For dealers who own multiple dealerships, storage lots and facilities know despite internal protocols, locating vehicles still can be a hassle and lead to embarrassing situations when salespeople can't find cars for test drives. But tracking down vehicles no longer is a struggle for salespeople — and customers — at Folsom Lake Ford and Folsom Lake Kia in Folsom, California. The stores sell the wireless tracking device and app-based location service, as an F&I (finance and insurance) product, which has boosted gross income per vehicle.
Our cars could be at an independent body shop, an outfitter, down the street at our detailing center, out on a test drive or on one of multiple lots — maybe seven or eight different places in all. It was aggravating when we couldn't find cars.
Now we know where cars are all the time, all you do is tap on the app, input the car's stock number and you know where it is in just a couple of seconds. Our salespeople love this product because finding cars was a big pain point for them. They could spend 20 minutes on a wild-goose chase, driving to different lots.
Salespeople love the technology. The time savings is a big thing.
In the nine months after the dealerships started offering the technology to customers, average gross income per vehicle rose about $500 compared with the six months before. It's probably not all attributable to RecovR, but I think it's more than just a coincidence that F&I sales increased after we started selling it. It probably helped car sales, too — and faster transactions make for happier customers. We looked silly when we couldn't find cars and customers might get tired of waiting and decide to leave. But now we can find cars immediately.
The beauty of it is we don't pay for the devices upfront, we only pay for them after we sell them.