Texas dealer says Agora's aggressive callbacks and wealth-building component have his independent store on the road to financial stability.
Eliminating one of his three floorplans is becoming a reality for Adrian Sanchez. He never thought it possible when he signed up with Agora in January 2023 to provide subprime financing to car buyers at his Austin, Texas-based ADK Auto Sales LLC.
Signing with the Arlington, Texas-based fintech also meant earning the lifetime profit of every Agora-funded auto loan, an opportunity Sanchez admits sounded too good to be true. That was three payouts and nearly 180 Agora-funded deals ago — the most recent payout arriving after a July 2024 deal pushed him across the first payout milestone in the Agora Guaranteed Funds program, a drive launched in July designed to accelerate a dealer’s earnings by paying 2% of the unpaid balance on 10, 25, 50, and 100 Agora-funded loans.
“I was skeptical whether I’d ever seen any money, but I’ve now seen money three times,” Sanchez says, his Agora auto loan portfolio growing to well north of $5 million in about 19 months.
"We have three floorplans totaling $3 million," he adds. "If we can eliminate just one of them with the Additional Loan Profit we're earning from Agora, the savings alone in interest would be huge."
From Skeptic to Believer
Sanchez opened ADK Auto Sales LLC in November 2011 and currently retails between 55 and 65 units a month to a customer base he estimates is 80% Hispanic — individuals looking to build their credit and some who don’t have a Social Security number. All of them, he adds, step on his lot looking for someone they can trust.
“They’ve been to other dealerships, got sold high-mileage cars for high prices,” he says. “We treat customers how I want to be treated, and we stand behind our cars. We’ll make it right if something happens within a reasonable time.”
It’s why ADK Auto Sales boasts a 4.9-star rating out of 665 Google reviews. It also explains why he sought out Agora at the Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s annual conference in 2022.
As he tells it, it was Agora CEO Steve Burke who stepped in to help with an issue Sanchez was having with another subprime finance source with which Agora was doing business. “So, when I went to TIADA that year, I saw the Agora booth and stopped by,” he says. “Today, Agora is my No. 3 finance source. It’s where I send customers I know will meet their loan obligations.”
Relationships, Experience Matters
Sanchez says it’s been a roller coaster of a ride since things opened up following the COVID shutdowns, describing the 2024 sales environment as a feast or famine. The problem isn’t finding inventory; it’s having the finance sources he needs to fill the credit niches he needs to turn that inventory 15 to 20 times a year.
“It’s been a ride,” he says. “Right now, 80% of my problem is having the right finance sources to move my inventory. The one positive is how aggressive Agora has gotten, how much the company’s advances have improved.”
Sanchez says he considered sourcing only units that fit Agora’s program, vehicles under 10 years of age with no more than 135,000 miles on the clock. For now, he looks for vehicles he knows will turn quickly, are priced between $14,000 and $16,000, have less than 100,000 miles on the odometer, and fit multiple lender programs. At any given time, he’ll have 100 units on his lot with 20 to 30 vehicles in recon.
“The more callbacks improve, the more I consider making Agora my primary lender,” Sanchez says. “The wealth-building aspect of the Agora program and the chance to eliminate one of my floorplans also make that a serious consideration.
“I also appreciate the experience Agora brings, the technology, and the partnership,” he adds. “Agora also delivers on its promise. I can’t tell you how often we’ve been promised something from a vendor or another finance source that never gets delivered. That’s not the case with Agora.”