Many documents bear a simple note: "Can't pay. Pick up the car." [View All]

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-repo-man_martinezmay19,0,5698648.story

Vehicle repos in high gear

Loan defaults up sharply in throes of sluggish economy

LOS ANGELES — "JJ the Repo Man," as 40-year-old Jon Anderson calls himself, has 100 repossession orders piled on the dashboard of his tow truck.

Many documents bear a simple note: "Can't pay. Pick up the car." In short, the car owner is surrendering to the troubled economy's Grim Reaper: the repo man.

"It's easier for these people to say, 'Here, take it!' " said the 6-foot-2-inch, 250-pound Anderson, driving to a lot filled with scores of cars he's repossessed in recent weeks. "They can't afford a car payment, insurance and paying high gas prices. I'd say 75 percent of them are losing their houses, everything. It's just a big mess right now."

Just as home foreclosures have become a national crisis, prompting the U.S. House to pass a $300 billion bailout bill recently, auto loans have become the other shoe to drop.