Providing Peace of Mind
Bill Long · September 16, 2022
Beyond our affordable loans for reliable cars, On the Road Lending provides several additional products that offer peace of mind, help save money, and even protect cars from theft. We want every person who gets a loan with us to be successful in repaying it to either establish or reestablish their credit. The reliability of the vehicles we finance along with the additional products we offer provide each person we serve with the opportunity to feel confident that they will have transportation available to them and their family.
One of the additional products we offer is GPS tracking. We ask all our clients to have this installed on their car within the first week or two of their loan. We assume that each person who gets a loan with us will pay us back in full, and the vast majority do. The primary reason we install the GPS is to protect the vehicle. Having reliable transportation is not only knowing that your vehicle is in good repair but also that it is available to use. We have had clients whose cars have been stolen, and we’ve used the GPS locator to find the car and ultimately have it returned by the police to the client. This happened again just this past month, and the vehicle was recovered with no damage. We located the vehicle and had it returned to the client within just a few hours! This enabled our client to continue with their daily routine pretty much uninterrupted.
Imagine having your car stolen and never recovered and the stress that would cause—not knowing how you will get to work or get your children to school. Simple things like going to the grocery store just became complicated. Taking Uber or the bus is expensive or inconvenient. And the cost of replacing the car can be overwhelming to an already stretched budget. Having that GPS tracking is an extra layer of protection from this scenario.
Some insurance companies are even providing discounts to our clients due to this service, which means they’re saving money each time the premium is paid. Some insurance companies are starting to use telematic data to determine safe driving skills and offer lower rates based on their use. We’re looking for additional partnerships that may help our clients in this way as well. I believe this type of tracking will become more readily available in the future. Having the data that trackers can provide us could even open up opportunities for additional investments and funding sources that will grow our programs and help more families in the future.