Wheel theft is not a rare occurrence, it's a an opportunistic crime that affects dealership country wide. For many, this repetitive operational issue leads to silently absorbing cost until it reaches an unsustainable level.
When theft becomes a six-figure Business risk
The losses are never just limited to direct cost but additional, compounding costs including:
- Insurance excesses and rising premiums
- Vehicle value reduction due to mandatory damage disclosure
- Extended floorplan exposure
For many dealerships this is a six figure problem per year. Wheel theft is not just a security issue, it presents long term effects on business profitability.
Why doing everything Right still isn’t enough
Across the industry the use of standard security measures is common but unfortunately wheel theft is still a persistent issue. Many standard measures are built to observe and respond and the truth is, response time is of little use once the theft is already completed.
Solutions such as tight vehicle parking not only takes valuable time to execute, it affects the showing of the car negatively. Similarly, fenced off lots are not as open and welcoming as one would want and CCTV monitoring is simply not effective on their own and both come with a significant investment.
From Recovery to Prevention
To be able to shift focus, there needs to be a solution that align with the dealership's reality and needs. One that effectively stops the theft without interfering with business operations - preferably adding value not only the dealership but also the customer.
Inventory Protection That Fits the Way Dealerships Operate
Through our Dealership Inventory Protection Program (DIPP), we stop wheel theft while at the same time, eliminating the common drawbacks associated with the problem, introducing a sustainable system with real longevity.
For dealerships with similar concerns and issues, (DIPP) is built to provide you with the following:
- Easy to install at scale
- No impact on vehicle presentation
- No delays to sales readiness
- Reusable across inventory
- Natural addition to the accessory range
We aim to form the foundation of how inventory should be secured and managed rather than providing security that reacts to loss.
As one dealership partner described it:
"we were having problems finding cars missing alloy wheels, tires, and no no matter what we did the thieves were always one step ahead ahead of us"
When Inventory Protection Becomes Customer Value
Security doesn’t have to be a sunk cost. In fact security can be mutually beneficial for the dealership and their customers. (DIPP) enables dealerships to protect inventory at scale while offering Rimgard as a value-added upsell at the point of purchase.
Its not just a product, but an operating model. This program provides dealerships with 3 vital steps, security, sales and customer value. But more importantly its stops the loop of recovering losses and moves the focus towards real operational reform.
Wheel theft is an industry wide challenge but with the right mindset, structure, and tools, it does not have to remain an accepted cost of doing business.
