Dealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
This is about dealerships pre-installing an alarm system and trying to upsell people at paperwork signing. If they turn down the option, the dealers just don’t activate the alarm system. Some dealers are shadier about it than others. I went into final docs signing without ever being told about the $600 option and only barely noticed it before I signed. I was like, “uhhh, what’s this?” Luckily I was aware of other bullshit upcharges dealers tack on like underbody coatings and stuff, so I made sure to go line by line on the price. $600 for an alarm that could be bought for $200, plus I think it also had a recurring yearly fee for it.
So all of those people were informed that their vehicle did have this privacy and security invasion. There was just no way to have it uninstalled.
It’s the shop management software. The shop owner is a friend, he tells me he could disable that feature for me, but he gets paid a little bit every time the free offer is sent out. I think it’s just funny. Maybe one of these days we’ll turn it on before going on a long road trip just to have satellite radio to play with on the highway, but around normal life I have zero use for subscription radio.
This is about dealerships pre-installing an alarm system and trying to upsell people at paperwork signing. If they turn down the option, the dealers just don’t activate the alarm system. Some dealers are shadier about it than others. I went into final docs signing without ever being told about the $600 option and only barely noticed it before I signed. I was like, “uhhh, what’s this?” Luckily I was aware of other bullshit upcharges dealers tack on like underbody coatings and stuff, so I made sure to go line by line on the price. $600 for an alarm that could be bought for $200, plus I think it also had a recurring yearly fee for it.
So all of those people were informed that their vehicle did have this privacy and security invasion. There was just no way to have it uninstalled.
When I get an oil change now I also get “three free months” of Sirrius Satellite radio… racket and a half subscription seeking scum.
Time to find a different place to get your oil changed.
It’s the shop management software. The shop owner is a friend, he tells me he could disable that feature for me, but he gets paid a little bit every time the free offer is sent out. I think it’s just funny. Maybe one of these days we’ll turn it on before going on a long road trip just to have satellite radio to play with on the highway, but around normal life I have zero use for subscription radio.