Is LoJack still a viable product in F&I or has it passed its prime?

[XDCX]

I was thinking about my comment regarding Big Brother the other day and started to wonder how this new technology was impacting LoJack.

Originally Posted by XDCX

The report indicated the majority of the recovered vehicles were picked up by police departments that use patrol cars with license plate readers - an apparent benefit of Big Brotherism....

I was in San Diego last week and noticed two marked patrol cars that had at least two, and maybe as many as six, cameras built in to their light bar. The cameras are used to read plates and notify officers of stolen vehicles, expired registrations, etc.

I did a quick Google Search and verified that LoJack is still in business but it's been a long time since I've heard about the company as a mechanism to combat vehicle theft.

Is LoJack still a viable product for dealerships to sell in F&I and do most police departments still have the location tool installed in their vehicles to enable them to find a stolen LoJack vehicle?

[mryan55]

I think the time has passed. We have never installed Chrysler's branded version (Mopar EVTS) on any vehicle, and we don't offer any aftermarket LoJack or similar... we stopped selling etch in 2013. A lot of lenders have cracked down on what they will advance on the front end for some of these more questionable adds, so it's better to just stay away.

Not only is police tech getting better, but with Chrysler, GM, Hyundai and a lot of other imports having on-board 3G and 4G connectivity with stolen vehicle assistance, it renders LoJack, etch, and similar products as nothing more than hard sells that people don't really need.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

Not only is police tech getting better, but with Chrysler, GM, Hyundai and a lot of other imports having on-board 3G and 4G connectivity with stolen vehicle assistance, it renders LoJack, etch, and similar products as nothing more than hard sells that people don't really need.

That's a great point. I quickly scanned a few stories about LoJack and I get the impression they may be headed in that direction too.

With all of the electronic equipment the police currently have to install into their patrol cars I really wonder how many departments will choose to continue installing a LoJack tracking device.

On a related note, I think all of the Buy Here/Pay Here lots have proven that the GPS and cell tower tracking devices work pretty good.

[birch3x]

A stolen car up here usually means that someone didn't want to pay for it anymore. We've never installed any type of security system.

[mryan55]

On the topic of anti-theft aftermarket products, I do purchase a lot of 2009-2012 Wranglers out of the Montréal and the ALL have etch on them. I didn't know if it was popular in Quebec or if the dealers all did it in hopes that they could sell it!

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by birch3x

A stolen car up here usually means that someone didn't want to pay for it anymore. We've never installed any type of security system.

When my Jeep TJ was stolen a few years ago that's the first question the cops asked as they were making the report - "Is the vehicle financed, are you behind on your payments?"

Props to you for living in a market that doesn't have much crime - it's good to hear that places like that still exist.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

On the topic of anti-theft aftermarket products, I do purchase a lot of 2009-2012 Wranglers out of the Montréal and the ALL have etch on them. I didn't know if it was popular in Quebec or if the dealers all did it in hopes that they could sell it!

Very interesting....

If you're willing, the topic of buying cars from Canada might warrant a new thread on the forum. I was amazed when I was at the Barrett-Jackson Auction and noticed the Canadian Dollar had fallen below the U.S. Dollar. I looked the other day and noticed it's now down to about 80 cents on the U.S. Dollar.

I guess the fall of the Canadian Dollar is pegged to the collapse of oil prices. It would be interesting to hear if there are profit opportunities for dealers who are willing to go through the process of importing a vehicle from Canada.

[mryan55]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Very interesting....

If you're willing, the topic of buying cars from Canada might warrant a new thread on the forum. I was amazed when I was at the Barrett-Jackson Auction and noticed the Canadian Dollar had fallen below the U.S. Dollar. I looked the other day and noticed it's now down to about 80 cents on the U.S. Dollar.

I guess the fall of the Canadian Dollar is pegged to the collapse of oil prices. It would be interesting to hear if there are profit opportunities for dealers who are willing to go through the process of importing a vehicle from Canada.

The Canadian dollar is as low as I can remember. The USD and CAD were pretty much equal for most of the great recession over the last decade. In fact, in July 2011 the CAD hit $1.06 USD... needless to say, we were not importing anything at that point!

I grew up in a border market, so importing from Canada was fairly commonplace prior to the relative parity we have seen (until recently) over the last 8-10 years.

Figure that a 2009 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara with average miles and reasonable equipment would probably sell for $20k to $21k wholesale but we can get it on the lot from Quebec for $18k to $19k plus recon. Not a bad deal overall.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

The Canadian dollar is as low as I can remember. The USD and CAD were pretty much equal for most of the great recession over the last decade. In fact, in July 2011 the CAD hit $1.06 USD... needless to say, we were not importing anything at that point!

I grew up in a border market, so importing from Canada was fairly commonplace prior to the relative parity we have seen (until recently) over the last 8-10 years.

Figure that a 2009 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara with average miles and reasonable equipment would probably sell for $20k to $21k wholesale but we can get it on the lot from Quebec for $18k to $19k plus recon. Not a bad deal overall.

I would like to do a thread on purchasing used cars in Canada and then retailing them in the U.S.

I'm a bit compressed for time at the moment but when I get caught up I'll create a new thread and I'd love to hear your thoughts/experiences on the topic.

[XDCX]

Here's a little bit of LoJack trivia I've gathered to make your day complete:

• 10 years ago LoJack's stock traded as high as $28.84/share. Today it trades at 1/10 that value ($2.88/share) - a 90% loss over 10 years.
• The total market cap for LoJack is only $54 Million
• Gary Dilts is on the LoJack Board of Directors

I also read a news story about LoJack that indicated the company has acknowledged that some of their tracking devices may have battery problems.

Apparently the LoJack tracking device is self-powered and doesn't tap into the vehicle's 12 volt power system. As designed, the batteries in the LoJack device are only warranted to work for two years - the problem with some devices is the batteries will fail before that point.

A customer who commented on the story I read indicated that LoJack sent a technician to her home to inspect the tracking device but she was not allowed to watch him do the inspection - apparently LoJack doesn't want their customers (or anyone else) to know where they hide the tracking device.

[mryan55]

LoJack has definitely become less important over time -- I can't even think of the last time I saw the 'Protected by' stickers on a customer's car.