The High Cost of Oversight: A $76,000 Lesson for Auto Dealers

We met with a dealer the other day who told an alarming tale. A customer came into the store interested in purchasing a vehicle. They provided their driver’s license, that the dealership promptly validated with an ID scanner, and seemingly current insurance cards. With all appearing to be in order, the customer took delivery of the vehicle. However, one week later, tragedy struck; the car was totaled in an accident, leaving the dealer with a staggering $76,000 capital loss on the vehicle. Adding insult to the injury, the $18,000 profit on the vehicle was forfeited. All of this was preventable.

It turned out that the customer’s driver’s license was invalid. This rendered them uninsurable, leading to the cancellation of their auto insurance coverage well prior to the customer’s visit to the dealership. The subsequent fallout meant the finance company refrained from funding the deal, making the dealership bear the entire loss.

Such incidents aren’t rare at Gather; each is preventable. We frequently encounter dealers who, despite their diligence in verifying customer identity and insurance, end up facing unexpected losses. These setbacks manifest in various ways. While sometimes it’s a result of intentional fraud, at other times, it's a mere oversight.

Dealers need the tools and systems in place salespeople can easily utilize to catch issues like these before the customer takes delivery of the vehicle. Gather’s technology fulfills this role seamlessly though Gather’s DMS integration. Once you’ve reached a deal with your car buying customer, Gather steps in to digitally verify the identity of the customer and the status of their car insurance coverage. Gather then digitally notifies the customer’s insurance carrier of the new car purchase and a desire to place the vehicle onto their policy.

Moreover, some forward-thinking dealers have started employing the Gather Guarantee™ on their sales, guaranteeing that any mishap before the deal concludes doesn’t hold the dealership financially responsible.

In today's fast-paced automotive industry, taking precautionary measures isn't just an option; it's a necessity. The heavy price of a single oversight can be catastrophic, both financially and reputationally. Dealerships must equip themselves with the right tools to navigate the intricate and sometimes deceptive world of customer verification. This is where Gather's cutting-edge technology steps in, acting as a safety net, ensuring that every deal is as secure as it appears on paper.