Electronic device renders repo man obsolete

From combined dispatches

NORFOLK — The repo man may be getting the hook.

An electronic device that attaches to a car’s ignition system easily can take the place of a tow-truck repossession, and the units are finding their way onto high-risk car lots across the country. No pay, no start.

It’s worked wonders at Norfolk’s Patriot Auto Sales, where nearly every car that is driven off the lot is outfitted with a PayTeck Smart Box, a system that hands over a five-digit code in exchange for each payment.

Come due date, the car won’t crank until the customer punches the code into a palm-size keypad wired into the dash.

Patriot is the kind of operation that specializes in steeper interest, high-risk car loans. It advertises “no turndowns” — a corner of the used-car business that deals with a “credit-challenged” clientele, as the industry puts it.

“Bad credit?” asked Art Madden, Patriot’s general manager. “I’d be happy if they just had bad credit.”

Not surprisingly, default rates are high. It’s not unusual for more than a third of the cars sold off such lots to wind up being repossessed.

Since Patriot began using PayTeck three years ago, its repossession rate has dropped from about 45 percent to less than 15 percent.

Mr. Madden figures he has close to 500 of the $200 units on the road, an investment that not only has cut the number of repossessions but also has boosted business.

“Without it, we could never make a lot of the sales we do — not if we wanted to keep our doors open,” Mr. Madden said.

Buyers sign forms acknowledging the Smart Box, agreeing not to tamper with it and promising to return to the dealership for a free removal after the last payment is made.

Payments are due every two weeks at Patriot. Sales staff program the first due date into the Smart Box, and the system keeps track from there.

As time runs out, tiny lights on the keypad shift from green to red, and a chirping noise provides an audible nudge.

Codes, once keyed in, reset the box for another two weeks. There is a four-day grace period. After that, the unit kicks in and voila: no vroom.

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