Anyone tried this and actually purchased a vehicle after using it?
(not necessarily using their service if you were able to find a better option some other way)

For what it's worth, they have built their own AI interface based on their experience in the car dealership biz. They claim that you can use it alone or add an agent to help you and once you settle on what you want, they will negoiate the best deal

I have tried their AI agent for some what-if'ing as we have 2 cars about 5 years old and one of them has 70+k miles and gave us some issues recently.

I did my own research - my wife would want to replace a gv80 with a small-medium sized luxury suv or crossover whereas I would buy another 1/2 ton truck with 4x4, moonroof, power running boards, etc. to replace my Ram Laramie. In my case, it wants to know how much towing I want to do and how challenging my off-road needs are.

In both cases, I asked for something that balanced total cost of ownership and overall performance (given the level of luxury that I've already spec'd).

It came back with very similar answers as my own research did - Lexus NX or RX hybrid and Toyota Tundra Platinum/1794/TRD-Pro - as they both whooped the comp on the total cost of ownership due to lowest depreciation.

Hence my question - can it really beat my best deal? I've sold a lot of my vehicles to the same wholesaler as we typically keep them about 7 years and don't have the stomach to sell them ourselves and he beats trade-in, carmax, etc. every time.

Too bad they don't offer to sell your current ride - I asked the AI agent that question given that I am ok with selling first and renting until I close a deal on a replacement, but no joy.

The question is, who is your wholesaler?

Fair question ... I'm not sure if he is still in the business but I'm sure that he'd approve me sharing his contact if he is. He bounces around a bit, too, so I'll have to search him out.

He's always been in DFW.

Last I worked with him, he was operating out of a shop in Carrollton.

In general, I would recommend finding any auto wholesaler who works independently ... you're effectively bypassing a corporate profit margin (carmax, autonation, your local new vehicle dealer, etc.) when you do so. Because he "knows a guy" who is looking for a vehicle like yours and he's executing an open market sale and effectively charging each side a fee for his service.

It used to look like this - I'd use the wholesale estimate from Edmund's and he is working off of Kelly black book. We take one spin around the dance floor and choose a middle ground that we're both comfortable with. And I'm sure that he's dancing with his buyer during the next song.