Why Rental Cars are Tracked

Common sense proposes that individuals will not loan out their vehicle to a stranger, yet that is what rental car agencies do as a business. Just like individuals pose a risk of their vehicle getting abandoned, lost, or stolen by a random renter, rental companies assume these risks and attempt to minimize costs and paperwork by installing a rental car tracker. A rental car GPS is not added or installed to leased vehicles to purposely listen in or spy on renters. Simply put, it is a standard loss-prevention business strategy known as asset tracking that companies utilize that comes with added benefits.

Mutual Benefits

Renters are generally more satisfied with their vehicle lease when a rental car GPS is included to help them navigate and route areas. The essential GPS function allows users to freely access global satellite imaging or maps to get directional or positional insights. Such GPS functions may also readily come with purchasing the vehicle, which would not make much business sense for a rental agency to pay to remove it. Therefore, rental agencies reap ongoing customer satisfaction benefits of a no-additional cost vehicular feature.

Return on Investment

Even though standard GPS displays and functions may come with a car, rental agencies are not allowed to get real-time location information on their leased vehicle through factory-installed settings. Thus, businesses must build a compatible tracking management system (TMS) or purchase one to track their moving assets. TMS is an expensive upfront business investment that will not have immediate returns. Then, rental agencies will buy a car, and have TMS directly installed into the vehicle’s hardware or add a rental car tracker to an electric port, which businesses may assume additional business costs for professional installment or training to inform workers on how to install it properly with every new vehicle. Otherwise, improper installment will prevent adequate TMS connection and network feeds and accrue further re-installment costs.

Asset Protection

Having such tracking capabilities not only assists with loss prevention but also helps rental agencies receive verification or maintenance alerts, such as when a driver goes over allotted mileage allowances, or an oil change is needed to be done soon, respectively. Other verification features include that the exact leased vehicle is returned, and its parts were not removed or swapped out. Essentially, a rental car GPS is an attempt made by organizations to deter and prevent costly mishandling of their vehicles, as the monthly licensing, operational, and service costs on even a single is severely less if that vehicle becomes unusable if it is missing or from tampering.

Technological Responsibilities

When a renter forgets to lock the vehicle after returning it, renting agencies can remotely lock it to prevent theft. Otherwise, a renting agency may have geo-zoning where if a leased vehicle is returned to one of their locations, the car may lock automatically after being shut off for a specific time. Or, if a renter accidentally locks themselves out of the vehicle, a quick call to the rental agency can get the car remotely unlocked. Temporary remote access is convenient and can also be used in emergencies, such as the vehicle needing to be turned off after an accident. Added logistics, in case of an accident or emergency, may prompt a car rental business to contact the renter or authorized contacts to be of assistance or get the renter the help they need following a received alert.