While employment rates may be strong, inflation continues to run rampant. Rising prices combined with limited inventories result in historically high vehicle costs, and more expensive vehicles become unaffordable for many. These economic factors often result in attempts to steal more cars. 

As such, car dealership GPS trackers are becoming increasingly popular as businesses must worry more and more about vehicle theft and non-payments.  

However, dealers may not realize that tracking systems help with more than car security, including inventory management, reparations for the negligent driving of demo and loaner vehicles, and keeping taps on valet services. 

This article discusses four such reasons – theft and non-theft-related – why dealers might install GPS trackers on their vehicles. 

4 Reasons to Use Car Dealership GPS Trackers 

Dealers should keep the following benefits in mind when contemplating the use of a GPS tracking system: 

1. They Help Prevent the Initial Theft of Vehicles 

Car thefts have prompted more significant investments in dealership GPS trackers. 

Vehicles in inventory are a dealer’s primary assets. They significantly impact the dealership’s current value and drive its direction. Losing one or more of these assets can become a severe financial strain.  

Car theft can come in many forms, including: 

• Persons masquerading as interested clients 
• Outsiders planning an overnight theft 
• Wanderers off the street searching for unsupervised areas of the lot 
• Dealership personnel  

Many dealers are now using GPS trackers to safeguard every vehicle on the premises. These systems can deliver warnings when a car moves, providing staff with as much time as possible to investigate the situation. 

When a car leaves the lot, geofencing and similar features will send alerts to staff’s phones, making theft by any person more difficult. 

2. They Help Accurately Manage Inventory 

There are few better ways to manage your inventory than using a GPS car tracking system.  

Dealers can quickly locate every vehicle on and off the lot using a management system that includes GPS devices. Including tracking technologies in inventory management will also provide dealers with up-to-the-minute information on every vehicle’s condition.  

This data includes: 

• Fuel levels  
• Precise diagnostic information 
• Battery life  

Dealers can therefore determine which vehicles are ready for viewing and test drives by potential buyers and which require further preparation. 

3. They Help Repossess Vehicles and Recover Damage Costs 

As new car inventories remain historically low, the demand for used vehicles remains near record highs. However, pre-owned customers often fail to uphold their end of business deals. 

For this reason, auto dealers must develop strategies to constantly monitor the vehicles they lend to customers in cases of: 

• Recovery 
• Renegotiation 
• Repossession 

Car dealership GPS trackers can monitor where these used vehicles travel, allowing dealers to recover them more easily. 

Additionally, dealers can locate those vehicles associated with defaulted payment plans, start an open line of communication with the owners, and either seize the car or renegotiate payment terms with the customers.  

Finally, dealers can add trackers to demo and loaner vehicles, enabling them to monitor their locations and drivers’ behaviors. Dealers can accurately track driving speeds, misuses, or poor driving habits that could result in car damage.  

This software allows dealers to hold the drivers of these vehicles responsible in the event of an accident. 

4. They Help Keep Track of Pickup and Delivery Valets 

Many dealers offer pickup and delivery services to make service appointments more convenient for busy customers. However, with those services comes the added risk of losing sight of more vehicles. 

These cars can go missing for several reasons, including: 

• The driver has an incorrect customer address 
• The navigation system picked the wrong route or one with heavy traffic 
• The vehicle broke down 
• The driver needed to make an unexpected stop 

Even temporary disappearances can prove costly to dealers who schedule vehicles to transport multiple customers to and from the dealership on a given day. 

GPS tracking systems enable dealers to monitor these cars in real-time, alerting them to issues that might require adding more vehicles to the pickup and delivery fleet. 

Safeguard Your Assets with the Best Tracking Software 

Car dealership GPS trackers allow you to monitor your vehicles in the lot and track them whenever they leave. They can be a critical component in asset security and inventory management for the reasons stated above. 

However, these systems are only as effective as your chosen software provider. Your dealership needs solutions with the highest tracking capabilities and communication features that always keep you in touch with your cars. 

Contact us today and discover how Affinitiv’s Transport can help your dealership manage inventory and track vehicles on and off the lot.