Not so long ago, a BHPH dealer always had to sweat a little when watching his collateral go over the curb in the hands of a high-risk customer. If the customer defaults, how much time and effort will go into locating and repossessing the vehicle? Thanks to global positioning satellite technology, better known as GPS, today’s BHPH dealers can breathe a little easier knowing they can quickly and easily locate every vehicle they put on the street.

However, some BHPH operations may be hesitant to take advantage of this technical advantage due to concerns over cost. Zoombak, a company that first made its mark as a provider of personal GPS locators, has recently developed a product designed to meet the needs of any BHPH dealer at a reasonable price.

Zoombak GPS Recovery Finance Track utilizes a small device installed in the vehicle, coupled with an online user interface, to quickly and reliably pinpoint a vehicle’s location. The device itself weighs a mere 2. is relatively simple, so dealers with little or no technical expertise need not worry.

What is even simpler, however, is using Zoombak’s online interface to locate a vehicle. “Our Web interface is probably one of the easiest to use,” said John Cullen, director of marketing for Zoombak. “If you can login to an e-mail account, you can use Zoombak. It’s that simple. You login, hit ‘find now’ and within 10 to 30 seconds you have a real-time location on the vehicle.”

There are no monthly service fees, and dealers have a variety of options available to meet their individual needs. If they wish, they can simply opt for a standard two-year service contract, which includes 50 lookups per device per year (lookups are pooled for use on all devices). Service can later be extended beyond the initial two-year term.

Of course, Zoombak knows that BHPH lots come in all sizes and have very different needs, so they will work with a dealer to find the best solution for that store. “We have a lot of different service terms to meet the needs of our dealers,” said Cullen. “We’ll even customize things, depending on what the dealer’s need .”

Rather than maintain a service contract, dealers can instead choose to purchase just the devices and pay only for the lookups they use. “We’re trying to bring people who have the smaller dealerships into the market,” Cullen explained. “They haven’t gotten into GPS tracking because of the cost nature of it.” Dealers can still enjoy the safety net of GPS and only pay for tracking when it’s needed, which may allow them to avoid incurring more expense than may be necessary for a smaller BHPH operation.

In these shaky economic times when many smaller and mid-sized companies might be struggling, Cullen said dealers can feel confident when partnering with Zoombak. The company is owned by Liberty Media, a $30-billion corporation that also owns QVC, Inc., Starz Entertainment, LLC, and TruePosition, Inc., among others, and has ownership interests in large number of various companies including the DIRECTTV Group, Inc. and SIRIUS XM. The corporation’s diverse interests, size and stability offer dealers assurance that Zoombak will be there for them over the long haul.

Traditional retail dealers should also take note—Zoombak has product offerings and services for more than just BHPH. Zoombak GPS Recovery Asset Track can be used by any auto dealer to locate vehicles on the lot or track loaner vehicles. Dealerships can also offer Zoombak GPS Recovery Theft as an aftermarket solution for car buyers who want an additional layer of protection against vehicle theft. Zoombak works in cooperation with local law enforcement to recover an individual’s vehicle once it’s reported stolen. There’s also a Zoombak GPS Car & Family Locator that can be used by individual car owners who want to be able to locate their vehicle at any time, something that can come in handy for keeping track of a teen or senior driver. 

Zoombak has a GPS Recovery product for every dealer – new, used and BHPH – and how to best take advantage of Zoombak’s GPS-based solutions is up to the dealer. Stated Cullen, “If a dealer has a certain requirement, we’d be more than happy to help them figure out a way to make the solution work for them.” For more information, dealers can visit www.zoombakgpsrecovery.com or contact Zoombak by calling 877.223.0415 or e-mailing [email protected].

 
Special Finance Insider Vol. 3, Issue 3