o.0 I wonder if they knew those devices were in their cars? It doesn't sound like it from the article. I would thank the guy for tipping me off.

Yeah, your dealer can do this if you buy your car at such a flea-bag joint that installs its cars with devices to facilitate its repossession when you default on your payment. While I buy my cars at reputable places, it does make me wonder if somewhere in all that paperwork that I just sign without reading there is a clause that gives them permission to do what this company did.

It's always the guys in the "two last names" crowd.
This is why nice things cannot be had

Yeah, that's the new method of repossessing cars.

Late payment? Disabled. Watch for it.

I guess it's better than bringing a gun to work and shooting up the place. Sounds like the guy had a little bit of fun with this prank

Yes, they know. The dealer is one of those "bad credit/no credit" places. Most of those have some sort of guarantee. Like, every month, when you make your car payment, they give you a code to punch into a keypad on the dash that allows the car to operate for another month. Or in this case, a remote kill switch that the dealer can activate.

I did some contractor work at one of these places once. It was depressing. They told the buyer which car they were buying (they didn't get to choose), and then made them sit through a 60 minute video on fiscal responsibility.

On the other hand, if your ability to handle money is so bad that that's the only way for you to get a car, then I have little sympathy.

Save us John McClane!

A lot of Buy Here Pay Here lots will give their customers lower interest rates if they let them install these devices. Others just install them.

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

DubyaHater: I guess it's better than bringing a gun to work and shooting up the place. Sounds like the guy had a little bit of fun with this prank

Shooting up the workplace could be fun too, who are you to say what's fun?

Do these things work in reverse?
I'm too cheap to get a real remote starter....

This only affected poor people so it is funny.

Wow, This article is total bullshiat! Tupac Shakur ain't dead.

Katolu: DubyaHater: I guess it's better than bringing a gun to work and shooting up the place. Sounds like the guy had a little bit of fun with this prank

Shooting up the workplace could be fun too, who are you to say what's fun?

I second this with a modification: Instead of shooting up the workplace, it's much more fun if you shoot the people INSIDE the workplace.

Katolu: DubyaHater: I guess it's better than bringing a gun to work and shooting up the place. Sounds like the guy had a little bit of fun with this prank

Shooting up the workplace could be fun too, who are you to say what's fun?

While fun, it's usually only something you can manage one time.
This is a prank that can be played over and over and over.

Scutter: Yes, they know. The dealer is one of those "bad credit/no credit" places. Most of those have some sort of guarantee. Like, every month, when you make your car payment, they give you a code to punch into a keypad on the dash that allows the car to operate for another month. Or in this case, a remote kill switch that the dealer can activate.

Seriously!?

.....damn

A girl I work with has one of those in her truck. They activated it about a month ago and she almost didn't make it to work. I don't have to worry about that. I made my last payment on my '05 yesterday. 5 years at 0% interest. Nice feeling.

whyRpeoplesostupid 2010-03-18 10:41:46 AM FTA:Starting in mid-February, dealership employees noticed unusual changes to their business records. Someone was going into the system and changing customers' names, such as having dead rapper Tupac Shakur buying a 2009 vehicle, Norton said.
It took them a month to figure this out?
===========================================================

It's a database full of thousands of names... people don't just spend a Saturday looking through it for shiats and giggles.

The only people who could've figured it out would be billing trying to bill someone that doesn't exist. Guess how often billing happens?

Yup, once a month!

HotWingConspiracy

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

This!

But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.

RembrandtQEinstein: This only affected poor people so it is funny.

No, it only affected people with bad credit.

Though frankly, it would be a lot MORE funny if it happened to very very rich people.

Imagine the rage of a rich old man with a garage full of million dollar cars that won't start? That's the kind of funny that even Carlos Slim can't buy.

//or I guess technically he could, if he bought all his cars from a certain Texas dealership.

whyRpeoplesostupid: It took them a month to figure this out?

It's not like you go and search though your files looking for ones that have been changed. Instead you only run across this type of issue when a customer calls and complains.

