4 ms·

Back around 2004 a friend of mine worked at a car dealership in the Bronx that sold high end used cars. They were putting GPS trackers in all of the cars they

by Ccecil 2y ago

Back around 2004 a friend of mine worked at a car dealership in the Bronx that sold high end used cars. They were putting GPS trackers in all of the cars they financed so they could repossess them when the customer didn't make their payment. This was/is (from my understanding, IANAL) very illegal. They never told the customers either. The financing was ridiculous and they preyed on the people who had just enough down and didn't care what they were signing so they had a large percentage of repossessions. Made me wonder how many other shops were doing the same thing...even 20 years ago.

gmueckl 2y ago
Dealerships in the US have become more brazen about that practice. They won't hide that they installed the device. Instead, they will upsell you on an anti-theft device. One dealer tried to sell one to me to the tune of 600$/year. That told me that they were butchering the wiring on every brand new car that hit their lot. I walked out without a deal.
- to11mtm 2y ago
  It's slightly more complicated than that. In most cases, Dealers don't own the cars on their lot; they are financed either by a manufacturer's financing arm e.x. FMCC, Ally (sorta), NMAC, or an independent e.x. Santander. Oftentimes, the Tracking device is part of the finance company's agreement, if not part of keeping insurance costs down. Of course, dealers are more than happy to try to charge you for -not- removing it...
- snozolli 2y ago
  That told me that they were butchering the wiring on every brand new car that hit their lot. There's no need for butchering. All that's needed is constant 12V. Maybe an aux 12V if you need to know when the car is on. At most, they may have installed a relay to cut the fuel pump or ignition, which is no more invasive than a standard alarm installation.

4 ms·

Back around 2004 a friend of mine worked at a car dealership in the Bronx that sold high end used cars. They were putting GPS trackers in all of the cars they

by Ccecil 2y ago

gmueckl 2y ago
Dealerships in the US have become more brazen about that practice. They won't hide that they installed the device. Instead, they will upsell you on an anti-theft device. One dealer tried to sell one to me to the tune of 600$/year. That told me that they were butchering the wiring on every brand new car that hit their lot. I walked out without a deal.
- to11mtm 2y ago
  It's slightly more complicated than that. In most cases, Dealers don't own the cars on their lot; they are financed either by a manufacturer's financing arm e.x. FMCC, Ally (sorta), NMAC, or an independent e.x. Santander. Oftentimes, the Tracking device is part of the finance company's agreement, if not part of keeping insurance costs down. Of course, dealers are more than happy to try to charge you for -not- removing it...
- snozolli 2y ago
  That told me that they were butchering the wiring on every brand new car that hit their lot. There's no need for butchering. All that's needed is constant 12V. Maybe an aux 12V if you need to know when the car is on. At most, they may have installed a relay to cut the fuel pump or ignition, which is no more invasive than a standard alarm installation.