Filed under: Car Buying, Gadgets
PayTeck Smart Box: "No pay, no start"
An article in USA
Today profiles a controversial device called the PayTeck Smart Box that accepts a five-digit code given to a vehicle
owner when his or her car payment is made. If a payment's not made and the code isn't entered, the device disables the
vehicle's ability to start after a four-day grace period. Leading up to that point the system will notify the driver of
an impending due date with green and red lights on the keypad and audible chirps.
The Smart Box benefits car dealers specializing in high-risk loans and ensures that a person's car payment instantly
becomes a priority over that month's WWE Pay-Per-View. In the interest of safety the device won't turn off a running
motor and only disables a motor at 4AM when a car is likely to be parked at home. There's even the ability to punch in
an emergency code that enables the car to start again for 24 hours.
While I personally wouldn't enjoy having the PayTeck Smart Box put the smackdown on my personal mobility, I sure
wouldn't forget to have that check in the mail.
Inomaly.com has a nice breakdown of the device here, as
well.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dna 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
major crap technology! have seen these used in cincinnati area. they are bad. don't work half the time. even with right codes-lots of problems.
and once car is paid for they are hard to remove and rewire. avoid them like the plague!
take a cab,ride the bus, save you money and pay cash!
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Shawn 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Here's an idea...pay your stinkin' bills. If you screwed yourself over to the point that you have to buy a car with these things slapped in, it isn't the dealer or the bank's fault.
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Peter 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
It must've been a slow news day, seeing as how USAToday "discovered" devices that have been in use for years. They even acknowledge as such, with the mention of the 1999 lawsuit.
Right now only the worst "roach motel" used car dealerships seem to use these devices, for people who couldn't get credit otherwise. I could see their use becoming more widespread if they're offered as tradeoffs for lower interest rates for both used and new cars. For example, you apply for credit at a Ford dealership and Ford Motor Credit agrees to finance you at 16% without the device, 12% with it. That would open up a much larger market.
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Mad Anthony 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
If the boxes don't work, I could see complaining, but I don't think privacy rights people have any right to complain. I mean, people are agreeing to use the devices, and it's not like they don't know about them.
And until your car is paid off, it's not your car - it's the dealerships.
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Corey W. 11:07PM (12/18/2005)
Amazing!! .... I would never agree to any device that would disable my car without my input, if pushed I would just use the damn bus!! ;-)
These days, between insurance and some of the restrictive rules lenders are applying to financed vehicles, you would be better off just saving up and paying for the car with cash...
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