| $700 Anti-Theft Package Sold By Dealerships Is Useless From another (canadian) automotive car forum;
There's this "feature" that car dealerships are selling when you buy a new car which it's from Globali, it's an option that apparently gets an ID number printed in every vital car part in that vehicle with an invinsible ink that can only be seen under an ultra-violet light. Now here's why it's useless.
If your vehicle gets stolen and chopped up who is going to watch for these prints? Neither cops nor junkyards know about this nor do they have the black lamps to see them and why would they spend their own time and money to check them? What database will they use to check if it's stolen? They don't have one!
Another let-down is that thieves can buy these black lamps anywhere and look for the print and then it only takes them 2 minutes of sanding with a piece of sandpaper to erase the print on the car part.
The CBC says it costs the dealership only $70 to have car parts on a vehicle printed with this invisible ink but they turn around and charge 10-fold ($700) car buyers for it. |
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 Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | The best thing you can do is have good insurance. The second best thing you can do is make your vehicle more troublesome than the one next to it. They'll usually go for the easier target. For example, gas thieves will hopefully skip your car if it has a locking cap and the car right next to it does not. But if they want your car, they'll get it. We recently had one of our work vans stolen, despite an anti-theft system installed. It was probably gone in a matter of seconds. |
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PrntRhdPremium
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| reply to Xstar_Lumini
I have a Toyota Tacoma truck with an alarm and LoJack.
The alarm deters some amateurs, but the LoJack saves me $10 per month on my insurance premiums.
Nothing you can put on a vehicle will stop a determined and well equipped thief, they can even winch it on a flat-bed and take it. |
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 cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | reply to Xstar_Lumini
A lot of dealerships around here offer it. Many used car dealerships apply etchings to the windows and body panels as part of their detailing it getting ready to show it. Then when it comes time to sell, it gets added in AFTER the final price is settled upon as part of the taxes/fees/etc. It basically only costs the dealership when the vehicle is registered, and they get to keeps any of the profits from whatever they can sell it for.
When we bought our Rendezvous this was the case. And like your quote pointed out, I knew that the etching was essentially useless. I didn't see the added on price until we were "settling up" and I refused to pay for it. He said it wasn't negotiable any more since it had already been applied and we had agreed on the price. I said bye and got up to leave. It suddenly became negotiable.
My next car purchase, it was made VERY clear up front that with the exception of registration and sales tax, the amount that I offered was the FINAL amount and that if they had costs associated with their business, that should be reflected and included in the selling price. There weren't any problems.
I bet you can guess which dealer I would return to and which one I won't. |
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| Here in Canada is the same thing with "rust-proof" protection. It's another $600 and get this, you are covered for 7 years, anything after that if "out of warranty", ANY car without this rust-proof coating can last 7 years with no rust easily, it's a scam. |
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 BK3
join:2001-04-10
Geneva, IL | said by Xstar_Lumini:Here in Canada is the same thing with "rust-proof" protection. It's another $600 and get this, you are covered for 7 years, anything after that if "out of warranty", ANY car without this rust-proof coating can last 7 years with no rust easily, it's a scam.
When i bought my last new car, Rustproofing was available. When the dealer asked me if I wanted it, I asked to look over the warranty. The warranty said that the warranty was void in any state that used salt on the roads. Being in Illinois, IDOT uses tons of salt every year. So, if I had gotten the rustproofing, there would have been no warranty.
Vehicle is nearly 14 years old now, no rust issues.
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Gun control is being able to hit your target. |
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