Retrieving Vehicular Collateral via Wi-Fi

A method for using Wi-Fi to remotely retrieve a vehicle that is collateral for a loan, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) installing a Wi-Fi transceiver on a vehicle;
• b) storing location data for the vehicle, wherein the location data allows for a determination of the vehicle's location;
• c) establishing a first Wi-Fi link between the installed Wi-Fi transceiver and a first Wi-Fi node that is within Wi-Fi range of the installed Wi-Fi transceiver;
• d) sending the stored location data over the first Wi-Fi link toward a publicly routable Internet address;
• e) predicting a location for the vehicle from information contained in the location data, wherein the predicted location is associated with a predicted time, and wherein the predicted time is not prior to the time at which the prediction is made;
• f) monitoring the status of a loan that is secured by the vehicle;
• and
• g) retrieving the vehicle at the predicted location after the loan enters default.

A method for using Wi-Fi to remotely disable a vehicle at a specific location, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) installing an electronic device on a vehicle, wherein the electronic device is capable of gathering information about the location of the vehicle and transmitting data over a Wi-Fi link;
• b) storing location data for the vehicle, wherein the location data allows for a determination of the vehicle's location;
• c) establishing a first Wi-Fi link between the installed device and a first Wi-Fi node that is within range of the installed device;
• d) sending the stored location data over the first Wi-Fi link toward a publicly routable Internet address;
• e) predicting a location for the vehicle from information contained in the location data, wherein the predicted location is associated with a predicted time, and wherein the predicted time is not prior to the time at which the prediction is made;
• and
• f) sending a command to the installed device, wherein the command instructs the installed device to disable the vehicle at the predicted location.