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Jessica Mendoza
Last month, our colleague Scott Calvert spent the night out and about in a tow truck.
Scott Calvert
We went out. It was a Wednesday evening. It was in a part of Maryland that's roughly between Washington and Baltimore. And we were on the road for hours, just driving around with these repo men.
Jessica Mendoza
Repo men, it's their job to repossess vehicles when their owners can't make their car payments. If you see them in your driveway, something's gone wrong.
Scott Calvert
And they are going from location to location, and they are essentially on the hunt. You know, the whole time they are looking for cars that are eligible to be repossessed. And when they find them, they, you know, hook them up to their tow truck and drive them back to the lot.
Jessica Mendoza
Scott joined a repo man named George Dowdy on one of his hunts. George is 47. He's been a repo man for about a decade. That night, George had an assignment. He was looking for a Chevy Trax.
George Dowdy
There it is.
Jessica Mendoza
George got out of the truck and double checked that it was the right car. He checked the license plate, the vehicle identification number, the make, model, and color, everything.
George Dowdy
I think. I think that's it. I think the VIN was 911.
Jessica Mendoza
And George got to work backing up the truck and lowering the boom on the back. All the while, he was on the phone with colleagues back in the office.
George Dowdy
Jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle. Yeah, I found it. It's on the street.
Jessica Mendoza
Soon, the Chevy was ready to be towed.
George Dowdy
All right, let me put some straps on it and get the heck out of here.
Scott Calvert
All right, so that took all of, like, under a minute.
George Dowdy
It doesn't take long. Like I said, as long as you're not.
Jessica Mendoza
These quick grab repos are happening more and more throughout the country because these days, more and more Americans are missing their car payments.
Scott Calvert
And if you fall far enough behind on your car payments, maybe a few months, the bank or whoever your lender is is going to want to try to claw that car back. And, and what that means is when all is said and done, that means a repossession company has to go out and get it. But, you know, but the way they see it is they have a job to do and they're performing a service that's needed as part of the ecosystem of auto finance. Right? There's somebody's gotta go and get these cars if people don't pay for their car.
Jessica Mendoza
And right now, the repo business is booming. Welcome to the journal. Our show about money, business and power for. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Friday, November 14th coming up on the show A Night shift with the Repo Man. This episode is presented by SAP. A bad storm hitting your warehouse, Incomplete customs forms, A short supply of those little plastic twist ties. These could all deal a crushing setback to your business, but they don't have to. The AI powered capabilities of SAP will help you navigate uncertainty. You can pivot to new suppliers, automate paperwork, and source the twist ties you need so your business can stay unstoppable. Learn more@SAP.com Uncertainty.
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This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. It's about finding someone with the right skills and background who can move your business forward. And a good way to start your search is with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It's one of the best ways to make your job post stand out and reach the candidates you're looking for faster. According to INDEED data, Sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed are 90% more likely to report a hire than non sponsored jobs. Plus, there's no monthly subscriptions or long term contracts. You're only paying for results. Find the candidates who check all your boxes faster with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com journal. That's Indeed.com journal right now. And support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com journal terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with indeed.
Jessica Mendoza
So more Americans are falling behind on their car payments. Why is that? What's going on?
Scott Calvert
Essentially what's been happening is, you know, car prices have been really high and so it's been harder for people to afford to buy cars lately. They're having to take out longer loans. A lot of people are buying used cars and their monthly payments might be higher, larger than they can really handle. And wages have been stagnant. We all know that inflation has been high. So groceries and things like that are costing a lot. And so it's just the simple math that there are more and more people who can't make their payment, right?
Jessica Mendoza
And it's just sort of a question of priorities too, right? If you're trying to choose between your grocery bill, your car payment, you know, maybe you choose food instead of transportation, right?
Scott Calvert
I mean, I think for something's got to give, you know, depending on how tight things get, A lot of the.
