The automotive industry underwent a lot of changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, consumers expect more digital and virtual experiences that help them compare options without leaving home. GPS can help dealerships adjust to this change and meet other needs to make your business more efficient and profitable.
Improve Your Inventory’s Accuracy
Every dealership needs to know what vehicles they have in stock. Unfortunately, assigning each car a specific parking spot is not always as simple. Someone will eventually make a mistake that prevents you from locating a vehicle.
Perhaps a salesperson returning from a test drive lets the customer park in a different spot because they want to take advantage of a positive experience. Maybe one of your auto repair experts picks up the wrong paperwork when returning a vehicle to the lot. These things happen. You can correct human error with dealership GPS tracking units by looking up a vehicle’s precise location.
LandAirSea (LAS) uses the SilverCloud app, so authorized personnel can look up a car’s location on a computer or mobile device. It improves accuracy and saves time so everyone can focus on more complicated aspects of their jobs.
Give Customers More Professional Services
Dealerships that add GPS trackers to vehicles often seem more professional to consumers. With GPS devices, your sales team knows exactly where every car is on the lot. Instead of wandering in search of a specific car, salespeople can take customers directly to the vehicle that interests them. Your dealership will look more trustworthy and organized to potential buyers.
Encourage Timely Lease And Loan Payments
Ideally, everyone would make their loan and lease payments on time. You know that’s not going to happen, though, especially given the recent rise in auto loan delinquencies.
Adding GPS trackers to vehicles from your dealership can encourage customers to make lease and loan payments on time. When people know you can track a vehicle’s location, they worry that you could recover the property when they don’t pay. After installing GPS devices, expect to see fewer late payments and delinquent accounts.
Recover Vehicles With Expired Leases
Most people return their vehicles when leases expire. Some, however, will always wait until after the deadline. They might even keep driving the car until you send someone to recover it.
GPS trackers make it much easier for dealerships to recover vehicles with expired leases. Even if someone tries to evade your recovery professional, you have location data that shows exactly where to find the vehicle.
Add Delivery To Your Menu Of Services
A growing number of consumers prefer shopping online to visiting car dealerships. Online shopping lets them compare options quickly to choose the best vehicle within their budget.
A user-friendly website will make your dealership more attractive to shoppers. As more dealerships embrace online shopping, though, you will need to add more services that give you an advantage over competitors.
Offering vehicle delivery services could make your dealership the obvious choice for some consumers. They’ve done their research and know what they want. They don’t necessarily need a test drive before finalizing a purchase – although some will expect to test drive their vehicles after you deliver them.
Make your delivery services even more attractive by adding GPS trackers that let buyers know when to expect their new cars. When you incorporate GPS tracking into your delivery process, your dealership can let customers know that their new cars will arrive in about 30 minutes. That way, they can meet you to finalize any paperwork needed to officially own the vehicle.
Streamline Your Repair Services
Dealerships can increase their revenues by offering repair services. In recent years, dealerships have been able to charge higher prices for repair orders. The number of orders has fallen some, but the higher prices make up the difference.
Using GPS to streamline your repair services could make your dealership even more profitable. When a customer drops off their car, put a GPS tracker inside so you can monitor its location. You should see fewer mistakes made in the garage, more efficient storage, and faster delivery to customers.
Improve Security And Recover More Stolen Vehicles
Vehicle theft has become a growing problem. Nearly 500,000 cars were stolen in the United States during the first half of 2023. While most of these thefts happen on streets, organized criminals also target dealerships. One North Carolina dealership lost about $700,000 in one heist.
GPS trackers can help curb theft by improving security and assisting law enforcement. LandAirSea’s SilverCloud software can alert you when trackers cross boundaries on a digital map. The sooner you know thieves have targeted your dealership, the sooner you can contact law enforcement.
GPS devices can also help law enforcement recover stolen vehicles. SilverCloud’s ShareSpot feature lets you give anyone access to your GPS tracker’s location. Just send that link to the police so they can recover your vehicle and show criminals that auto theft has serious consequences.
Streamline Insurance Claims
GPS trackers can streamline insurance claims by giving you access to detailed information about your vehicles. Once you install trackers in your vehicles, you have evidence that shows:
- When a vehicle was stolen
- Whether someone was driving a vehicle when it got damaged
- Which vehicles you have in your inventory
No one wants to file insurance claims, but information from GPS devices can make the process much easier.
Get The Right GPS Trackers For Your Dealership
GPS makes three trackers that can fit the needs of automotive dealerships. Visit our products page to learn more about options like the LAS 54, Overdrive, and SYNC.
If you want more information about LAS GPS trackers, data plans, and software, please reach out to [email protected] for assistance.