiate a car purchase or lease, you need to know the “True Cost” of every item that needs to be negotiated. It's hard for the average buyer, who negotiates a car deal every three to four years, to know all the facts. Not knowing the facts will always make you wonder if you got the best deal. If you don't know the specific pricing in negotiating a car deal, you will base your decision on if the deal feels right. Dealerships are experts at making you feel that you are getting a good deal, even if you didn't. So most people walk away from a deal wondering if they really got the best price. But there is an inherent conflict of interest between the dealer and buyer. Dealers are in business to maximize their profits and you are trying to save as much money as possible. Without years of experience and all the hard facts, who do you think will come out ahead?
Q: Am I getting the best deal when I have a friend that works at a dealership or a friend refers me to a dealership?
A: It is possible to get a good deal when working with someone connected through a dealership. The question is; are you getting the best deal for yourself? When there is a friendship or referral involved in a negotiation, most customers do not get the best deal. This is because the friendship gets in the way. Most customers will agree to the terms presented to them to avoid a confrontation. Most people hate confrontation and in turn will agree to the terms to avoid it. Your Auto Advocate does not accept any type of compensation from any dealer. This enables us to negotiate on your behalf without any type of relationship getting in the way of negotiating the best price for you.
Q: Is Your Auto Advocate a broker?
A: No. Unlike a Broker, Your Auto Advocate works solely on your behalf and accepts nothing from the dealership. A car broker gets paid by the dealership which creates a tremendous conflict of interest for the broker. Where is the broker's loyalty? To the dealer that pays them or to the client? Even if the broker finds a middle ground for both parties, the buyer will end up paying more than they have to.
Q: If I qualify for a Costco, AAA or Credit Union price, does that mean that I'm getting the best deal?
A: Costco, AAA and Credit Union pricing is pre—negotiated and is always a fair price, but the negotiation is incomplete. Dealers have many other avenues to make money besides the price of the car. The average consumer will agree to this pricing and drop their guard in other areas of the sale, therefore paying more money than they should on their purchase or lease. We provide our clients with a complete negotiation covering all aspects of the sale, i.e.: vehicle price, trade in value, lease/buy rate, dealer added options and other hidden costs.
Q: Why did you start Your Auto Advocate?
A: I understand the common frustration that most people go through when buying a new car on their own. I’m very empathetic and if I can spare people the pain, anguish and self-doubt they typically experience during this process than that is what I'm committed to do. I get great satisfaction from using my knowledge and experience negotiating great deals to help people save money and take the misery out of the experience.
Q: What makes Your Auto Advocate so unique?
A: There are many aspects of our service that are unique, but I believe these two stand out as the most significant; we provide a highly personalized service and we are an advocate for the buyer, not the seller. Unlike other services we are local to the Manatee and Sarasota Florida county area and pride ourselves on providing a personalized face to face experience. Secondly, we don't receive any compensation from the dealer or a dealer representative, so there are no conflicts of interest. Our ONLY obligation is to our client and we will turn over every stone to ensure that we achieve the best possible deal.
With traditional car brokers, the broker's income is based on whatever he wants to make on the sale. Therefor, both broker and dealer are looking out for their own best interests. When both the broker's and salesperson's income depend on how much profit they can make, it creates a tremendous conflict of interest for the customer. The only way I could truly help people and eliminate that conflict of interest, was to align Your Auto Advocate with our clients by not accepting any dealer commissions.
At Your Auto Advocate, our intention is always to do what is best for our clients.
Q: What else is unique about the company?
A: We stand by our integrity. If we think you've got a great deal on your own, we'll tell you that and give you the comfort of knowing that we couldn't have done better. However, if we think we can improve your deal, Your Auto Advocate will try to get a better bargain for you, taking a percentage of what we save you, up to $2,000. Our sole commitment is to make the buyer walk away knowing that this is the best deal that could have been secured, and to make it a pleasurable and easy experience.
Q: How flexible is your process with regard to my involvement?
A: As flexible as you would like it to be. For example, if you know exactly what model, color and features you would like, you don’t even have to set foot in the dealership until it’s time to sign the paperwork. On the other hand, if you are more adventurous and would like to be there for the process with an experienced person by your side, that can be arranged as well. Our main goal is to make the experience as enjoyable and stress free as possible.