Calif. Toyota dealership goes remote in search of used cars

A Northern California dealership has tapped into the work-from-home trend to solve a hairy challenge — sourcing used vehicles.

Toyota Walnut Creek recruits stay-at-home parents and other remote workers to scour Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and other social media sites for private sellers looking to offload their cars, crossovers and pickups.

The commission-based employees message the sellers online, collect vehicle information and work with the store's used-vehicle department to make offers. Sellers are then directed to the San Francisco-area store to complete the transaction.

General Manager Brad Barnett said soaring prices at auction required creativity in acquiring used vehicles. Barnett looked outside the box for a fix, turning to an unconventional work force — homemakers and moonlighters looking for online work.

The half-dozen employees in Toyota Walnut Creek's At-Home group were recruited via referrals and have never been to the store, 25 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Located in multiple states, the workers have no defined work hours, instead hopping on the Internet to hunt for used vehicles between doctor's appointments and soccer practice.

"There are extremely talented people that, because of a lack of flexibility in their schedule, need something they can do in their off time," he said.

"I wanted to create a business model that allowed someone to do this work whenever they were available."

The employees have no auto retail experience but are self-starters.

"In the beginning, we did Zoom meetings every once in a while, just so we could check in with [the remote employees] and see what they needed," Barnett said. "But now they share best practices amongst themselves."

The unconventional strategy is paying dividends.

Toyota Walnut Creek's average monthly used-vehicle acquisitions jumped to 61 vehicles in the second half of 2022, compared with 33 in the first half. The additional inventory drove the store's used-vehicle sales volume 12 percent higher in that period.

Shortly after the At-Home unit launched last July, the store was acquiring 100 used cars a month. "We slowed it down a bit because we were buying a lot of cars, and we didn't want to get too out of control and create a liability," Barnett said.

The At-Home group targets highly desirable model variants, leading to a 17 percent faster turn rate and 11 percent higher margins. About 7 percent of purchase offers are accepted, and employees receive $400 for every vehicle acquired by the dealership.

"The purchasing team is like its own miniature dealership that requires no square footage, no heating and air conditioning, and no parking spaces," Barnett said.

Toyota Walnut Creek, part of Price Simms Auto Group, reported sales of 2,311 new and 1,153 used vehicles last year.

Barnett got the idea for a remote purchasing team from his wife, a stay-at-home mom who previously worked in sales at 3M.

"Many stay-at-home moms had successful careers before they had kids," Barnett said. "Flexible hours and the ability to work remotely provide them with meaningful work and income and don't interfere with their ability to raise their kids."
Being flexible with work hours and location allows Barnett to cast a wider net for talent.

Employees "don't need to be anywhere near the store; they can be sourcing cars from the Caribbean," Barnett said. "The flexibility is what makes this model appealing."

Barnett sees the low-cost model as highly scalable.

"If I could have a used-car lot that produced the volume, I would have 100 people nationwide buying cars for me," he said.

"It costs nothing unless the dealership buys a car. The limiting factor is only the ability to sell the cars."

The success with used-car acquisitions has Barnett considering expanding the At-Home unit to drive Toyota Walnut Creek's sales and service business.

"This is a test bed to do more with people who want to work remotely," he said.