Woman Gets Stranded After Dealership Remotely Disabled Her Car for Being Week Late on Payment

TikTokers were shocked to learn that some car dealerships and auto lenders are able to remotely disable a customer's vehicle for non payment in response to a video posted by a stranded driver.

A user on the application who goes by Legacyyy (@legacy.jai) uploaded a viral clip where she complained about the dealership remotely shutting off her car while it was in the parking lot of the gym, preventing her from being able to get home. She said that she wasn't sure if she wanted a car from a lender that would disable it after she was less than a week behind on a payment.

"My car note isn't even a week late it is due on the fourth of April, today is the 9th, I told them I'm gonna pay it this Friday not even a week late," the TikToker says, speaking directly into the lens of her camera as she records her video.

"They cut my car off," she explains. "And I'm at the gym right now, I'm at Planet Fitness, they cut my car off. I had to call them and tell them I'm not home I'm stuck, they were like okay we'll...activate it so you can go home and then we're gonna cut your car off when you get back home."

She went on to state that she wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of paying for a vehicle from a dealership that has the ability to remotely disable her car if she's not perfectly on time with her payments, "I don't want to have a car that has the power to cut off my car and it's not even a week late so I'm just...I'm finna give this car back, honestly," she says at the end of her video.

If this seems like some sort of Dystopain nightmare, there are car dealerships that do indeed sell newer models that can disable vehicles if payments are not kept current on the vehicles.

According to Poe: "Yes, car dealerships have the ability to remotely disable a vehicle if payment is not made. This is done through the use of devices such as starter interrupters or GPS trackers [2]. These devices can be installed in the vehicle and controlled by the dealership or lender. If a payment is missed, the dealership can remotely shut off the car, making it inoperable until the payment is made."

The website cited this CBS News piece discussing this very same phenomenon, which also highlighted how dealerships may also give customers a warning / notice beforehand prior to shutting off the vehicle.

This YouTube video also posted to CBS Mornings' channel highlights the specialized device that is installed on automobiles which can disable them remotely by auto lenders.

According to this Quora post which delves into this particular type of phenomenom, this practice is often implemented by "Buy Here Pay Here" lots, according to a user who replied to a question about these types of modules being installed on vehicles.

"Oh yes. They can most certainly immobilize your vehicle and GPS track its location. Many 'Buy here Pay here' lots install these devices so that if you don't pay, they can shut you down and collect their vehicle." He went on to explain that "many high-risk lenders also do this."

In this particular Quora users' instance, the dealer they purchased their car cash from left the device on his car and he only discovered it was installed in the vehicle upon noticing her had trouble starting the car. It wasn't until he went rummaging through the insides of the car that he noticed there was a contraption that wasn't exactly stock bolted onto his newly-purchased whip.

"I bought a GMC Envoy from a used car dealer a few years back. I paid cash, so no loan. About a week later, I was having trouble starting it. I saw a module screwed to the knee bolster on the bottom of the dashboard and followed the wiring under the dash where I found the remote kill/GPS tracking unit."

Numerous commenters who responded to Legacyyy's video didn't seem to have much sympathy for her predicament. One person simply penned that she should "Get better credit" so she wouldn't have to purchase cars from lenders who engage in this type of practice.

Another said that she shouldn't be surprised her car was turned off in the first place because, even though it wasn't "even a week late" it was still not paid on time: "But it’s late…"

There was one TikToker who simply just couldn't understand financing a vehicle where a lender has the ability to remotely disable it: "What kind of car y’all be having where they can cut it off" they pondered.

Do you own or have ever owned a car that would allow a dealership to remotely disable it? Is that something you're going to be checking your finance agreement carefully for before signing on the dotted line for a new vehicle? Would this kind of practice make you reluctant to purchase a vehicle from somewhere?