Car thefts have been on the rise nationwide, with more than one million vehicles reported stolen a year. Washington, D.C. is one of the hardest hit areas, with car-theft rates exceeding the national average, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a non-profit organization that tracks crime. The D.C. area had 1,149 car thefts for every 100,000 people, which is an increase of 64% and is more than three times the national theft rate.
There are several factors causing such high car-theft rates in Washington, D.C. The number of people packed in a small area is one reason. Car theft has been rising, especially in crowded urban areas, according to the NICB report.
“It’s not a surprise, especially with the higher population that we have around here,” Prince George’s County police Cpt. Koby Wiles said. “In the D.C. region, you’re going to see those higher numbers because we have a higher population.”
While auto makers have seen advances in car-theft prevention, thieves are also using more advanced methods to steal cars. "Criminals are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to steal vehicles, including the use of advanced technology to bypass security systems," according to David J. Glawe, President and CEO of NICB. "From keyless entry hacks to relay attacks on key fobs, perpetrators are exploiting vulnerabilities in modern-vehicle security measures with alarming success rates."
Car theft poses significant costs and headaches for car dealerships and financial lenders. Dealerships, especially Buy Here, Pay Here lots, are particularly vulnerable, with most of their inventory sitting out on their lots.
For car dealerships, losing expensive inventory means more liability, insurance issues and a decrease in revenue. These setbacks can really hurt, especially for dealerships already working with tight profit margins.
One way franchise dealerships or Buy Here, Pay Here dealerships can protect their assets is with enhanced lot security. Installing cameras, employing security guards, setting up alarm systems and using removable physical barriers like bollards can increase safety. But GPS trackers are one of the most effective tools for deterring car theft.
For car dealerships, proper asset tracking is important for car-theft prevention. There are several GPS tracking features that help prevent theft before it happens.
Prevent GPS tampering. Receive notifications if someone tries to remove your GPS, tampers with your starter interrupt or attempts to tow the vehicle. Then you can use the GPS anti-theft tracker to find the vehicle and prevent it from being taken.
Remote vehicle-disable option. Use the remote vehicle-disable option so you can remotely immobilize the car if it’s stolen, is used without authorization or is in payment default.
While car-theft prevention is important, if a vehicle does get stolen, you want features that allow you to quickly retrieve the vehicle. How can a dealership track a stolen car? Check out some features you should consider when looking at GPS tracking solutions:
Real-time GPS tracking. Effortlessly monitor your entire fleet with a tracking app that provides a clear view of all your vehicles, both on and off the lot. Instantly access reliable and accurate location data on one easy-to-use dashboard.
Cellular-location technology. Be sure your vehicle can be found, no matter where it’s hiding. With satellite and back-up cellular-location technology, you have dual methods of GPS tracking, in case the car goes into hard-to-reach GPS location areas, including dense urban areas, parking garages or warehouses.
Multiple geofencing. Ensure your vehicles are secure, even when you're not watching. Geofencing technology allows you to set virtual boundaries around your business, town, state or any point of interest, so you’re instantly alerted if an asset leaves or enters that area. If a vehicle is taken outside these bounds, you'll receive immediate notifications and can use GPS tracking to locate and recover it quickly.
No matter what type of GPS tracking solution you're looking for, PassTime offers a range of options to suit your needs and budget.
Encore and InTouch VP: Stealthy and affordable
Our fourth-generation, battery-powered Encore device enables quick and cost-effective scaling of your anti-theft, vehicle-tracking strategy. This affordable option allows you to hide the GPS, so thieves don’t even know it’s there. Here are some of the features:
TRAX SI: Affordable hard-wired solution with optional anti-theft features
TRAX SI is built for affordability and easy installation in multiple locations. Optional anti-theft features, such as starter interrupt and door lock/unlock controls, provide greater control over your assets. Plus, with geofencing, you can create and monitor up to 50 geofence boundaries simultaneously.
InTouch: GPS anti-theft vehicle tracking and lot management
With built-in tamper and tow detection and geofencing, InTouch ensures you know where your assets are at all times. It also protects your vehicles from extreme weather, helping to lower insurance costs, and keeps customers informed with maintenance and recall alerts to help provide a great customer-service experience. . It also protects your vehicles from extreme weather, helping to lower insurance costs, and keeps customers informed with maintenance and recall alerts to help provide a great customer service experience.
Select GPS: A wide range of features
For a GPS solution tailored to your needs, you might want Select GPS—your ideal vehicle tracking and GPS recovery device. Select GPS offers complete control over your assets and vehicle communications, allowing you to remotely disable starters, detect tampering and towing, set up geofences and send proactive messages to customers—all on one platform. Plus, you can easily scale your GPS anti-theft tracking efforts and upgrade to advanced features.
Elite: Lower your risk and increase your profitability
Get anti-theft functionality that provides location-history data, gives you a remote vehicle-disable option and includes tow-detect and tamper notifications with Elite. In addition to theft protection, Elite also helps you lower your financing risk, increase your overall portfolio and drive profitability.
GPS tracking is an essential tool for all car dealerships to protect their assets, decrease their insurance costs and improve their bottom line. PassTime has the solutions and customized customer support you need to keep your assets safe. Let’s connect and find the right GPS tracking to fit your needs.
