‘A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations.’

In the 1984 cult-classic ‘Repo Man’, Harry Dean Stanton’s legendary automobile repossession pro, Bud, uttered that immortal line. Twenty-some years later, the repo man is finding himself in an even more tense situation - on the verge of extinction. Technology has not been kind to the professionals who roam the night searching for payment-delinquent cars. And, with inventions like the PayTeck Smart Box quickly becoming industry standard, one has to wonder how far the repo-man population will diminish.

The PayTeck Smart Box is an electronic keypad that is installed in a car (usually under the dashboard somewhere), which requires the owner to enter a code every month in order to operate the vehicle. If a code is not entered for whatever reason, the vehicle will be put into ’shutdown mode’ and the driver will be unable to start it. The box is part of the PayTeck system, wherein, after making a purchase and arranging a payment schedule with a car dealer, users can make payments in person, by mail or by phone (with a credit card). Once a person makes a payment, he or she is given a five-digit code - which is then entered into a vehicle’s Smart Box to allow operation until the next payment is due. If a payment is not made by the due date, the car won’t start until the customer enters the code.

Despite the fact that it keeps car owners under surveillance (sort of like a repossession Big Brother), the PayTeck Smart Box is actually quite beneficial to certain individuals. Specifically, the system allows dealers to finance vehicles for people who wouldn’t necessarily be able to get a car otherwise. With the Smart Box in place, dealers are willing to take the extra risk because they have a safety net in place (the process of hunting down and repossessing a vehicle is much easier when the vehicle is incapable of moving). Also, in case a person simply forgets to make a payment one month, the Smart Box is equipped with a one-time-only emergency code. When the code is entered, the vehicle will start once (and only once) so a driver must make a payment at that time. And, for anyone who thinks they can just cut the car battery and kill the power to the Smart Box, think again. The device has its own backup battery that can provide power for up to five years.

Currently, the PayTeck Smart Box is being employed mostly by car dealers who accept ‘high-risk’ buyers (i.e. - buyers with low or no credit). These types of dealerships, which, not surprisingly, have very high non-payment rates, were once the bread and butter of the automotive repo man. But, with the Smart Box finding success, the auto repossession racket may be taking a hit. In a USA Today article, one dealership that advertises ‘no turndowns’ reported that, by incorporating the PayTeck Smart Box into their vehicles, repossessions dropped from 45 percent to less than 15 percent in three years. Such a substantial drop makes the technology mightily alluring to no-credit car dealers. Unfortunately, for the repo man, it may mean a lot of quiet nights.