Madera Auto Center launches online shopping cart

The Madera Auto Center is offering customers a fast new way to shop for a vehicle from start to finish without ever stepping into the dealership – an online shopping cart. The vehicle can be even be delivered to your home.

The center, which includes Madera Toyota and Madera Chevrolet, at 1300 Country Club Drive, launched on its websites in mid-April an online shopping service powered by Drive Motors, a San Francisco-based e-commerce solutions company. The dealership made its first sale online just days later.

Interested buyers can visit maderaauto.com or maderatoyota.com to see a list of inventory. Click the “Buy Online Now” button to begin. It’s a five-step process that allows customers to choose a vehicle, add upgrades like vehicle protection coverage, get a trade-in value on an existing car if needed, choose a payment option and then finish with delivery or pick up at the dealership. A customer care representative will then follow up.

“You can work out your own deal,” said Marty Mayfohrt, the auto center’s chief executive officer.

The online shopping cart is the next wave of technology being used at the auto center, Mayfohrt said. The center first embraced digital technology more than a decade ago to help its customer care center streamline its work and online communications, such as email, with customers.

Mayfohrt knows that shopping for a car online isn’t for everybody. “I think it will be for the business guy,” who knows what he wants, Mayfohrt said. It won’t replace family visits to the dealership to test drive a vehicle, touch the seats or see if the car seats will fit, he said.

“I want to provide a service to the customer that sets me apart from the guy next to me,” Mayfohrt said. “That’s really important. Give the customer what they want. Make it convenient for the customer.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Madera Auto Center launches online shopping cart."