Deadbeat car owners beware. The used car dealers are getting clever with those people who aren’t making their car payments.
The new feature to disable deadbeats is a small black box mounted underneath the dashboard. When the light starts blinking, you’re in trouble. Presumably, your car shuts off in a matter of minutes and you won’t be able to restart it until you make your payment.

So this is what it’s come to, eh? Although it’s not the worst thing in the world, it does seem a little cruel. I think the feature should give you more warning before shutting down the vehicle.

But on the other hand, I can understand the dealers’ point of view. They probably get stiffed on a regular basis by people who simply won’t make their payments. That’s why they need to hire repo men to retrieve those vehicles with overdue payments.  As long as the customers know what they’re getting into when they buy these vehicles with the box, it seems like a perfectly viable option to keep dealers from having to repossess cars.

But if you do business with a certified Ford dealer, you probably won’t face this hassle. These vehicles come straight from the dealer’s used car inventory, and they generally attract a more responsible clientele. Don’t mess around with subprime car dealers. Stick with the names and dealers you can trust.