I have used a car buying service (broker) that also charged the buyer up-front. The broker was somebody who I knew indirectly, and had some knowledge of his pr

I have used a car buying service (broker) that also charged the buyer up-front. The broker was somebody who I knew indirectly, and had some knowledge of his previous, happy customers. Even so, going into the purchase process, I was still hesitant that maybe I could still get a better deal on my own. The result was that going through the broker resulted in a very slightly better deal over what I could have received through Costco's buying service. With Costco, though, there is no fee. That's huge, because once I pay money, I feel locked in. That's not a comforting feeling. What the broker provided that the Costco service did not was searching for the exact vehicle, which 40 miles from my home, and delivering the purchased car to my door. No need to visit a car dealer. Overall, it was a positive experience, but I still prefer not locking myself to the broker by paying an up-front fee. Figure out a way to push the fee to the back-end (only with purchase) and I think you'd improve your chances.