commission for selling a car

**mihomle** · 11-09-09, 18:05

Hi,
We are moving out of Jakarta after 1 year of stay and just have sold our car. I wanted to sell to the dealer I knew but my driver was pushing me to sell it to the dealer he knew. After all I sold it to my driver's dealer which I wasn't so happy about. Now, my driver is asking me for 2% commission. He is saying we have to pay in Indonesia. Is it true? Do I have to pay commission to him? When I could have sold it to my dealer which was giving me better price than his!!

**bianca** · 11-09-09, 23:55

it often happens that way here. sell anything via a person and you pay then soe commision. just not very fair he didnt tell u that upsfront.

**Mas Fred** · 12-09-09, 05:27

Originally Posted by bianca

it often happens that way here. sell anything via a person and you pay then soe commision. just not very fair he didnt tell u that upsfront.

Unfair but common. I found out the hard way to ignore the buggers as they are always trying to screw you when they do that.
I don't mind if they have actually helped you flog something but that sounds like a straight rip off job.
If he is not gone already, sack him.

ADDED - You know he will have taken a bit from the dealer as well for getting them a cheap car.

**waarmstrong** · 12-09-09, 08:39

The description you provided suggests that even after a year here you did not spend much effort to become familiar with local tradition and cultural norms. Its also a mystery to me why you sold for less through your driver, than directly to a dealer who offered more. Is it possible that the driver did in fact provide a service to you, such as handling the sale details that you did not want to bother with? If he relieved you of the hassle of doing the transaction yourself, perhaps he is entitled to something.

Your driver is not a bad guy for asking to be paid. An expectation of a commission for a facilitator of a sale is as common as dirt around here. Two percent is the norm in real estate and other large item personal property sales i.e. cars. It is also common as dirt that the informal fee is very negotiable, and often, as well, not paid at all. Since you are blowing town and I assume have ended your employee relationship with your driver, the repercussions of paying nothing are likely slight. Still, if there was some value you gained from the driver's efforts, it would be fair to pay him something.

Incidentally, it would have been better to post your inquiry before the deal was made.

**atlantis** · 13-09-09, 09:59

No law forces you to pay a commission to your driver, especially since he is on your pay roll. Commisions are expected and are customary, but not compulsory. There no chat which says that a commission should be a percentage or a set amount. On top of that, to receive a commission, your driver should have a legal status as an agent. Otherwise, you could question the legality of such commission. Therefore it leaves you plenty of argument to negociat it with your driver.

In my experience, for land and/or vehicles I pay a commission to any declared facilitator, but I always discuss it beforehand. In fact, especially for vehicles, my wife as a set amount paid as a commission that every maklar of the city is aware of, whatever the price of the vehicle is (meaning it is not a percentage). I often put an insentive so that any maklar help us in the negociation (the comission paid varies greatly, depending on how much we buy/sell a land and/or vehicle). Once again, all of these details are clearly stated and understood before any negociation take place. People acting as facilitators, if correctly staffed can be of great help. Otherwise they can be real pains... Maklar in my city, and I believe it is certainly the same in many cities in the country, are aware of anything. Who is selling? Why it is sold? Who has already done a bid? Does the owner have a loan to pay? How long the owner has been trying to sell it? etc... Very valuable informations to make the correct bid and ensure you a good deal.

1 year in a country is a short time, that leaves one only little time to cope with the local culture especially if unlike some of us here, one is not married to an indonesian who can facilitate him/her with the intricacies of the culture.

**Captain** · 14-09-09, 18:42

Mihomle,

Personnaly, I try not to pay attention to such local "customary". Since it is your money, your own rules & common sense apply ! At the very beginning, some of our staff also sometimes tried to get advantage of some "customary" for this or that but not anymore. They work well, they keep their job, they work above average to our satisfaction, they get good bonuses (believe me, now they get very good bonuses and we are happy for them and for us).

In your example, it was your driver's duty to inform you BEFORE that he would act as a broker (and not as your employee) and that he would request a commission of 2 %. He did not do it, too bad for him but you could not guess if he did help you because :

- he would get % from the dealer
- he likes you or wanted to show some gratitude for his job
- dealer is his friend
-....

Many possibilies but in your case, I would surely not give him one single Rupiah. If he want to do business (being a broker), he should do it professionnaly and inform you before hand. He did not do it so I guess a big "thank you" is what I would find appropriate.

Good luck

**waarmstrong** · 14-09-09, 19:35

Captain makes very valid points. Still selling the car is not normally part of a driver's job. I don't fault the driver for assuming that the boss knew the customary drill. Rather than imparting a base agenda to his after-the-fact request, my feeling is that the dominate party in a transaction has the greater responsibility to manage the relationship. Captain did just that by laying down the law up front. The OP on the other hand let things drift and is now surprised to find the boat on the reef.

If the driver did a chore that provided you value beyond his usual responsibilities, then it would be fair to pay him what you agree it is worth, although their is no legal obligation to do so.

Essential everyone in Indonesia is at least a part-time broker. I, as well, don't buy into all the customs, but like you, I am at least aware they are out there and understand that they govern the thinking of many Indonesians.