Jessica Mendoza
Car loans that Americans are falling behind on are subprime loans. These are loans that are typically given out to people with lower Credit scores. Scott says that this year, more than 6% of subprime loans are overdue by 60 days or more, a record suggesting that more Americans in the lower end of the economic ladder are struggling. And more people missing car payments means more repossessions.
Scott Calvert
Last year, there were an estimated 1.73 million vehicle repossessions nationwide. That was the most since 2009. 2009 was in the depths of that recession.
Jessica Mendoza
The great recession.
Scott Calvert
Yeah, the great recession, yeah. And so the fact that repos were pretty close to that number last year, that gives you an indication of the situation.
Jessica Mendoza
Scott wanted to learn more about the army of repo men hunting for those almost 2 million vehicles. So he paid a visit to Speed King's recovery. That's Kings with a Z.
Scott Calvert
The folks who are involved have been in the repo industry for decades. And when I went out there Wednesday night, there was sort of a festive atmosphere. The co owner was grilling steaks. They had a fire pit, and so there was a nice sort of fire going. And all around were these cars that have been repoed inside a fence with barbed wire on it. But what's interesting to me is when you look around the lot, there are a broad range of cars. You know, there was a late model BMW and a Porsche and Range Rover, along with a lot of more, you know, run of the mill cars. So it really does kind of run the gamut.
Jessica Mendoza
The cars came from various Parts of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. where speed kings operates. Each car represents a payday.
Scott Calvert
They get roughly $275 on average per car. And from that, the drivers get roughly between $75 and $90 per car. That's their commission. But beyond that, they've got, you know, all the overhead. They've got, they've got fuel because these trucks are driving around a lot. They've got wear and tear and all that. And so, you know, I think it's a fairly low margin business, which is why the volume is so critical.
Jessica Mendoza
Speed kings operates five big black tow trucks decorated with decals of a crown, the company's logo, and a couple of slogans.
Scott Calvert
On the rear window of the cab. They've got this stenciled lettering that says, Creepin while you sleepin'. And one of the trucks also has another message on the back of it. Don't make it, we take it. Which is essentially a message of how they operate. I guess it's sort of a threat or a promise, depending on how you look at it.
Jessica Mendoza
And you got to ride on one of these Tow trucks. What was it like inside?
Scott Calvert
My first impression when I climbed in was that this is like a mobile command center. You know, it was surprising to me, maybe it shouldn't have been. But I was struck by the technology that he had on board.
Jessica Mendoza
This is not your grandfather's repo man, right?
Scott Calvert
It's definitely not.
Jessica Mendoza
The cabin of the tow truck looks almost like a cop car. There was a laptop on the center console and two smartphones glowing with apps that showed possible locations for cars. This mobile command center helps repo men like George Dowdy track down their targets. After George found the Chevy Trax, he set his sights on another target, a Toyota Corolla. The apps pointed him to where the Corolla might be parked. An apartment complex in Virginia Main Street.
George Dowdy
So this place here is huge. This apartment complex is very large.
Jay Cavanas
Oh, wow.
George Dowdy
We tend to get quite a few cars up for possession. It's a big parking lot, and they even have their own 7:11.
Jessica Mendoza
As George drives around the lot, a beeping sound fills the cabin. It's coming from the laptop. Mounted to either side of the truck are a set of cameras. They're there to scan every single license.
Scott Calvert
Plate that comes into view and that's connected to a laptop that's in the cab of the tow truck. And all of this data is flowing into the laptop sort of in real time. And every time it goes past a car, it goes ding, ding, ding. It almost sounds like a supermarket scanner. And just to give you an idea, one of the drivers, the agents, repossession agents. That night, over the course of that one evening, his truck's cameras scanned and photographed about 21,000 license plates.
Jessica Mendoza
21,000.
Scott Calvert
21,000.
Jessica Mendoza
Oh, my gosh.
Scott Calvert
Yeah, just in one evening.
Jessica Mendoza
Every time a car is scanned, the laptop cross references it with a database of cars marked for repossession. George keeps an ear on the beeps coming from his laptop.
