Auto Dealership Security Systems
Dealership surveillance fails when it is designed like a retail storefront. Auto dealerships combine large outdoor lots, high-value inventory, showroom traffic, service bays, and after-hours theft risk. This page is built around vehicle protection, dispute resolution, and operational visibility so coverage, retention, and platform selection support real dealership environments.
Dealership Lot Coverage and Retention Calculator
Estimate a starting camera count and storage impact based on outdoor lot size, vehicle drive lanes, gates, showroom and service activity, and retention goals. It separates evidence-critical cameras (drive lanes, gates, showroom entry, service write-up) from general lot coverage because those zones typically require tighter fields of view and more consistent exposure to produce usable identification.
Coverage and Storage Estimator
Lot-first + lane evidenceModels outdoor lot coverage separately from lane and doorway evidence cameras to reduce the most common dealership failure: broad lot views that look fine live, but do not identify vehicles or people when incidents occur.
How to interpret the estimate
- Lot coverage is typically layered: overview cameras for awareness plus tighter views at high-risk rows and access points.
- Drive lanes and gates are evidence zones. If you need plate capture, treat it as a purpose-built lane camera, not a wide-lot camera.
- Service disputes often require cameras at write-up lanes, bay activity, and parts access rather than only lot coverage.
- Night conditions drive bitrate. Poor lighting and headlights can increase storage and reduce usable detail without correct placement.
Most common dealership failure mode
A few ultra-wide cameras are used to cover the entire lot. The result is video that looks fine in live view but does not identify people, does not resolve plates reliably, and produces weak evidence at night.
Dealership Coverage Priorities That Protect Inventory
Vehicle Lots and Perimeter
Outdoor inventory is the primary theft target. Coverage should prioritize lot lanes, fence lines, and vehicle rows with lighting-aware design for after-hours visibility.
Showroom and Sales Areas
Interior coverage should document customer interactions, vehicle movement, and transaction zones without creating blind spots near entry points.
Service Bays and Parts Departments
Service disputes and parts theft require consistent coverage of work areas, tool storage, and customer drop-off zones with usable detail.
Gate Access and After-Hours Risk
Entry gates and vehicle exits should capture identifiable detail under low light and support investigation of unauthorized access.
Retention Planning for High-Value Inventory
Vehicle-related incidents may not be discovered immediately. Retention planning should reflect dealership operating hours, inventory value, and insurance requirements. Storage sizing depends on resolution, frame rate, and motion levels across large exterior areas.
Common dealership retention targets
- 30 days for general lot and showroom coverage
- 60 days for higher-value or higher-risk locations
- Longer retention where insurance carriers require it
Dealership Bundle Options
Start with a bundle aligned to lot size and building footprint. These options align camera count, recording capacity, and core accessories for predictable deployment.
8-Camera Small Lot Kit
Core coverage for showroom entry, perimeter, and primary lot lanes.
16-Camera Mid-Size Dealership System
Balanced coverage for lot, showroom, service, and controlled access points.
32-Camera Large Lot Deployment
Higher camera density for multi-acre lots and full-service facilities.
Want us to confirm lot coverage and retention?
Share lot size, building footprint, camera target, and retention requirement.
Auto Dealership Surveillance FAQ
Dealership environments have unique failure modes: reflective glass, extreme day/night transitions, wide lots with long sightlines, and evidence needs tied to vehicle movement and customer interactions. These questions cover the decisions that drive usable outcomes.
What are the highest priority cameras for a dealership?
Start with entrances and line-of-travel into the property, then cover the showroom entry, service write-up lanes, cashier or parts counter, and any controlled access doors to keys, inventory, and offices. These zones typically produce the highest value evidence and are where poor placement is most costly.
How do I cover a large outdoor lot without unusable video?
Avoid trying to do everything with a few ultra-wide cameras. Wide views reduce identification quality and make plate capture unreliable. The best approach is to layer coverage: a few overview cameras for situational awareness, plus tighter fields of view at drive lanes, gate lines, and high-risk rows where vehicle movement or after-hours activity is most likely.
Do dealerships need LPR cameras?
If you need reliable identification of vehicles entering, exiting, or moving through a drive lane, purpose-built license plate capture is usually the right tool. Standard cameras often struggle at night due to headlights, reflective plates, and motion blur. LPR works best when the camera is placed for a controlled angle, controlled distance, and consistent lane behavior.
What retention should a dealership plan for?
Many dealerships target 30 days as a baseline due to delayed discovery of lot incidents, customer disputes, or service-bay claims. Longer retention may be appropriate if you have frequent incident reviews, multiple locations, or you need to support recurring investigations. Storage sizing should be validated against outdoor motion and night bitrate behavior.
Why do dealership cameras look fine in the day but fail at night?
Night failures usually come from exposure decisions and lighting realities: headlights, reflective paint, glass, and uneven lot lighting create blown highlights and deep shadows. The right fix is usually placement and field-of-view control, combined with strong low-light performance and WDR behavior, not simply higher resolution.
Can you recommend a starting system without a full site plan?
Yes. A good starting recommendation usually only needs approximate lot size, building layout, number of drive lanes, key control location, service bay count, and a retention target. If you share where incidents tend to happen, we can prioritize coverage and recommend a phased approach that avoids blind spots and retention surprises.
Want us to validate lot coverage and retention?
Share dealership type, approximate lot size, drive lane count, and retention target. We will recommend a system pattern and confirm tradeoffs.
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