brindlee broker trucks

Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, along with it's affiliated and managed companies, Is a major broker and website facilitating the sale of used fire trucks In the market directly between Fire Departments.

broker vs. trade

1) Trade-In - with this option, the customer will get a guaranteed dollar amount at a guaranteed moment in time - that number if $400,000 if we can pick up the truck before 07/31/2025, (and of course, pending clear title, other terms, etc.). But it's an easy way to get the value out of the truck and know how much to budget toward their next purchase. Of course, we are able to offer a trade-in because we are budgeting to sell it; the comp's put this at trying out a roughly $500,000 retail value, but that is approaching new pricing, so with a 4-5 year old vehicle at the time of sale, the final sale could be closer to the $400,000 range.

2) Broker - with this option, the customer can list the truck through our marketing system, (which includes automated co-brokering with ~50 other used fire truck sites), which is also the same marketing that our inventory trucks receive. If the truck sells, we charge a commission, but if it doesn't sell, (or they sell it to a customer where we were not involved and did not provide the lead), they do not owe us anything. ***Please note below the 3 options a longer history and description of the broker market and how we came to offer this service 13 years ago.

3) Sell on their own - of course the department is able to advertise in a number of ways; social media, local Chief's or Associations groups, or just personal networks. Sometimes trucks sell through these avenues which is great. We have worked hard to build a distribution model in our broker offering to add value to the Fire Departments looking to sell which exceeds the commission charged for the service. If the customer chooses option 3, and doesn't sell it, then wants to come back for a trade-in or broker option, that is fine. However, the trade-in value would likely drop, because it has already been out advertised on the market. It could affect the broker pricing as well; it just depends on how well publicized it was through their efforts.

Why should someone choose to list a truck with brindlee or a fire truck finder company?

Below you will find a description of our history In the fire truck sales market, why we began brokering trucks, and how we Invested to create the market's largest resale marketplace for used fire apparatus today:

• We began working in the used fire truck business in 2001 - the time we only bought and sold our own trucks; sometimes utilizing the services of a broker to advertise our trucks.

• A great frustration we had was that the burden seemed to be on the seller of the vehicle to choose their advertising location, and manage those locations if multiple were chosen.

• In 2012 we decided to move into the broker business ourselves, (in addition to our dealership which we still operate, with 3 locations across the country where we refurbish fire trucks). 

• For the next 7-8 years, we invested heavily into the digital advertising platform, and our systems in order to build a strong network of advertising in order to give the people who list with us leveraged advertising for their time.

• We tried to emulate the structure that exists in the real estate market, where most geographic locations have an MLS network, so that when you advertise your truck at one location, it automatically appears on nearly all the other legitimate real estate broker's websites in your area. This product we developed is called the "Fire Truck Finder".

• The Fire Truck Finder powers ~50 websites throughout the industry, which means when you advertise with us you get the automatic benefit of (with no further cost), advertising on other brokers, used dealers, and new dealer's websites. 

• If we get a listing Inquiry for a truck that is already listed through another FTF site, and we are already co-brokering It, we need to let the customer know It Is already In the Fire Truck Finder universe, so It's getting the most exposure possible, then have a conversation about what Is missing In the process thus far that caused them to reach out, (likely, It's that It's not sold) but then review the listing for quality - # of photos, quality of photos, price vs. market, etc.

• Additionally we invested heavily in search so that most search terms used to find used fire trucks should lead you back to Brindlee or an affiliate Fire Truck Finder Company.

• This network puts us in a place that we are able to produce significantly more total used truck sales or late model trucks ready to go in service than any other platform, and hopefully give the people who decide to sell with us a solid experience. 

• Of course, the fire truck market is fragmented, with information living in other places; i'm very aware of the ads on Facebook and the flea markets, etc. which can also do a good job. The problem is the social algorithms can bury those postings sometimes so that you don't know if it's reaching the people you intend.

• Again, our goal here was, and is, to give you a solid platform to be able to sell your truck at a good price, and not be a burden on your time of having to manage advertisements. Of course when buyers are interested you or the FD members will still need to answer questions, meet them for an inspection, etc., but if our system is working right it will produce these people ready to travel to see your truck.

• Thank you again for the opportunity to talk about working with you, and please let me know what other questions you have and how we can support you at this time!

This Is accomplished In several domains:

• Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus: 

  • www.firetruckmall.com - this Is the flagship website, established In 2001, which historically has been a leading site In search terms related to used fire trucks.

  • Brindlee has a tiered pricing and commission structure for fire trucks that are sold through their website. This structure Is based on the final sales price of the apparatus. It Is Included In the listing agreement form in the Purchasing Folder. The rates as of 04.12.2024 are:

    • - 10% of the sales price if the subject Apparatus is sold for less than $200,001.00;

    • - 7% of the sales price if the subject Apparatus is sold for a price from $200,001.00 to $350,000.00; and

    • - 5% of the sales price if the subject Apparatus is sold for a price above $350,000.00.

• Publicly Affiliated Companies:

  • Firetrucks Unlimited - www.firetrucksunlimited.com - this company Is publicly affiliated with and acts as a sub to Brindlee Mountain Fire

    • When listing trucks Intra-company referred to Brindlee Mountain by Firetrucks Unlimited, Brindlee will pay Firetrucks Unlimited a 10% fee upon the sale of the truck.

  • Company Two Fire - www.companytwofire.com - this company Is publicly affiliated with and acts as a sub to Brindlee Mountain Fire

Creating a Broker Listing AGreement (Conga E-Sign)

If for whatever reason the Conga E-sing for Listing Agreements is not-functioning, our template for that is stored In the Purchasing Documents folder for you to send out manually.

how to EXECUTE aN AUCTION Brokerage agreement 

When a customer Is ready to sign an Auction Brokerage Agreement to sell a fire truck, our template for that is stored In the Purchasing Documents folder.

Sometimes, a fire department or agency must auction their apparatus before selling it to us or can only sell it through an auction. BMFA provides an auction platform for listing units, similar to our website, for a specified timeframe, depending on the needs of the fire department or agency.

To utilize BMFA's auction service, you'll need to gather specifications and photos of the vehicle and have the fire department or agency sign our auction broker form. Once you have these items, you'll inquire about their terms for the auction, including the start date, end date, time, and point of contact. After collecting this information, you'll mark the opportunity as closed-won, just as you would with a regular listing opportunity. Then, you'll notify marketing that the unit needs to be posted on our auction platform. You should also include this information in the "What you need to know" field on the opportunity. 

On the product record, when an inquiry is received, our prospecting team will inform potential buyers that the unit is being auctioned and provide them with the seller's information to submit their bid. At the end of the auction, if the seller has not already notified us, we'll reach out to them to see if they've accepted any bids. If bids have been accepted, we'll close the listing as usual and invoice them for our commission. In some cases, BMFA may offer a purchase price if the seller has not received any bids or we want to purchase the unit for more than the highest received bid.

best practices for advertising fire trucks

Use the Brindlee Photo Guide to get great pictures of trucks.

Use the Undercarriage Photo Guide to ensure the undercarriage condition is acceptable