Scott Calvert
When it gets what it thinks might be a hit, it makes a different sound. It's sort of a squawk. And the screen of the laptop, which shows the pictures of these cars as they're photographing them, that screen turns red. And that's an indication that, you know, this might be a car that they're.
Jessica Mendoza
Looking for in the parking lot. The squawk never comes. The Corolla is somewhere else. And George decides to move on. He'll get the Corolla some other day. George gets on the highway en route to another potential target. And on the way there, he hears it.
George Dowdy
That's the noise you get when you've gone ahead.
Scott Calvert
Okay, so that was like the little siren sound we just heard what did it? And you don't know what it hit yet?
Jay Cavanas
No.
Jessica Mendoza
George looks around trying to find the car that triggered the alarm, but he doesn't see it.
George Dowdy
Okay, I guess we lost it.
Scott Calvert
Okay. Could it have been going the other direction? It was, ah, it was at 20. 20 Camry going the other direction.
George Dowdy
See, when you scan a car in the highway.
Scott Calvert
Yeah. It does no good because it's just. It's just gone.
George Dowdy
It's just gone, Right?
Scott Calvert
Yeah.
George Dowdy
The car's not going to be there in that same spot.
Scott Calvert
And I guess if you happen to drive by it tomorrow when it's parked, you'll get. It'll. It'll still go off, right.
George Dowdy
If it's parked, great. You know, this car is parked.
Jessica Mendoza
Even though more cars may be up for repossession these days, George says his job is tough.
George Dowdy
It's like reminds me of Where's Waldo?
Jessica Mendoza
Yeah.
George Dowdy
And it's like, because you think about it, they make so cars are mass produced. And it's like, you think about Toyotas and Hondas. How many Toyotas and Hondas do they sell a year?
Scott Calvert
Right.
George Dowdy
It's almost like you're trying to find one that looks like a million.
Scott Calvert
Right.
Jessica Mendoza
For repo men, that means scanning thousands of cars a night is key. It ups the volume. Later that night, Scott rode along with another repo man, Jay Cavanas.
Jay Cavanas
The business, it goes up and down, up and down. It means you gotta stay. We try our best to stay consistent. So that's the whole plan, is staying consistent.
Jessica Mendoza
Jay is 33 and has been in the business his entire career. When Scott met up with him, Jay had just brought in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Scott Calvert
And are you finding that that has been easier the last couple years or not? Like, is it? Like, is it.
Jay Cavanas
It's never easy searching for people.
Scott Calvert
Yeah.
Jay Cavanas
You search for something that's always moving, which is cars. It's hard to catch people.
Scott Calvert
Right.
Jessica Mendoza
Jay says he works 12 to 13 hour shifts, constantly looking for targets.
Jay Cavanas
If you stay inconsistent, you're searching, you're looking, you're going to find something. Yeah, like even with the cameras, I might just. Well, I'm go to Walmart and scan today. I'm going to find something at Walmart.
Scott Calvert
Oh, that sometimes happens all the time.
Jay Cavanas
Shopping centers, parking rides.
Scott Calvert
How much of a game changer are the cameras?
Jay Cavanas
Oh, I love it. It's like my own little office. It's going to lead me to you. It's going to lead me to something.
Jessica Mendoza
Beyond the nightly hunt for the right car. Repo men like Jay and George can occasionally run into the owners, and that doesn't always end. That's after the break.
Sponsor/Advertiser Voice
This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Hiring isn't just about finding someone willing to take the job. It's about finding someone with the right skills and background who can move your business forward. And a good way to start your search is with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It's one of the best ways to make your job post stand out and reach the candidates you're looking for faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed are 90% more likely to report a hire than non sponsored jobs. Plus there's no monthly subscriptions or long term contracts. You're only paying for results. Find the candidates who check all your boxes faster with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com journal. That's Indeed.com journal right now. And support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com journal terms and conditions Applying Hiring do it the Right way with Indeed.
Scott Calvert
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Jessica Mendoza
His Night with the repo men got my colleague Scott thinking about the role they play in society and the dangers they face.
