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Are dealers installing Lojack and charging for it, calling it something else?

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I never heard of this. Seems so unethical. I guess it isn't only KIA. Thanks.
 
When we purchased our Telluride from Team Kia Mazda El Cajon, it came with a “Dealer Prep Package” that cost $3900. The package broke down into four accessories and was installed on EVERY Kia model that rolls through their location.

A GPS tracking system called Stargard was installed as part of the package; and it works rather well.

We purchased for MSRP, but the package did increase the price. In the end, I guess we could have gone to another dealer, paid $5-10K markup and got nothing extra for it. Crazy times :)

p.s. With the tracking, we did get a discount on our auto insurance under the “Comprehensive” coverage.
 
My dealer said I had to purchase an accessory. The guy in finance was honest, he said the wheel locks were the least expensive accessory so I said ok. I think around $50 or something. Yeah....weird and crazy times.
 
yamahamt07 said:
I never heard of this. Seems so unethical. I guess it isn't only KIA. Thanks.
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No, it’s not only KIA. It’s obviously very dealer dependent.

I bought a Honda 2 years ago with LoJack installed. I told them to take it off because I didn’t want it. They convinced me to keep it on by not charging me for the Lojack or for service. They said it will be totally “free”.

If so why try to charge me in the first place /s?
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I never knew this went on........thanks.
 
@yamahamt07

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Apparently these devices are being used at more dealerships now under the guise of "inventory management" and "insurance" reduction for the dealer. I'm not sure if any of that is true, because it is a cheap device that they mark up significantly.

I just bought a Ford truck, and dealer had it installed already! Didn't disclose until I questioned a line item. Fortunately, they are easy enough to remove - which I will do soon.
 
jw_tx21 said:
@yamahamt07

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Apparently these devices are being used at more dealerships now under the guise of "inventory management" and "insurance" reduction for the dealer. I'm not sure if any of that is true, because it is a cheap device that they mark up significantly.

I just bought a Ford truck, and dealer had it installed already! Didn't disclose until I questioned a line item. Fortunately, they are easy enough to remove - which I will do soon.
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I guess we can't trust anyone these days. I sent an email to ask if my Telly had it. They haven't responded. They wouldn't let me pay cash for the car so I financed most of it. But I'm paying it off and that tracking device wont' mean anything to anyone if I have one. There should be a law against this kind of thing. Thanks.
 
yamahamt07 said:
I guess we can't trust anyone these days. I sent an email to ask if my Telly had it. They haven't responded. They wouldn't let me pay cash for the car so I financed most of it. But I'm paying it off and that tracking device wont' mean anything to anyone if I have one. There should be a law against this kind of thing. Thanks.
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If it had it, you should have received an email from Lojack and a text to download the app when they transferred it to you. If you didn't get that email and don't see any taps in the fuse box then it probably wasn't installed. I will hunt for mine next week.
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jw_tx21 said:
If it had it, you should have received an email from Lojack and a text to download the app when they transferred it to you. If you didn't get that email and don't see any taps in the fuse box then it probably wasn't installed. I will hunt for mine next week.
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I did get an email about this. I need to read it again. Something about continuing with it. So it's probably on mine. I'll ask a mechanic to pull that sucker out. Thanks.
 
jw_tx21 said:
If it had it, you should have received an email from Lojack and a text to download the app when they transferred it to you. If you didn't get that email and don't see any taps in the fuse box then it probably wasn't installed. I will hunt for mine next week.
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What is Lojack?
 
arattle said:
You sound like you believe a lot of things car salesmen tell you. I would reevaluate that approach.
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And three dealers doing it does not make it "everyone is doing it." There are 755 KIA dealers in the US. Each dealer has the right to install whatever item they want. Customers need to walk away from these dealers. Salesmen tend to follow a "script" for answering any question, some might call it lying. Others might call it being misleading.

I can imagine "buy here, pay here" lots doing it, and perhaps super low down payment financing, or for borrowers with really low credit scores. And then you have the dealers coming up with add ons to boost their profit. I prefer the ones that are more honest and just use a single line item, like "dealer markup", than coming up with grossly overpriced add ons.
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NCBill said:
And three dealers doing it does not make it "everyone is doing it." There are 755 KIA dealers in the US. Each dealer has the right to install whatever item they want. Customers need to walk away from these dealers. Salesmen tend to follow a "script" for answering any question, some might call it lying.

I can imagine "buy here, pay here" lots doing it, and perhaps super low down payment financing, or for borrowers with really low credit scores. And then you have the dealers coming up with add ons to boost their profit. I prefer the ones that are more honest and just use a single line item, like "dealer markup", than coming up with grossly overpriced add ons.
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Actually, your response along with his are illogical. The salesman I spoke to who said this is happening is WARNING me and telling me to look out for something that is going on out there. Why would I not listen to a salesman that is warning me of something and telling me to be on the lookout of something? Sometimes we need to think before we answer. And the posts subsequent show this is happening at non KIA dealers too. It helps to read posts thoroughly.
 
Your right about your last statement!
 
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