For the first time, the average price of a new car in the U.S. has hit $50,000 according to Kelley Blue Book. For auto dealers, this surge in price can be seen as both a blessing and a curse: while margins may have improved, the soaring value of vehicles has also turned dealership lots into prime targets for thieves.
And there’s growing evidence that criminals have noticed. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that over 850,000 cars were stolen in 2024, and though that was lower than 2023’s record-breaking haul of over 1 million stolen vehicles, price surges bring increased concerns of attracting thieves’ attention. With catalytic converter thefts, parts resale, and organized lot burglaries still on the rise, dealerships are now among the most attractive targets in the automotive ecosystem.
Yet the most alarming trend isn’t just the crime, it’s how often dealers are unknowingly left defenseless against it.
The Hidden Weak Point in Dealership Security
Many dealers invest heavily in security measures such as cameras, motion sensors, and deterrence systems, believing that technology will keep their inventory protected. But security systems are only as effective as they are reliable, and uptime has quietly become the Achilles’ heel of dealerships’ physical security.
Across industries, businesses experience an average of 86 outages a year. That may appear minor on paper, but for a dealership where each vehicle is worth tens of thousands of dollars, even a single lapse can carry serious consequences. A few hours of downtime, especially during vulnerable night hours, can translate to thousands or hundreds of thousands in lost inventory and a permanent blind spot in any investigation.
When cameras, alarms, or access controls go offline, dealerships don’t simply lose visibility, they lose their first line of defense. If a theft or an act of vandalism occurs during the downtime gap, there’s no video evidence to provide for an insurance claim or to assist law enforcement in finding the culprit.
Downtime Creates Opportunity and Liability
Even brief bursts of downtime can have long-lasting consequences. Many of today’s criminals have become increasingly tech-savvy, often studying patterns in security coverage or system failures to exploit holes. Insider threats, when disgruntled-but-knowledgeable staff members exploit their intimacy with business operations, can come into play to assist external actors to steal during downtime windows.
Beyond the immediate loss of property, downtime can ripple through the business:
- Insurance complications: Missing footage can delay or deny claims.
- Reputation damage: Customers lose confidence when security lapses make the news.
- Operational disruption: Investigations, repairs, and system resets consume staff time and resources.
In short, the problem isn’t always a lack of technology. It’s a lack of awareness when technology stops working.
Turning Uptime into a Security KPI
For many years, device and system uptime have been treated as a metric for IT teams to monitor. However, in the context of today’s ballooning vehicle values, uptime is a security KPI, determining whether a system is performing its underlying function: protecting people, property, and profitability.
That’s why continuous device health monitoring, where every camera, sensor, and connection is tracked in real time, is a crucial aspect of modern security systems. If a camera disconnects or a network drops, systems should be empowered to flag the issue immediately, often before the dealer is even aware.
This proactive approach is what separates a secure dealership from a vulnerable one. It’s not about replacing human oversight or piling on more hardware; it’s about ensuring that the safeguards already in place are actually working when they’re needed most.
Reliability as a New Deterrent
In the automotive industry, uptime already defines operational excellence. Dealers measure it in their systems, websites, and financing tools, because any downtime costs sales. The same mindset must now apply to security systems.
A dealership’s reputation depends not only on the quality of the cars it sells but also on the trust it maintains with customers and insurers. When an incident occurs, video evidence and system reliability can make the difference between swift resolution and costly fallout. Uptime, in this sense, is not just a technical term, it’s a promise that the dealership is always watching, always accountable, and always protected.
Always On Is the Only Option
As vehicle values climb and theft rates rise, dealers can no longer afford to treat security uptime as an afterthought. Every minute a camera or alarm is offline represents a potential financial loss, reputational hit, or compliance failure.
When every vehicle on the lot is worth tens of thousands of dollars, the true measure of security isn’t just what your cameras can see. It’s ensuring they’re always watching.
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