Scott Calvert
They're not popular certainly with the people whose cars they're trying to take. It also to me underscored the fact that it's hard. It's hard work. Even though it's sort of boom times for the repo industry, right? And there's so many cars that are being repossessed and so many cars that are out there for the taking. You know, it still very much is this game of hide and seek. You know, the cars are out there, right? You just have to find them. People hide them in garages, they park them behind fences. And so it's really difficult work, you know, and that's even with all of this technology that they have supporting them.
Jessica Mendoza
Scott Says that there's a good reason that the Speed Kings guys operate at night and that one of their mottos is creeping while you sleep in. They want to avoid confrontation.
Scott Calvert
Well, there's just an inherent danger to this job because if you think about it, you know, when you, when you go to repossess a car, this is somebody who is going to lose their means of getting around. You know, how are they going to get their kids to school, how are they going to get themselves to work? And they might be in a pretty dark spot as it is because they're behind on their car payments. And then you add to that that here comes this tow truck at 2 in the morning and the potential for confrontation is really high.
Jessica Mendoza
George Dowdy has had to face his fair share of hostile owners. Once George was out on a job in rural Virginia and things got heated.
George Dowdy
I pulled down the driveway, I found the vehicle was sitting in the driveway. I back up to the vehicle. Gentleman comes out, the car was not his. It was registered to his girlfriend. I explained to him whose car, you know, I said, I'm here. Repossess her car. And he said, well, you're not taking the car at this point, I was already hooked up to the car. And he says, I'm going to get my gun. And then he tells her to go, close the gate. I'm out in the middle of nowhere.
Scott Calvert
Close the gate. Like basically lock you in.
George Dowdy
Lock me in on their property. Lock me in. She ran to the gate, locked the gate and stood at the gate.
Scott Calvert
The man said, lock the gate. And so suddenly George and his truck were kind of trapped. And what he told me was that he happened to be on the phone with the co owner of Speed Kings at the time. And they called the sheriff. The sheriff came out, everything ended peaceful. But again, that gives you an idea that, you know, that it's pretty dangerous.
Jessica Mendoza
Scott says that gun violence is a real problem for repo men nationwide.
Scott Calvert
I mean, there's a website that tracks the repossession industry nationally. And according to them, in the last couple years, there have been at least 10 repo agents killed in the line of duty nationwide. And so the danger is real.
Jessica Mendoza
How do these guys stay safe?
Scott Calvert
Well, I mean, I think first of all, if they sense that things are potentially going to go south, they will take off and come back another day. And George was saying that he sort of prides himself on being able to kind of de escalate and kind of, you know, lower the temperature if he gets into a tense situation.
George Dowdy
I've never Been shot at, thank God.
Jessica Mendoza
Yeah.
George Dowdy
Like I said, I've had confrontation. And me being me, I've always talked my way out of it.
Scott Calvert
Because, you know, as they said, there's no repo that's worth jeopardizing anybody's personal safety over something materialistic.
Jessica Mendoza
Okay.
George Dowdy
There's no need to. Because it's materialistic. It can be replaced. Anything can be replaced except your life.
Jessica Mendoza
Okay?
George Dowdy
Your time and your life are the only things that can't be replaced.
Jessica Mendoza
Yeah. Here's Jay Cavanas again.
Jay Cavanas
When I first started it, I used to get a little nervous. They gonna come outside and stuff like that. But like now gonna come outside and what?
Jessica Mendoza
Do what? Give me the key.
Jay Cavanas
You know what I mean? It's all along knowing how to talk to people.
Jessica Mendoza
Yeah.
Jay Cavanas
Once you learn how to talk to people and you give people the respect that you want, you normally gonna get what you kick out.
Scott Calvert
Have you ever been shot at?
Jay Cavanas
Yeah, I've been shot.
Scott Calvert
You have been. But obviously not hit. All right. That's kind of, you know, that's like kind of close for comfort.
Jay Cavanas
He might not have been shooting at me. He might have just shot in the air. But I don't. You know what I mean? But it comes with the territory, right?
