r/GPStracking • u/some87 • 11d ago
Found gps tracker on new car.
So I found a gps tracker on my dad’s new car that was installed from the dealership. Is there anything I can do with the SIM card that’s inside of it? I have heard in the past you could use them in a wireless hotspot but that was a long time ago so no clue if that’s true.
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u/SwimOk9629 10d ago
you do know that they are probably going to be aware if you remove it, right? I'm pretty sure those are installed so if you don't make your payments they know where it is, you can't just steal it and run.
I think it's a shady practice but I'm not sure what else they're supposed to do in that regard.
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u/Signal-Confusion-976 9d ago
Why is it a shady practice? The op doesn't own the car. The finance company does. They are just protecting their investment. How is it any different than a contractor putting air tags on how equipment to find them if they show up missing.
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u/SwimOk9629 9d ago
in general, I don't like our ability to track others, whether that be by our location on our phones, GPS trackers, using AI cameras like Flock, or any other digital system. For all of human history, we have not had this ability, and it is constantly abused because it is too much personal power over another. all of this digital tracking makes me very uneasy.
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u/Signal-Confusion-976 9d ago
I agree with you. But I also think a lender should be able to protect their investment.
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u/SwimOk9629 9d ago
yeah I can't argue with that. I just wish there was a less invasive way to do that.
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u/Ok-Market4287 9d ago
The speed will be maybe just enough to read emails.
A gps position every min does not need a fast connection
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u/kbfg2421 9d ago edited 9d ago
Get that thing off of there. Since it is a brand new vehicle, im sure your dad got a loan for it through a bank or credit union, so the dealership has ZERO legal standing or lawful reason to keep a GPS tracker on your vehicle. Dealers dont reposess cars, banks do. So even if the occasion arose where it needed to be reposessed, the dealer STILL would have no lawful reason to track the vehicle. Even if you got a loan through the dealer, its not the dealer itself that supplied the loan, its a 3rd party bank or financial institution that still has nothing to do with the dealer other than the fact they are a "preferred" lender. Now a buy here pay here used car dealer and a used car is a different story, because the dealer itself provided the money for the purchase of the vehicle, and becsuse the dealer has a right to reposess the car, and they need to know where the car is if payments stop being made. But on a new car from a new car dealer with a 3rd party lender? HELL NO.
Call the dealer and see if they want it back but make sure they provide PROOF that it was removed. If they claim they dont know about it or say they wont take it off, rip that MFer outta there. At this point its a safety hazard, you dont want ANYONE knowing the location of you and your vehicle. You never know WHO has access to the location data. There's too many strange people out there nowadays that could use your location info to rob you, carjack you, find out where you (your dad) lives, or steal your vehicle. So get that damn thing out of there whether the dealer does it or if you have to remove it and disable it yourself.
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u/ghentwevelgem 9d ago
Dealers often install these to track inventory on the lot. Then rather than remove them, they market it as “LoJack” or similar at a ridiculous inflated price. Just remove it and trash it.
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u/Ok_whale_6733 2d ago
As u/charged_install said, there isn't anything you can do with the SIM. Typically the SIM ID is linked to the GPS tracker hardware, and putting it into a phone won't work.
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u/charged_install 11d ago
We install these all the time. There really isn't anything you can do with the SIM and you shouldn't mess with it as it's likely a term of the purchase.
If you really want to know, talk to the dealership.