Repo men face on-the-job dangers

On any given night, repossession companies pick up about 100 cars from San Antonio streets, alleys and driveways.

For employees of Prime Time Adjusters, every night could be an adventure. Under the cover of nightfall, they move in to get their target and move out — all in a matter of seconds.

"I gotta support my family just like everyone else does," repo man Leroy Rodriguez said.

They have to be prepared for anything to happen.

"He has put the threat of violence out there to us, that he's going to do whatever it takes to keep the vehicle," repo man Mike Waldron said.

Waldron has been repossessing vehicles for 18 years, and there's nothing he won't repossess.

"I've picked up Lamborghinis, limos. I've repossessed even livestock," Waldron said.

The business is dangerous, and there's one thing he will not do: work alone.

"I been shot, stabbed, hit with a bat, and sliced with a box cutter," Waldron said.

The repo business can be dangerous, and that is why they work in teams.

"You're not bullet-proof when you're out here. You always got to watch your back," Rodriguez said.

This is how a vehicle is repossessed:

First, field investigators find out where the vehicle is kept.

Next, tow truck operators make their move late at night in either a conventional tow-truck or a hideaway truck. The hideaway trucks are regular pickups, like a Ford 250 Supercrew, except there is a towing mechanism hidden in the bed of the truck.

"We don't break (and) entering, break into garages to get a vehicle. There's laws and guidelines we have to follow in the state," Waldron said.

The circumstances behind why people fall behind on their payments and lose their cars range from divorce to health issues to unemployment. Taking a car from someone who has fallen ill sometimes makes it hard for the men to do their job.

"When they come out and tell you their life story, you can't get attached," Rodriguez said.

Security Service Federal Credit Union handles about one in four car loans in the San Antonio area. They say less than 1 percent of debtors actually become delinquent, and they do everything they can to work out an alternate payment plan.