Scott Calvert
Because, you know, obviously they're seeing their means of transportation basically being.
Jay Cavanas
You better change somebody's life, change their means to get around, get the kids around, do what they need to do.
Scott Calvert
Right. I mean, are you sympathetic?
Jay Cavanas
I used to be a lot. But I came to the realization that everybody has a choice and people do crazy things. People go gamble before they pay their car.
Jessica Mendoza
I know.
Scott Calvert
Okay, so it's not always on somebody.
Jay Cavanas
Who just simply not always. And nine out of 10 people know we coming. They know that the bank looking for their car.
Scott Calvert
Yeah.
Jay Cavanas
So it's a. It's like a hide and seek game.
Scott Calvert
Right. I mean, cuz people having a hard time. Yeah, but that's good for. That's good for your business.
Jay Cavanas
You got people having a hard time, but you got people who also. Who isn't having a hard time and choose not to pay it.
Jessica Mendoza
What does the situation for the repo industry sort of tell us about the economy right now? I'm just trying to think like there is sympathy for people who are having to do a really difficult job. But I'm almost like, should we be rooting for the repo industry to not be doing well? Because that means like, fewer Americans are delinquent on their loans. Like there's sort of an interesting kind of dynamic Here?
Scott Calvert
Well, there is. I mean, I think, you know, if you have more people who are falling behind in their car payments, that's problematic for obvious reasons. Right. They're struggling and that can have ripple effects throughout the economy. And, you know, depending on which way this goes, things could get worse. And it's. So it's a warning sign for the US economy for sure. I think you could probably make a case, broadly speaking, that in an ideal world, maybe the repo industry wouldn't exist because, you know, that means everybody's able to make their car payments and keep their car. Certainly for those who are in the industry, it's their livelihood. It's the way that they make the money that they need to pay for their car and everything else. And, you know, they see themselves again as playing a necessary, if maybe a little bit unpalatable role in our economy. But they're out there and there's a need for what they do as far as they're concerned.
Jessica Mendoza
That's all for today. Friday, November 14th. Additional reporting in this episode by Ryan Felton and Ben Glickman. The Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. The show is made by Kathryn Brewer, Pia Gadkari, Rachel Humphries, Isabella Japal, Sophie Cotner, Ryan Knudson, Matt Kwong, Colin McNulty, Annie Minoff, Laura Morris, Enrique Perez de la Rosa, Sarah Platt, Allen Rodriguez Espinosa, Heather Rogers, Pier Singhi, Jeevika Verma, Lisa Wang, Katherine Whalen, Tatiana Zamis and me, Jessica Mendoza. Our engineers are Griffin Tanner, Nathan Singapak and Peter Leonard. Our theme music is by so Wiley. Additional music this week from Peter Leonard, Nathan, singapok and Blue Dot sessions. Fact checking this week by Mary Mathis. Thanks for listening. See you on Monday.
Scott Calvert
Did you ever. Have you ever seen the movie Repo man from the 1980s?
Jessica Mendoza
I haven't, actually. Is it good?
Scott Calvert
Well, I haven't seen it either, but I have been watching some scenes online and, you know, there's one scene that has a line that a lot of its really strong, big fans like, to quote. Wow, that was intense, people. Man's always intense. Come on, let's go get a drink.
This episode dives into the surge in car repossessions across America, exploring the reasons behind the spike, the business of repossession, and the everyday realities—and dangers—faced by repo agents. Reporter Scott Calvert spends a night out with repo men in Maryland, observing their work and learning about the pressures and ethics of reclaiming vehicles from delinquent borrowers. Through real stories, the episode sheds light on a challenging job that sits at the intersection of personal hardship and economic warning signs.
"The Repo Man is Busier Than Ever" offers an engaging window into the rising tide of car repossessions, illuminating the intersection of technology, economics, and human struggle that defines today’s repo industry. Weaving narrative reporting with on-the-ground experiences, the episode raises questions about financial vulnerability and the necessary (but often fraught) role repo agents play in the auto finance ecosystem.