I know a lot of customers call and complain at the drop of the hat, but that is not most customers, that is only around 10% or so.

What ify our name really was Tupac Shakur? Wouldn't that screw you over when buying a car then?

How about if your last name was Null or your first name was Delete and last name was Row?

Dexter's Next Victim: But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.

I guess it's good that I like older cars. They look better, they pollute more, they're much easier to work on, and they don't have crap like remote deactivators.

HotWingConspiracy: Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

Well, presumably you aren't irresponsible enough with your money to be assumed a thief. And I'm certainly not going to shop at a dealership that caters to those clients either.

Dexter's Next Victim: HotWingConspiracy

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

This!

But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.

Watched a show called Operation Repo, they were chasing down cars that had GPS locators in them. They repossessed a Prius from a bunch of larpers who were larping in the woods. The repo men just left them there in the woods without a car. It was hilarious.

I wonder if the Russian Hackers are listening.

IdBeCrazyIf: Scutter: Yes, they know. The dealer is one of those "bad credit/no credit" places. Most of those have some sort of guarantee. Like, every month, when you make your car payment, they give you a code to punch into a keypad on the dash that allows the car to operate for another month. Or in this case, a remote kill switch that the dealer can activate.

Seriously!?

.....damn

Yes. Otherwise the dealer has to charge 40% interest to offset the costs from all the people deadbeats who don't make their payments. Welcome to the world of sub-500 credit scores.

Dexter's Next Victim: HotWingConspiracy

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

This!

But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.

I wonder what frequencies these devices operate on. If my car is coming equipped with wireless connectivity, it'd be nice to be able to put it to use for myself.

Dexter's Next Victim: HotWingConspiracy

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

This!

But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.


OnStar can remotely disable your vehicle, and slow it down to a stop if it is in motion. Of course they tout this as "stolen vehicle recovery".

You're supposed to be a subscriber to get this service, but I am sure if The Proper Authorities request it, they can stop or track any such equipped vehicle, which is virtually every GM car made now

He did it for the lulz.

TheDirtyNacho: Dexter's Next Victim: HotWingConspiracy

Ugh. Now we all have to haggle to get a car without this shiat in it. I'm not going to buy from a dealer that assumes I'm a thief.

This!

But I wouldn't be surprised that every car will be installed with them at the factory, like it or not.


OnStar can remotely disable your vehicle, and slow it down to a stop if it is in motion. Of course they tout this as "stolen vehicle recovery".

You're supposed to be a subscriber to get this service, but I am sure if The Proper Authorities request it, they can stop or track any such equipped vehicle, which is virtually every GM car made now

And I bet dollars to doughnuts that they consider their financing arm to be The Proper Authorities.

CaptainWes:

No. That's why they are reputable... Frankly, I'm surprised anyone would not go over their sales contract line by line before signing a deal on an investment as large as a car...

The sorts of people who have to buy cars at such a place usually have no other options. The moral of the story is to pay your bills on time so that you can shop at the more reputable places.

I notice they don't mention what kind of dealership it is. I thought maybe it was OnStar abuse.

I just paid my car off and dont have to worry about the repo man, so Im getting a kick...

Yeah, low end car dealers like General Motors.

Ever hear of On-Star?

They're proud of the fact thay can kill your car remotly & even put it in their commericals. They also record all your speed & braking data & will share it with almost anyone except the car owner. (just like Ford & Chrysler)

/it's gonna be fun to watch when those systems get hacked remotely

DubyaHater: I guess it's better than bringing a gun to work and shooting up the place. Sounds like the guy had a little bit of fun with this prank

FYI, pranks are only fun if you get to see the results

All your Prius are belong to us.

Eddie Adams from Torrance:
/oblig

Forced, overly-nerdy and only mildly funny. Yep, that's XKCD.

and here I laughed at the pseudo-science in modern movies with hackers disabling everything (Eagle Eye, Die Hard etc.)...