Riding with the repo man (update)

What It Covers

Planet Money examines the auto repossession crisis through three perspectives: car dealers, borrowers, and repo agents. Over 3 million cars were repossessed in 2025, matching Great Recession levels. The episode explores subprime auto lending practices, GPS tracking technology that makes repossessions easier, and rising vehicle costs that push more Americans into unaffordable loans.

Key Questions Answered

• •Subprime loan economics: Responsible subprime lenders maintain approximately 6% repossession rates while providing necessary credit access to people with poor credit scores. The alternative would deny loans entirely to customers who need vehicles for employment. Over 92% of subprime borrowers successfully make payments, demonstrating the market serves a legitimate purpose despite higher interest rates in the high teens to low twenties.
• •GPS tracking impact on lending: Finance companies now install GPS devices on subprime auto loans, allowing repo agents to locate vehicles instantly via iPad apps instead of detective work through social media and phone calls. This technology dramatically reduces recovery costs and risk for lenders, directly enabling them to issue more subprime loans since asset recovery becomes nearly guaranteed, fundamentally changing the risk calculation.
• •Loan term extension crisis: Average used car prices increased from ten to fifteen thousand dollars in 2019 to twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars by 2025, forcing dealers to stretch loan terms from sixty months to eighty-four months. Longer terms mean borrowers pay substantially more interest over time, increasing default probability and creating a cycle where affordability problems worsen despite attempts to lower monthly payments.
• •Delinquency rate warning signal: Subprime borrowers falling two-plus months behind on payments reached 6.6% in fall 2025, the highest rate since before the 2008 financial crisis. While different from the mortgage crisis due to smaller total debt, this metric indicates severe financial stress among millions of Americans. Dealers report repossessions nearly doubled since 2019, with desperate borrowers blocking cars in backyards or parking against doors.
• •Repossession aftermath mechanics: Borrowers can reclaim repossessed vehicles before auction by resuming regular payments plus a seven hundred dollar repossession fee, but lack of transportation makes earning recovery money nearly impossible. Credit scores drop significantly after repossession, creating long-term financial damage. The catch-22 of needing a car to work but needing work income to recover the car traps people in cycles of financial instability.