Automotive key management systems benefit dealerships in many ways, such as saving time and money, but having a key bank can also save you trouble of another kind – theft. Unfortunately for many dealers, theft is an unavoidable risk so having a automatic key bank system can help ensure keys remain safe.

Stories of theft from dealerships appear regularly in the news, with two occurring recently. In Milpitas, California, a 24-year-old woman from San Jose has been accused of attempted car theft after trying to steal a vehicle from a dealership last Thursday. Police were called to South Bay Honda early in the morning and adverted a theft when the woman, Shay Artiaga, was found driving one of the dealership’s vehicles through an adjacent lot, trying to find a way out onto the road. An Urbandale, Iowa, dealership was not as lucky. On July 18, two thieves broke through a service door at Charles Gabus Ford using a truck, and drove away with both their truck and another vehicle. It can only be assumed the keys must have been left where they could easily be accessed.

The unfortunate fact is that, more likely than not, the stolen vehicle in the second news story will have been dismantled before police can find it, so the dealership in question will never get it back. While dealerships certainly insure their inventory, a theft may drive their insurance rate up. However, the saddest part about vehicle thefts from dealerships is that they don’t have to occur. Automotive key management systems can prevent thefts by ensuring that only authorized employees are able to access keys. These sturdy metal key boxes require identification such as a code or thumb print in order to access inventory keys, and also track who had which key last. That means your keys can be safe, and every employee can be held accountable if something should happen!

In fact, automotive key management systems work so well to keep inventory safe that using these systems at your dealership can possibly reduce your insurance rate. That means you can save time and money by never searching for lost keys, save the cost and headache of dealing with a potential theft, and save money on insurance at the same time! Talk about a winning situation!

Of course, there may be many dealership owners and general managers who think: “a theft like that won’t happen here.” However, it’s likely that managers at South Bay Honda and Charles Gabus Ford probably both thought the same thing. An ounce of caution is, as they say, worth a pound of cure. Don’t take unnecessary risks with your inventory.

Here at Security Key Automotive, we want the only news stories involving your dealership to be centered around soaring sales, big events, new store openings and the like. Let us show you how using automotive key management systems can be easy to use and affordable with our leasing options and two year warranty. Contact us today to learn more!