Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car

27,111
14,580
Joined
May 2, 2012
Imagine this scenario: You’re on an important trip miles from home and stopped in traffic, but before you can continue on your way, your car shuts down. You’ve got enough gas in the tank and no mechanical problems. But you’re stranded far from home because you’re a few days late on your car payment and the lender won’t let you drive until the debt is paid.

If this sounds like part of a dystopian future in which repo men are now cyborgs, it’s not. It’s happening today and becoming a big part of the new automotive landscape. Car dealers and automotive lenders are targeting those with poor credit by installing GPS-based kill switches, or starter-interrupt devices, on the cars that they sell.

The New York Times recently reported that about 2 million cars are now outfitted with such kill switches in the U.S., which is about one-quarter of subprime car loans, and creditors are not shy when it comes to remotely disabling cars whose owners are behind on their payments:

“Some borrowers say their cars were disabled when they were only a few days behind on their payments, leaving them stranded in dangerous neighborhoods. Others said their cars were shut down while idling at stoplights. Some described how they could not take their children to school or to doctor’s appointments. One woman in Nevada said her car was shut down while she was driving on the freeway.

“Beyond the ability to disable a vehicle, the devices have tracking capabilities that allow lenders and others to know the movements of borrowers, a major concern for privacy advocates. And the warnings the devices emit — beeps that become more persistent as the due date for the loan payment approaches — are seen by some borrowers as more degrading than helpful.”

Subprime automotive-loan borrowers, those with FICO credit scores below 660, debt-to-income ratios of more than 50% or a bankruptcy in the past 60 months, are a growing segment of automotive borrowers. This phenomenon has been buoyed by auto dealers trying to continue a strong sales rebound after years of weak sales and by securities investors who buy bonds backed by those loans and see them as a way to get ample returns when other interest rates remain low.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09...k-moving-that-car/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
 
No different than folks having their lights/other utilities shut off for missing payments. I mean, it is what it is. Things happen, but you gotta stay on top of your ****.
 
dont think id be cool with that

what if its a mix up in payments error on their end 
 
This sounds bad all around. I can understand the car not starting. But actually shutting down while the car is on is recipe for accidents. I do not trust computers and the fact that modern cars are basically controlled by computers make me uneasy.
 
The lender's GPS tracking device is what led the FBI to the predator in the Philadelphia kidnapping case last week, so I support lender GPS tracking because of the other benefits.

The remote kill switch feature is too much since it could cause distress and injury to the driver and others. Lenders knowing the location of the car is enough if it has to be repossessed.
 
Last edited:
Yeah I honestly don't see the problem here.

If you have awful credit (sub 660) and want a car you should expect that you are of course a risky proposition for anyone to lend credit to. The kill switch and GPS is a great idea in my opinion. However, the GPS function and kill-switch should only be turned on for police reasons (e.g., your car was stolen), or if you are behind on your payments. It should be quite simple to do the kill switch part of it too with a simple algorithm (e.g., can only kill switch a car that has been not moving for 30+ minutes). Additionally, it's not like these people didn't know it was going to happen. They have a beep that gets more annoying the closer they get to the deadline. It must be a siren by the time this situation happens.

This is actually an awesome technology. People are way too concerned about privacy. If you don't do shady stuff you don't have to worry about the law. I care more about the actual law and policies. Simple arrests should not have such a devastating impact on your whole life (e.g., urinating in public).
 
Some dealers in Texas are already doing this.

My homboy's mom had a car like this. The bad part is you pretty much HAVE TO tell people you haven't paid your car note. :smh:
 
Meh, pay your bill. **** happens, but you know what you're signing up for. When I had terrible credit I had one of these.
 
A lot of places have already started this.  It's much more common at those second chance or buy here pay here dealers. 

From what I've heard their pretty lenient about cutting your car off as along as you call them and let them know something ahead of time.
 
Last edited:
U get arrested 4 peeing outside?
u can
Some dealers in Texas are already doing this.

My homboy's mom had a car like this. The bad part is you pretty much HAVE TO tell people you haven't paid your car note.
mean.gif
this 
 
Go home you're drunk
laugh.gif

It's not something they do with 1 or 2 late payments.
if you say so 
 
Car lots have been doing this for years, I guess it's starting to be more prevalent. it's not hard to snatch the GPS thing from up under the car off, you just gotta know what you're looking at/for.
 
Yeah I honestly don't see the problem here.

If you have awful credit (sub 660) and want a car you should expect that you are of course a risky proposition for anyone to lend credit to. The kill switch and GPS is a great idea in my opinion. However, the GPS function and kill-switch should only be turned on for police reasons (e.g., your car was stolen), or if you are behind on your payments. It should be quite simple to do the kill switch part of it too with a simple algorithm (e.g., can only kill switch a car that has been not moving for 30+ minutes). Additionally, it's not like these people didn't know it was going to happen. They have a beep that gets more annoying the closer they get to the deadline. It must be a siren by the time this situation happens.

This is actually an awesome technology. People are way too concerned about privacy. If you don't do shady stuff you don't have to worry about the law. I care more about the actual law and policies. Simple arrests should not have such a devastating impact on your whole life (e.g., urinating in public).


Lolwut

When did a 650 become an awful score?




And how is this news? I thought dealerships already did this (they do it here in Texas)
 
this actually makes sense..they own the car

being late on any loans to banks (mortgages or auto loans) is the worst thing u can do to ur credit..student loans as well

it's not good to do it on revolving accts but it's not as bad as those
 
Also, they can't do it when the car is moving.

They have GPS trackers to know whether its moving or not.
 
What if I'm rushing to take my pregnant wife to the hospital and you shut me off while she's in labor?
 
Pay your bills/loans. Having a pregnant wife is not an excuse to skip paying the car note.
 
Back
Top Bottom