Live deals
Active Lease deals
No active matching deal is available in the current live deal source. Request a current quote for the exact vehicle, mileage, and payment structure.
Explore
Related Lease lease paths
Stay inside the same make and compare adjacent model/class paths.
01
The strict definition under California law
California Vehicle Code section 11733 defines an autobroker as a dealer who, as part of the dealer's business, arranges or offers to arrange a transaction involving the sale of a new motor vehicle and is acting on behalf of the retail buyer rather than the selling dealer. The autobroker must hold a California dealer license with an autobroker endorsement administered by the DMV's Occupational Licensing branch. A car lease broker in California is therefore an autobroker whose practice focuses on lease transactions. The strict definition is licensing-based, not marketing-based; calling oneself a 'broker' without the endorsement does not meet the statutory bar.
02
Lease broker versus selling dealer
The selling dealer is the franchised store that sells or leases the vehicle and appears on the contract as the dealer of record. The lease broker arranges the quote with one or more selling dealers but does not appear on the lease contract as the dealer of record. The lessor on the lease is typically the captive lender or a bank, not the dealer or the broker. Where the dealer's revenue comes from the spread on the deal and any F&I products added in the box, the broker's revenue is the autobroker fee disclosed in the autobroker agreement under California Vehicle Code section 11735. Two different licensed roles, two different incentive structures, two different signatures.
03
Lease broker versus F&I manager and dealer-side staff
The Finance and Insurance manager (F&I) at the selling dealership works for the dealership, presents the financing options the dealer has access to, and offers add-on products. The F&I manager is not a broker. A lease broker may help the buyer skip much of the F&I lane by presenting a clean lender quote first, but the buyer still signs the lease contract with the dealer of record at delivery and may still be offered F&I products there. A shopper who confuses a broker with the F&I manager can end up double-paying for warranty and insurance products that were not part of the broker quote, simply because they appeared in the box at the dealership.
04
Lease broker versus concierge service
Concierge services like the AAA Auto Buying Service, the Costco Auto Program, Sam's Club Auto Buying, and Consumer Reports Build & Buy connect members with networks of participating dealers under pre-arranged program structures. They are not lease brokers in the California autobroker sense. The concierge program is typically a referral platform tied to a membership; the broker is a licensed agent acting on behalf of the buyer with a written autobroker agreement under section 11735. Both categories can be useful, but they are not interchangeable; the legal posture, the disclosures, and the fee structures are different.
05
The two-question test for verifying who you are dealing with
Two questions usually settle the role question. First, does the party hold a California dealer license with an autobroker endorsement, and can the buyer verify it through DMV's Occupational Licensing channel before signing anything? Second, will the party provide a written autobroker agreement before the buyer becomes obligated, naming the make, model, accessories, vehicle price ceiling, autobroker fee, and buyer-agent role under section 11735? A 'yes' to both indicates a California-licensed lease broker. A 'no' to either means the role is something else, possibly useful but not a broker in the statutory sense, and the shopper should evaluate accordingly.
FAQ
Common Questions
Is a leasing company a lease broker?
No. The leasing company on the contract is the lessor, often a captive lender like BMW Financial Services or a bank. A lease broker arranges the quote between the buyer and a selling dealer; the lender of record on the lease is a different party.
Is every car broker also a lease broker?
Not necessarily. An autobroker endorsement covers the broker activity in California; individual brokers may focus on lease, on cash purchase, or on both. Confirm the broker handles lease transactions specifically before sending a lease request.
Does Regulation M apply to a broker-quoted lease?
Yes. Regulation M applies to consumer vehicle leases regardless of how the buyer found the deal. The lessor must provide the federally required disclosures before the consumer becomes obligated; the broker channel does not change that obligation.
Where can I check a California lease broker's license?
California DMV's Occupational Licensing branch administers dealer and autobroker licensing. The DMV channel is the authoritative source; ask the broker for the dealer license number and verify before signing anything.
Explore
Choose your next step
Start here
Next steps
021 Auto Leasing
request a lease quote
Use this page as a decision support path, then move into a quote request when the vehicle, mileage, and payment structure are clear.