Quote :

"DALLAS - Most of the credit-damaged customers at North Texas Motorcars learn to live with the lights. They're attached to a black box on the dashboard and start flashing on the first day a car payment is late. On the fourth day, after two more days of warning lights, the car won't start. "I would not undertake buy-here/pay-here without this system," said Ray Williamson, president of North Texas Motorcars, which sells about 50 vehicles a month and installs boxes in each of them. "There's just too much risk." The box - called a starter interrupt unit - is used mostly at used-car dealerships that provide financing to customers with bad credit. But other segments of the auto industry may adopt it, particularly if consumers' credit ratings continue to decline."

Quote :

""The technology is there. Look at something like General Motors' OnStar. It can already open doors and notify emergency authorities, and all of that. It could certainly shut a car down." The On Time unit Williamson uses is marketed by Payment Protection Systems Inc. of Temecula, Calif., and is one of three or four such systems available. Mike Simon, president and chief executive, said On Time sales have increased 40 percent since 1999. The company has also begun selling On Time units equipped with GPS that some mainstream used-car dealers are installing on $20,000-plus luxury cars. "Some people have the income and assets to buy a Mercedes-Benz but still have credit problems," Mr. Simon said. He believes the devices could be used in the new cars as well."

More details in the article: http://tinyurl.com/7qfff

As long as it is for high-risk loans and not everyone then it is okay. I couldn't imagine it being on all cars because credit companies fuck up from time to time.

[Edited on October 4, 2005 at 1:16 PM. Reason : +]

10/4/2005 12:47:44 PM

typically a bank won't deny you a car loan unless you have seriously bad credit. That is of course as long as you have the income to support that payment.

The people with bad credit are being financed through the dealership not through the bank.

10/4/2005 1:06:46 PM

i can't ever imagine this being installed on a customer's vehicle which has good credit

10/5/2005 11:09:57 PM

Yea if I have good credit and sombody tries to slap that in my new/used car, I'll tell them where to stick their box and car.

10/6/2005 7:00:27 AM

shouldnt be any harder to disable than the starter cutout relay on a regular alarm system

10/6/2005 7:40:11 AM

Quote :

"$20,000-plus luxury cars."

wtf? a kia now qualifies as luxury?

10/6/2005 8:04:36 AM

^ its sad to think about someone who buys a 'luxury car' and would need to have a device like this installed.

10/6/2005 9:07:17 AM

like mc hammer. shit happens. one hit wonders arent rich for life. car dealers know the score.

10/6/2005 9:43:24 AM

a system like this could be disabled very easily. I don't see the point in such expensive electronics.remember it has to get updates on payment status from somewhere, so this thing could probably be defeated with an rf jammer, or just pulling whatever relays or solenoids they use.

10/6/2005 10:15:05 AM

you think the caliber of ppl these systems are used on would have the first clue about bypassing it?

10/6/2005 10:17:06 AM

Quote :

"typically a bank won't deny you a car loan unless you have seriously bad credit. That is of course as long as you have the income to support that payment. The people with bad credit are being financed through the dealership not through the bank."

"Banks" do not buy very deep, generally people with damaged credit are financed through an automotive lender. A "buy-here,pay-here" lot is about the only place you will see a person making payments to the dealership.

10/6/2005 10:25:03 AM

Quote :

" its sad to think about someone who buys a 'luxury car' and would need to have a device like this installed."

go down to walnut terrace. you'll see luxury cars parked out there. of course they can afford them since the taxpayers pay for their rent.

10/7/2005 7:27:54 PM

Quote :

"a system like this could be disabled very easily."

maybe yes, maybe no... depends on how many systems it is tied in to. as with the interlock systems installed on habitual drunk driver's vehicles, disabling/bypassing these will be a matter of "is it really worth it"

10/7/2005 7:45:28 PM