Posted on 05/24/2003 4:26:04 AM PDT by Dane
Miss a payment and your car may die
Imagine getting in your car and it won't start. The situation would be aggravating for most, but for hundreds of thousands of Americans it could simply mean their car payment is overdue. A growing number of car dealers are using starter stoppers technology to ensure you don't get lax on your loan.
Macy Pearson loves the used car she just bought, but it will only start if she's made her car payment. Nestled under her dash is a device called a starter interrupt system. If Macy doesn't pay, the device is set to disable her car so she can't drive.
Macy's salesman insisted she have it, since she has no credit history. Once Macy sends in her payment, she's given a code number to input into a remote that connects to a device underneath the dash. "I stick it right in here. You punch in your code, you hear another little chirp and you're done," explains Macy, as she easily connects the device that will allow her car to run for another week.
Mike Simon's company, Payment Protection Systems, made the device in Macy's car and some 60,000 others bought at corner used car lots and dealerships alike. He says the device protects dealers from credit risks. "The people know that they have to make their payment and they really do perform in making their payments on time," says Simon. "Our delinquency rate was probably up around ten to twenty percent without the device. And since then, it's dropped down below two percent," says car dealer Steve Matthews about using the device with costumers.
It may be good for dealers, but what about drivers. Not everyone's sold on the idea of no cash no dash. Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America has written a book about buying a car. He says the devices could put customers at risk. "You might be in a situation where you are in an unsafe position, and you need to get out of there quickly, and you can't do it," says Gillis about the pitfalls of such a device.
But device makers say cars won't stop while in motion they just won't start once they're turned off. Even then, drivers like Macy can call their salesmen for an emergency code that is good for 24 hours. Dealers also insist everyone is told about the service before they buy, and device makers like Stan Schwarz says drivers are warned before the "kill."
Manufacturers say the technology can make the difference between getting a car and walking on foot for many. But critics say customers don’t always leave the car lot with a better price, or better financing if they have the device. It turns out cars may not be the only things fitted with those kill chips. Look for them to turn up in computers, air conditioners, and yes, even TV's.
Macy's no critic, she's grateful for the opportunity to buy a car and working hard to get a solid credit history started. To her, that device under her dash is a dose of discipline. "It really helps because it makes you pay on time."
Anyway this device is being installed by private car dealerships. Do you think the government should put a stop to this practice?
Start thinking before you spew on the keyboard.
LOL! You were the one who was complaining about large corporations monitoring you in your reply #11.
Again, the institutions applying this practice are private car dealerships, do you think that the government should put an end to this practice?
sarcasm aside, we already have ankle-bracelet systems that verify that you were home when you were supposed to be, in house-arrest systems.
The next stage is a GPS system for parolees that verifies that they are either home, work, or en-route between home and work, and that they at no point venture near drug corners or are at scenes of any crimes
Buyers should get whatever deal they negotiate at the time of purchase. Let's keep the government out of this.
This only eliminates the unsavory work of the repo-man.
Hell, if they can turn off your phone, electric or water for non-payment, why not render the autombile useless until the payment is made?
Stroke of a pen from that point to who the hell knows where?
You are truly free to build your own car.
If the market for used cars and used-car financing is open and competitive, one would expect that buyers would eventually tend pay less in interest and fees if the default rates for chipped-car purchases really were significantly lower. And if they don't eventually tend to pay less in interest and fees than buyers of non-chipped cars, it suggests that the market for used cars is not a competitive market - or that the chips aren't really reducing default rates - in which case the state has a legitimate interest in fostering competition.
Same here. This is ridiculous. It's an insult to the person who's giving their business to the dealership. Those dealerships who choose to implement such barbaric tactics will be wasted by the competition in the long run.
Amen.
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