There’s a seemingly ironic sign in the lobby of McGeorge Toyota.

“This could be the last time you ever set foot in our showroom,” the sign reads.

No, the dealership is not shying away from repeat business.

Nor is it trying to keep customers out.

Quite the contrary.

In fact, the store — located in the Richmond suburb of Henrico, Va. — is actually responding to a common customer desire: the option to complete all or parts of car-buying online and through home delivery, as a way to make the process quicker and more convenient.  

And the McGeorge @Home program launched in December allows shoppers to do just that.

“Literally, it’s the whole process without having to come into the dealership,” digital marketing manager Courtney Taylor said during an April interview at the store.  “From the time you come on to our website, from the time you find the car that you think that you want, whether it’s a Camry or a 4Runner, you can put in a lead, ask us about that vehicle.

“And we’ll take that information and we’ll bring out the vehicle to you. You can test-drive it straight from your home, your office,” Taylor said.  “We can do the whole process from wherever you are.”

That includes all aspects of the deal, including things like finance paperwork and trade appraisal.  For example, says new-car sales manager Chris McDonald, if the buyer has a trade-in, the appraisal on that car is done on site, be it the customer’s home, workplace, etc.

The McGeorge @Home team will drive the trade-in back to the dealership after delivering the purchased car; if there is no trade, they’ll take an Uber back to the store or have a car follow them to the delivery site.

Currently, the store has one salesperson who is responsible for leading the McGeorge @Home efforts and then a dedicated delivery coordinator; these two work as a pair.

When they go out on a delivery, they bring what’s, essentially, a laptop bag containing:

• iPad mini for signing documentation
• iPad for viewing contracts
• Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth speaker (should Skyping with the store becomes necessary)
• Mobile printer
• Pen

“It’s kind of like Batman’s tools,” Taylor said.

The dealership is also training a handful of consultants in this process, as well. Eventually, McGeorge Toyota aims to have all of its 15 or so salespeople trained in McGeorge @Home delivery, so it can send multiple delivery teams out if need be.

Of course, you can still walk into McGeorge Toyota and buy a car the traditional way. Or, you can buy a car from them completely through McGeorge @Home and never even see the dealer lot, if you so choose.

“We find that 50 percent of our business is through the Internet anyway,” McDonald said. “So, if we have a customer that can’t make it to the dealership, or maybe is tied up or busy with their career, we wanted to make it a point to try and include them in the process, as well.”

The dealership spent roughly a year planning McGeorge @Home, then conducted test runs, worked out the bugs, streamlined it and officially launched Dec. 1.

Right now, they’re selling about three to five cars per month through McGeorge @Home. McDonald said the goal is to start with about 5 percent of its sales going this route, and then in the next five years, double that percentage each year.

The necessary elements and infrastructure to accommodate that are in place, McDonald said, “so, we’re ready for it to explode.”

The service is available on both new and used cars, but so far, the demand has been more on the new side. However, McDonald said he sees big potential on the used-car side once the program gains more traction.

In the initial four months of McGeorge @Home, clients have ranged from busy families to businesspeople on the go (though largely, most of the clientele so far have been business professionals).

“That’s why we started this program, because we know that time is precious to everyone,” Taylor said.

People don’t have time to, and ultimately don’t want to, spend hours upon hours in the dealership.

McGeorge Toyota launched this program to take care of that need.

“If we can make the car-buying experience easier for somebody, then that’s what we want to do and continue to do,” Taylor said.
 
McDonald adds, “We see the business going that way. You’re going to have more and more people embracing this type of program.”

And they’re seeing that in other markets, McDonald said, giving the example of home grocery delivery.  Not to mention, online car-buying has permeated the car business.

“We want to embrace it, we want to run towards it and not be afraid of it,” McDonald said.

That said, the dealership recognizes the “human element” of car-buying. That’s a big part of why they send folks from the dealership out to the consumer to aid in the process, explain the technology and so forth. And certainly, when you’re sending someone to a buyer’s office or home, trustworthiness cannot be understated, McDonald emphasized.

Another of part of the “human element” is some people’s reticence to make as big of a purchase as a car online, sight-unseen. So, McGeorge @Home allows the consumer to test drive the vehicle when it is brought out to him or her. And if the shopper doesn’t like it — or even if it’s simply not the right color — the car can be sent back.

The dealership aims for it to be a happy medium for customers who want to buy online but also like kicking the tires, so to speak.

And even if you only want to complete a select number of steps through McGeorge @Home – for instance, you fill out a credit application online, but come into the store to check out the car – that is available, as well.  The process can also be customized by the customer. Even if most of the process is done online, if the customer wants to walk into the store to finalize the deal, for example, that’s do-able.

Most of the deliveries have been within close reach of the local area, with a few in Maryland and one in New York (more of the exception that the rule; that buyer was a longtime customer).  However, the dealership wouldn’t rule out a long-distance delivery, provided it made financial sense.