Frequently Asked GPS Questions:

Who is STARS GPS?

STARS GPS was founded over a decade ago in Thomasville, North Carolina to help automotive dealers and lenders reduce risks when financing subprime consumers. We bring more than 75 years of combined industry experience to the market, helping automotive lenders stay compliant while connecting customers to the vehicles they always wanted.

We’ve had so much success in helping our customers protect their inventory and drive more profits to their bottom line, that we are now expanding our services nationwide.

What is the STARS GPS Solution and how does it work?

The STARS GPS real-time tracking solution consistent of a small yet durable GPS tracking device that transfers data every 5 minutes to our robust software using the Verizon network. With 5 minute updates, automotive lenders are able to monitor and track their collateral in real-time.

Why STARS GPS over other GPS service providers in the market?

STARS GPS has invested heavily in our leading edge SaaS networking platform — now powered by the Verizon network. We’ve spent the last 10 years building our reputation with automotive lenders throughout the southeast helping them put more credit challenged consumers into more cars. We know the vehicle finance business, and are always looking for new ways to deliver the best. In fact, we are the only GPS service provider that includes a recovery assurance warranty with every STARS GPS installed.

Don’t all GPS service providers’ offer real-time tracking?

Well, everyone says they offer real-time GPS tracking; however, STARS GPS includes real-time updates throughout the day whereas the others on give you one snapshot of your inventory within a 24 hour period.

When you use STARS GPS, you get real-time updates every 5 minutes. There’s no additional charge. That’s 287 more locates per day than any other GPS service providers offer in the country. STARS GPS customers have fewer risks because they know where their collateral is every 5 minutes – 24/7. Now you can get more locates from the other guys too, but you have to pay extra for it.

What about Coverage?

STARS GPS devices are certified and powered by Verizon. Our customers get the best coverage in the country including in rural and remote areas.

In addition, STARS GPS devices never stop collecting data even in areas without cellular coverage. This means you will always know where your collateral has been.

Let’s take a customer that lives in a mountainous region or even a remote area where there is very weak or even no wireless coverage. The STARS GPS device is still collecting location information; it’s just not able to transmit it without connectivity. Once the vehicle starts moving and gets within cellular range again, all the locate information it had collected is now available.

What is the Big Bucks Back Recovery Assurance Warranty?

STARS GPS is offering the industry’s first Vehicle Recovery Warranty!

With STARS GPS Big Bucks Back Assurance Guarantee Warranty, we promise to pay for the value of our customer’s vehicle up to $10,000*, if we are unable to locate it or the borrower(s). And best of all, we include this warranty with every STARS GPS device installed! Contact us for more details.

Does STARS GPS include payment reminder features?

Yes. With STARS GPS, customers have the ability to activate, on-demand, a payment reminder inside the vehicle.

This feature, combined with our disclosure training techniques at loan origination, has been proven to solve 50% - 60% of collection issues. The buzzer is included as standard equipment with the STARS GPS system and is embedded inside the unit itself. Other service providers offer an add-on buzzer that is housed in the wiring harness and is available at an additional cost of at least $10.00.

How do you ensure Service Availability?

Unlike public cloud environments that battle for priority, STARS GPS private cloud supports only our customers and applications with no interference from other users. This dedicated, highly secure environment protected at Amazon's data center ensures higher availability and faster delivery of service.

How scalable is your solution?

We can increase capacity to meet additional and even unexpected demand on the fly. We’ve made significant investments in our infrastructure to ensure our platform will grow seamlessly with our customer base and with the growth of their businesses. Our teams of IT professionals’ not only perform capacity management, they also make sure to we have double the capacity of our peak demand at all times.

Can STARS GPS integrate with any other applications?

Our dynamic framework was designed using the latest high-performance technologies specifically focused on extensibility. We use a REST API to allow for maximum flexibility and abstraction between our systems. This is what enables REST API customers and developers to integrate with us as well as for us to build an interface to them.

The warranty for other GPS service providers starts at the time they are shipped. Some companies will allow a three-month shelf life before installation but will only warranty their units from shipping date. Our warranty starts the day you install the unit, and not a minute before!

How are you protecting my data?

STARS GPS’ private cloud supports only our customers and applications with no interference from other users. We use firewalls and VPN connections to allow only authorized access, which is executed through HTTPS (encrypted) connections. We also have a team of IT professionals who constantly scan and monitor our systems for security breaches.

What happens if my car battery dies?

Our unit maintains two backup power sources. First, a super cap conductor is installed on the board itself, which stores power from the vehicle battery. This is your first defense against power loss, low power, and tampering situations and generates notification of any unusual detection of power manipulation. Second, our internal backup battery is a nickel hydride, automotive approved battery. This allows for tracking beyond the moment when the vehicle battery power is lost. Our battery is completely programmable to your specifications via our website to allow for precise monitoring of the vehicle battery conditions and, depending on the programming, will last from 8 to 48 hours.

This technology is included as part of our full featured system. Other companies charge $10.00 extra for a lithium ion backup battery that is subject to failure in extreme heat situations. Our testing has already shown that temperatures inside automobiles can reach 200 degrees. Lithium ion batteries will begin to reach their limit and can breach their casing at 145 degrees.

What type of warranty comes with the GPS device?

STARS GPS’ device warranty is 12 months from the date of activation, which is at the time of installation. There is no penalty for units remaining ‘on the shelf’ for any extended period of time.

What if my vehicle is towed?
This technology embedded on our board allows our unit to perform two additional features. 

First is our power save mode. When the unit detects no physical movement for a period of about 11 minutes, our unit goes to sleep and reduces the power draw to less than 6 milliamps. This reduced power draw prevents the drain of any vehicle battery. The unit will wake-up when it is tracked or when it detects physical movement. 

Secondly, any unit that has been put into ‘disable’ mode will be added to our Tamper/Movement Alert feature. Consequently, the lender will be automatically notified of any unauthorized movement of any vehicle that has had its starter disabled.